The City That Feeds

apologies for the lousy photo. it was dark and all I had was a cell phone.

Harvey Nick's Nachos - $7.95

I sampled these nachos at Wharf Rat (801 S. Ann Street, Fells Point) while meeting some long lost friends. Entitled “Harvey Nick’s Nachos,” they feature veggie or meat chili, onions, olives, shredded cheese, tomatoes, salsa, jalapenos and sour cream ($8.50) with the option to add guacamole for $1.75 (and up) extra. Sadly, that particular night they were out of chili so we were forced to eat the pile without it, but one amongst us was a vegetarian and they knocked off a buck from the price, so it was ok.

And as was stated in rule #4 of the Nacho Manifesto, these nachos stood alone without the meat. Would have made it much better, yes, but this plate was truly heaped with chips and toppings to the point that even while split four ways, everyone received a very satisfying pile to themselves completely covered in sweet, sweet nacho incrediblosity. Gratis guacamole would have been a huge plus; I found it odd that the meat wasn’t the optional portion of the plate while the guac was, whereas virtually every other place that serves nachos goes the other way. Regardless, these were some fine, fine nachos and you should eat them the next time you’re in the mood for some Oliver Ale.

4 golden nachos out of 5

(view the NachoQuest map so far here)

As a friend of mine said via chat at the beginning of this quest for humanity – “you might not like nachos at the end of this.” Well it’s kind of true; so far I’ve eaten around 15 plates of nachos in the past month and I’m getting …tired. And broke. But really my resolve to find truly incredible nachos has never been stronger. And so it is with great gusto that I kick off the first entry of Nachoquest 2009! As a primer, you might want to check out the initial NachoQuest statement and the Nacho Manifesto, in order to get an idea of what we’re hoping for in this search for the Treasure of the Nacho Sierra Madre.

Nachos with chicken, $9.50

When I saddled up to take on this mammoth plate of nachos at Alexander’s Tavern (710 S. Broadway, Fells Point) I was immediately pleased; every dictum of the Nacho Manifesto had been satisfied. Layered nachos with toppings on every conceivable part, generous helpings of cheese, pico, jalapeños, and chicken (2 bucks extra)- basically everything you’d want on a fat pile of nachos. In the flavor department, I have no complaints either – the cheese is melty and awesome, the jalapeños are spicy, and the chicken was really well grilled. Every chip ended up with something on it, which is exactly what one would expect from some kickass nachos.

Now here comes the painful part. A cursory click on the picture reveals the problem. No guacamole! Which to me is not necessarily a death sentence – if the guacamole were on the side. Sometimes people don’t enjoy a huge blob of guac or sour cream on their nachos; they prefer a dip now and again or for the two to be spread evenly over the pile. But these nachos have zero guacamole. Baaaaaad. Another problem which isn’t necessarily apparent in the blurrier than hell picture – the beans. Rather than being a refried bean paste of sorts, the bean portion of the plate came out in two ice cream scoops plopped on the sides. The scoops were solid enough to the point that trying to apply bean to chip resulted in a shattered chip. Baaaaad. After a number of tall boys and shots, the bean balls were more likely going to become projectiles than spreadable edibles for the nacho pile.

So while these nachos may not win any awards, they’re serviceable. Good flavor, enough other toppings to prevent me from flying into a nacho rage, set at an on-par price point.

3 golden nachos out of 5

(view the NachoQuest map so far here)