Tu Mero Mole (San Jose, CA): Goat Nachos!

Yes, you read that right.  GOAT Nachos.  Gross, you say?  Come on!  Goats aren't gross, they're cute...

...well, kind of.  I guess it depends?

In any case, a couple of my friends wanted to use the groupons they had for Tu Mero Mole, and since I'd already had a couple different varieties of nachos there - the camarones (shrimp) ones were awesome - I decided to special order some nachos with their surprisingly tasty goat meat.  Trust me, this is some really good stuff.  Rather than plain, with minimal seasoning, like their more traditional meats (chicken, carne asada, etc...) the goat meat is slathered in a savory, flavorful sauce that kind of reminded me of Indian food - in a good way!  Combined with their marinated onions and peanut salsa, which is one of my favorite salsas ever, this was a great plate of nachos.  Plus, how many people can say they've had goat nachos?  Hopefully more after they read this post and try it for themselves!

Rating: 4 out of 5
Rating Notes: If you can get past the fact that this is goat, and not mind pushing aside all of the fat that comes along with it, you're in for a treat!  For info on the other ingredients in these nachos, see my first Tu Mero Mole Post.
Map to Location: http://mapq.st/wOHWd8

Tequila's Taqueria (San Jose, CA): Super Nachos with Chicken

Boy was I ever drunk after having lunch at this pleasant little taqueria.  You'll never believe this, but The moment I walked in the door, the very attractive female cashier, who was wearing a very skimpy bikini, layed across the counter and a big dude grabbed me and made me do body shots of Cabo Wabo off of her until I couldn't see straight!  I guess they weren't kidding when they namee this place "Tequila's Taqueria!"  They even had some out-of-control variety show playing on the TV:

Um, yeah.  That’s totally true ;-)
So now that I have your attention…
I could totally have just written "See review of Taqueria Vallarta Chicken Nachos" and would have been done with this post.  These nachos are a dead ringer in every way except for appearance for Taqueria Vallarta's.  But I know I have dedicated fans who demand more than just a re-read of an old review, so here you go:

Other taquerias take notice - THIS is how you do tortilla chips!  Thick, deep-fried corn tortillas are the best way to go for nachos because they don't get soggy as fast and they taste great.  Aside from having a little too much cheese, these nachos had all the right stuff.  They even left out the beans which I believe amount to nothing but filler most of the time.  Tender shredded chicken, generous sour cream and guacamole plus a healthy portion of pico de gallo rounded out this plate for a satisfying lunch.

Rating: 3½ out of 5
Rating Notes: Would have been a 4 but for a bit too much cheese, messy presentation, and somewhat bland chicken.  3 different choices at the salsa bar and they're all very good.
Map to location: http://mapq.st/zuo29I

Nacho Cheese Shots?

Ok, I know, despite the title of this post that I used to try and catch your attention, this has nothing to do with Nachos.  In any case, today I decided to take an inventory of my shot glass collection and found that I have 133 that I've picked up myself around the USA and also been given by people who have bothered to travel outside of this country.  I'll bet no one else you know has a shot glass from a former Soviet Republic that doesn't even exist anymore!  Anyway, don't worry, my next post will be nacho-related.  If not, I'll at least do a shot of plastic nacho cheese and post a video or something!  ;-)

Mexico Lindo (San Jose, CA) : Nachos with Chicken

Here's what this giant plate of nachos looked like when it first arrived at the table:

Pretty drab, eh?  Here's what they looked like after I spruced 'em up a bit:

Much better!

So, to answer your first question, yes, I should only be eating nachos once a week.
To answer your second question, no, I didn't eat this entire enormous plate of nachos, otherwise I'd probably  have had a heart attack on the spot or at least on the way home and wouldn't be writing this right now.
To answer your third question, no, the nachos weren't very good.
To answer your fourth question (why are you asking me so many questions?), it was because the chicken wasn't very flavorful and there were waaaayyy too many refried beans underneath, turning the chips into a big soggy mess before I even had a chance to eat a few of them.
To answer your fifth question (another one?), the chips were ok, but the freebie "ROI" chips that we munched on before we got our entrees were great.  They were the thin type and almost as good as the ones at Chevy's
To answer your sixth question (seriously, all these questions are getting out of hand!), if I came back to this restaurant, which is part of a 6 restaurant bay area chain, I'd skip the nachos and go with something more along the lines of the delicious-looking chicken fajita salad that my friend ordered.
To answer your seventh question (that's it - I'm done - here's the damn rating already!)…
Rating: 2½ out of 5
Rating Notes: No rating notes for you!  You asked me too many damn questions!
Map to location: http://mapq.st/AtGcH2

