Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to get our grub on, we listen up.
It’s about time someone broke the world record for the largest serving of nachos. The honors went to Ninety Nine restaurant group, in Billerica, Massachusetts: The nachos they assembled on a 70-foot table required four teams to layer the chips, cheeses, chili, salsa and sour cream, with one team wielding giant torch guns to melt the Monterey Jack and cheddar. The nachos weighed in at 3,999 pounds. (Seriously? With a few extra jalapeños, they could have gotten to an even two tons.)
Here’s a look at some other amazing efforts in the world of nachos.
Do or Dine - Brooklyn, New York
Co-owner Justin Warner embraces an elemental theory on food: Everything is either a nacho or a sandwich. (Specifically, nachos are food piled on top of food; sandwiches are food between two pieces of food. We had a long debate about which category soup falls into.) No surprise, Do or Dine pushes the nacho envelope with their version: The Nippon nachos are made with your choice of deep-fried dumplings (pork, beef or vegetarian), topped with cheddar, pico de gallo and sour cream.
US 75 Café - Bartlesville, Oklahoma
There’s a whole nacho section on the menu (also, their definition of a nacho: a snack, an appetizer, or a meal). The offerings include Kansas nachos, topped simply with cheese and sunflower seeds, and pizza nachos, with their special sauce and mozzarella. Interestingly, US 75 also has a nacho pizza, made with salsa, Mexican cheese and refried beans, but that’s over in the menu's pizza section.
SOL Mexican Cocina - Newport Beach, California
If you’re sad that you never get to each nachos for dessert, then you’re thinking like me - and like the people at SOL, who offer nachos dulces. They're made by topping warm tortilla chips with dulce de leche, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, crushed Ibarra chocolate and toasted almonds. Another good thing about SOL; it’s right on the water so you can dock and dine.
Taco Bell
Of course Taco Bell sells nachos, like the Volcano, boasting both warm nacho cheese sauce and cheesy molten hot lava sauce. But just recently the fast food chain went outside the chip, and began using nacho-cheese flavored Doritos to make the shells for their Doritos Locos Taco. The appropriately orange-colored tacos are, unfortunately, only available in a few test markets right now, namely Fresno, California, and Toledo, Ohio.
More from Food & Wine:
Awesome Mexican Recipes
World’s Best Bars
Best Bar Food
Best Pizza Places in the U.S.
Best Burgers in the U.S.
© 2011 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
God, I love nachos. Even if they're lousy, I'll eat 'em. I believe I would eat a cow pie if you poured cheese sauce over it, threw on a few jalapenos, and called it a nacho. (I know–I need professional help)
eatocracy just lost 99% of its prop points after mentioning Taco Hell.
love me some Taco Smell!
I get his share!!!!
So can we expect our friend Richard Hurtz at the class reunion? I hear he goes by his nickname these days.
Volcano nachos are great, some of the best Ive had, only thing that beats them is when a restaurant makes their own queso. Greasy nachos with shredded cheddar melted in an oven need not apply, thats some lazy white persons bright idea of nachos when they dont know how to make real queso sauce.
I think it was a white guy who made the cheese runny. Original Mex-nachos was cheese in the oven. Taco Bell is sodium infused processed alien food. might as well nuke cheese whiz. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Crema fresca is the only way to go.
A Dorito Taco Bell taco. I'm definitely going to try that!
If I ever make it out to CA, I'd love to give them a shot.
Yeah, but then you would have to go to Fresno...been there and have no desire to return...just sayin.
Why, is it some kind of gang cesspool?
Wanna see how fast I can drive thru a drive thru? ;)
LOL – It was were my ex used to live and many of the ex-in-laws...lots of cows too. Maybe it's cleaned up some from back then...