Here we are in a fashion far more accessible than Google Docs. Here we'll keep you up to date on all meetings past, present, and future, as well as abreast on all things in the world of nachos.
The next meeting is a NEWYEARSNACHOPALOOZA on January3, 6 PM at The Sunset Grill in Allston. Come hungry and hungover (Offical Tally Cards will be passed out).
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Minutes from the December 27th Meeting: Shay's
This week's meeting was never intended to happen. The founding members agreed that rounding up a sufficient number of participants would be unlikely given the holidays, and many of the club's previous guests were indeed away. Sean, Laura, and Mike were resigned to spending a Sunday evening nacho-less, counting their losses, and to hopefully rallying the troops for the NewYearsNachopalloza schedule for the following weekend. Nacho club would have been postponed, if not for the enthusiasm of one man: Todd Shayler.
Since the club's founding, Todd Shayler has been a vocal advocate of nachos, eating nachos, and rating eaten nachos. Todd spent many a Friday and Saturday night with various members of the group waxing poetic the virtues of the nacho and nacho club. But Todd also spent just as many evenings being regaled by the tales of the club's latest nacho outing, which he had missed, as he was always unavailable on nacho-fueled Sundays. But, with blatant disregard for his previous tradition, Todd expressed unreserved enthusiasm on Sunday the 27th, and so the club quickly scrambled to accommodate. Shay's. which had been on the docket for many meetings but passed over for closer options, was decided as the destination of choice.
Shay's was a surprising crowd-pleaser. Unassuming and kind of dingy, Shay's seemed to be in league with Grendel's Den and Charlies -cheap eateries not know for their food, let alone nachos. However, the nachos exceeded the club's expectations, and resulting in the highest nacho club score to date in a stunning upset victory. While the members agreed that, due to the size of the platter, these were more "snack nachos" that the "meal nachos" we often encounter, the smaller plate packed a big punch. There were plenty of toppings, including plenty of jalapenos, and no noticable dead-zone (thanks in part to the every popular salsa-on-the-side). The chips were of the highest quality to date, earning rave reviews from everyone, even the notoriously chip-particular Laura. The nachos at Shay's offered a chipotle bean option of which the club enthusiastically partook, finding the spicy beans a great accessory to any pile of chips. While no ingerdient was a noticable stand-out, every part was competantly prepared, cohering into a plate of nachos that, taken as a whole, were truely the most satisfying the club had encountered. Scoring two 3.5 and two 4.0 (the highest score thus far), Shay's squeaked past Deadlus to become the champion of Cambridge nachos.
Since the club's founding, Todd Shayler has been a vocal advocate of nachos, eating nachos, and rating eaten nachos. Todd spent many a Friday and Saturday night with various members of the group waxing poetic the virtues of the nacho and nacho club. But Todd also spent just as many evenings being regaled by the tales of the club's latest nacho outing, which he had missed, as he was always unavailable on nacho-fueled Sundays. But, with blatant disregard for his previous tradition, Todd expressed unreserved enthusiasm on Sunday the 27th, and so the club quickly scrambled to accommodate. Shay's. which had been on the docket for many meetings but passed over for closer options, was decided as the destination of choice.
Shay's was a surprising crowd-pleaser. Unassuming and kind of dingy, Shay's seemed to be in league with Grendel's Den and Charlies -cheap eateries not know for their food, let alone nachos. However, the nachos exceeded the club's expectations, and resulting in the highest nacho club score to date in a stunning upset victory. While the members agreed that, due to the size of the platter, these were more "snack nachos" that the "meal nachos" we often encounter, the smaller plate packed a big punch. There were plenty of toppings, including plenty of jalapenos, and no noticable dead-zone (thanks in part to the every popular salsa-on-the-side). The chips were of the highest quality to date, earning rave reviews from everyone, even the notoriously chip-particular Laura. The nachos at Shay's offered a chipotle bean option of which the club enthusiastically partook, finding the spicy beans a great accessory to any pile of chips. While no ingerdient was a noticable stand-out, every part was competantly prepared, cohering into a plate of nachos that, taken as a whole, were truely the most satisfying the club had encountered. Scoring two 3.5 and two 4.0 (the highest score thus far), Shay's squeaked past Deadlus to become the champion of Cambridge nachos.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Minutes from the December 6th Meeting: Asgard
"Never a boring chip."