Adelita's Taqueria (San Jose, CA): Super Nachos with Chicken

Oh, Adelita's, why do you toy with my emotions?  I walk into your clean, modern dining room with it's sparkly black marble tables and light wood counters and chairs and across the way, I see a hip, open kitchen with cooks hustling here and there.  You even have a well-produced menu board and a dish called "Sky's special burrito".  I'm getting excited now…
Your little light-up "order ready" buzzer/coasters are a first for any taqueria I've been to and remind me of hip bar & grill.  Should I be nervous that you are a hit-and-miss, overly Californified taqueria where I'll get some "creative" cook's idea of a new twist on Nachos?  Puhleez no!
I sit down and sip my Coke until the buzzer signals the end of my above average-length wait and I walk up to the counter to retrieve my highly anticipated plate of nachos…

 

Not much to look at, are they?  The emotional roller coaster goes downhill.  Check out that wormy-looking squirt of sour cream and all of those chips with nothing on them.  Are you kidding me?  Maybe they'd look better with…

 …some jalapeños, onions, and a generous helping of your yummy "orange sauce"?

That's more like it.  I’m almost happy again…

Munching my way through the plate, I'm fairly satisfied because I'm so hungry and every bite has a bunch of tangy sauce on it.  Only after about 5 bites do I discover the real strength of these nachos: the generous chunks of juicy, flaky, shredded white meat chicken hiding under the sour cream worm and bland pico de gallo.  The more I eat, the more I find.  This definitely helps, but I must tell you, Adelita's, I'm not as excited as when I first walked in with a wallet that was almost $10 heavier than it is now!  I don't know if I'll ever come back to you...

Rating: 3½ out of 5
Rating Notes: Despite the completeness of the ingredients list, one of the ugliest plates of nachos I've seen, at least before I added the orange sauce.  Lame, store-bought chips and coule you have also put a little effort into squishing the avocado and cutting up the olives or is this minimalist approach your attempt and trying to add a "California Cuisine" touch?).  Creepy looking sour cream worm.  Excellent, all white meat chicken keeps these from dropping below 3½ stars.
Map to Location: http://mapq.st/ychgOc

Alicia's Cafe (San Jose, CA): Large Supreme Nachos with Chicken

Sigh.  Looking at this plate of nachos, I thought to my self, "Wow!  Those are going to be great!"

Nope.

These nachos had the ingredients and presentation to bring in a great score, but they were kind of like British cars: the looks and all of the cool features are there at first, but living with them doesn't leave the best taste in your mouth, you wonder why you paid so much, and you'll likely never buy one again. 

The good:

All standard ingredients accounted for:

- Warm, crispy chips

- Refried beans

- Shredded chicken

- Generous portions of guacamole and sour cream

- Pico de Gallo

Less common ingredient accounted for:

- Olives (always a nice touch!)

Really big portion (they weren't kidding - these are "Large")

The Bad:

-Flavorless, "Blando Calrissian" chicken

-Cheese sprinkled on top of guacamole and sour cream = no melting - what the hell?

-$9.50 plus tax and tip

A Tip:

I'm quickly learning that except in extreme cases (like Taco Bell), price has nothing to do with how good a plate of nachos tastes.  When you go to a sit-down-get-served restaurant, you pay more, but with the exception of Angel's Rock House, the taste and quality of the nachos is usually equal or inferior to what you find in many hole-in-the-wall taquerias for a lot less money.

Rating: 2½ out of 5

Rating Notes: See above

Map to Location: http://mapq.st/ySIdOB

Tacos Mexico (San Jose, CA): Nachos with Chicken

Is there anything good about the startling number of hideous strip malls in the greater Campbell/South San Jose area?  Yes - the endless supply of taquerias.  Tacos Mexico, on what I'd call the "wrong side of the tracks" (read: the same side as The Pink Poodle) on Bascom Avenue is a funky little cash-only taqueria that has a surprisingly large crowd at lunch time.  If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time I've actually been worried about finding a table at a taqueria (we sat outside and the wind wasn't exactly balmy).

They have one kind of nachos: Super Nachos.  Are they super?  Only if your idea of super includes "plastic" cheese.  However, the shredded chicken was definitely on par with most places I've been that use real cheese on their nachos.  Also, just look at the picture:  all ingredients are present and accounted for, including the sometimes elusive pico de gallo and jalapeños.  Instead of "super" let's call these "muy bien".

Rating: 3 out of 5

Rating Notes: For just over $6, these were fairly priced and I have to admit I cleared my "plate".  Had there been real melted cheese, at least one more point would have been added to the score.

Bonus:  I'm a total gearhead, so I dug their tables, almost all of which had pictures of nice old cars on them.

Factoid: Tacos Mexico is the "sister" taqueria to Ricos Tacos on Winchester in Campbell.  Here you'll find much the same menu and good, reasonably-priced food, but an even better presentation for their nachos.

Map to Location: http://mapq.st/AmvXcK

Freedom Burrito (Santa Clara, CA): Chicken Nachos

Freedom Burrito!  I love the name of this taqueria.  It makes me think of either having the freedom to order my food any crazy way I want it or of a super hero burrito wearing a cape who delivers Mexican food to hungry children around the world!  Of course, Freedom Burrito the super hero would have remembered that in order to make a well-rounded plate of nachos you need to throw some pico de gallo and some jalapeños on top, and if you're really going for perfection, use thick, crispy, home-made, deep-fried tortilla chips…

In any case, these were pretty darn good.  Nice, tender, flavorful chicken and plenty of it, and although the chips weren’t the thick, home-made kind, they were far from subpar.  Very generous on the guacamole, too!

Rating: 3½ out of 5 stars

Rating Notes: Generous portion, good price, just lacking a few things like pico de gallo and jalapeños.  The refried beans were a nice touch that some people wouldn't like, but I do!

Map to Location: http://mapq.st/zJ5ttz

Nacho Apology

Yes, it's been over a month since my last nacho blog post.  The 2011 holidays were quite a distraction from my quest for the perfect nachos.  Sure, a positive distraction, but that's no excuse!  Therefore, I offer this picture from Nacho Libre as an effigy of what I deserve for making you all wait!  More "real" posts coming soon!

For those of you who have not seen Nacho Libre (gasp of disbelief!), this is a scene where Nacho (Jack Black) and his sidekick Esquelito (Héctor Jiménez) are doing some ridiculous training for their wrestling career and Esquelito launches a cantaloupe at Nacho with a slingshot, presumably to toughen him up.  Awesome!

Interesting fact: Nacho Libre was loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta ("Friar Storm"), aka Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador (wrestler)!

I hope all of you had a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Pagan Ceremony/etc... and that your new year has been prosperous and happy so far!
-Skye

Taqueria El Dorado (San Jose, CA): Chicken Nachos

Ordinarily, if a food is fluorescent orange, I get a little nervous (ok - Cheetos are an exception, even though I probably should get nervous when I eat Cheetos).  The chicken on these nachos glowed just like it does in the pictures.  Maybe it was because after the nice lady behind the counter who was also the cashier built up this tasty concoction, she microwaved it to melt the cheese (a practice I'm learning is common to most taquerias - what ever happened to the "Salamander"?  If you don't know what I mean by that, see my post about the origin of nachos)  I may never know why the chicken looked like that, but it doesn't matter.  This was a good, solid plate of my favorite Mexican food.  Great salsa at the table, too!
 

Rating: 3½ out of 5

Rating Notes: The chips weren't the best, and the ones in the freebie, "ROI" basket they give you while you wait for your order were clearly stale.  Microwaving helped.

Map to Location: http://mapq.st/ugMTXn