The December 6th meeting was a new milestone in the history of Nacho Club. Instead of the usual roster of only Sean, Laura, and Mike, this week saw participation leap to a veritable horde of Nacho Club attendees: eight showed up, all hungry and suitably hungover. And those in attendance were no slouches. Far from it. Heavy-hitters Eric, Molly, Eoin, Kathleen, Katie and Mackenzie joined Mike and Sean to round out the lineup, traveling from as far asBrookline , Lexington , Newton , and Ireland
From the beginning of the club, Asgard was considered a top contender for Nacho Club glory, and the nachos offered were bold ones indeed. Labeled as "Loaded Nachos" (no option of anything less), the nachos were indeed piled high. Plentiful guac and sourcream came standard, as did the salsa served on the side (a club favorite). There was no dead zone to be seen in these nachos, far from it. As new club member Kathleen stated, there was "never a boring chip" on the table.
As the nachos were consumed, evaluated, and discussed, a few trends in member critiques emerged. Asgard offers a very unique spinach dip substitution for chili, which the members tried on one plate. This, although a creative and genre-pushing attempt by Asgard, mixed oddly with the rest of the standard nacho ingredients. It was also noted that the nachos came with chili, but did not have a non-chili or alternative meat/vegi option for. And there were grumblings about the salsa served on the side, which was described as bland and watered down. The chips themselves, which are a crucial yet oft-overlooked part of the nachos, were standard fare, neither earning praise not condemnation from the eaters. But there were reports of unmelted cheese appearing on the plate, which drew audible gasps from the the newest inductees.
Once the last chip was eaten and everyone had his and her say, the club felt comfortable awarding Asgard a solid 3 out of 5 chips. The proliferation of toppings, and negated dead zone, drew praise from all members, and the spinach dip was received as a creative way to push the envelope and experiment with form. However, these positives were not enough to outbalance the lack of quality salsa, melted cheeses, and a wider variety of toppings -all crucial necessities for nacho success. As a member pointed out, the nachos were edible and enjoyable, but not memorable. It seems that Asgard should work on perfecting the basics of nacho success before moving on to the experimentation we saw in their menu.
The December 6th meeting was a new milestone in the history of Nacho Club. Instead of the usual roster of only Sean, Laura, and Mike, this week saw participation leap to a veritable horde of Nacho Club attendees: eight showed up, all hungry and suitably hungover. And those in attendance were no slouches. Far from it. Heavy-hitters Eric, Molly, Eoin, Kathleen, Katie and Mackenzie joined Mike and Sean to round out the lineup, traveling from as far as
From the beginning of the club, Asgard was considered a top contender for Nacho Club glory, and the nachos offered were bold ones indeed. Labeled as "Loaded Nachos" (no option of anything less), the nachos were indeed piled high. Plentiful guac and sourcream came standard, as did the salsa served on the side (a club favorite). There was no dead zone to be seen in these nachos, far from it. As new club member Kathleen stated, there was "never a boring chip" on the table.
As the nachos were consumed, evaluated, and discussed, a few trends in member critiques emerged. Asgard offers a very unique spinach dip substitution for chili, which the members tried on one plate. This, although a creative and genre-pushing attempt by Asgard, mixed oddly with the rest of the standard nacho ingredients. It was also noted that the nachos came with chili, but did not have a non-chili or alternative meat/vegi option for. And there were grumblings about the salsa served on the side, which was described as bland and watered down. The chips themselves, which are a crucial yet oft-overlooked part of the nachos, were standard fare, neither earning praise not condemnation from the eaters. But there were reports of unmelted cheese appearing on the plate, which drew audible gasps from the the newest inductees.
Once the last chip was eaten and everyone had his and her say, the club felt comfortable awarding Asgard a solid 3 out of 5 chips. The proliferation of toppings, and negated dead zone, drew praise from all members, and the spinach dip was received as a creative way to push the envelope and experiment with form. However, these positives were not enough to outbalance the lack of quality salsa, melted cheeses, and a wider variety of toppings -all crucial necessities for nacho success. As a member pointed out, the nachos were edible and enjoyable, but not memorable. It seems that Asgard should work on perfecting the basics of nacho success before moving on to the experimentation we saw in their menu.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
