State of the Nacho Address (by Nacho Mike)

My fellow Americans Nacho Lovers,

Thank you for joining me today as we address the state nachos in the greater Cambridge area. Since its humble origins in September, the Cambridge Nacho Club has met its stated objective by devouring, evaluating, and reviewing nachos in Cambridge, Boston, Alston, and points north, south, and west. My friends, I am happy to report that the nacho is alive and well. Stalwart fans of the website may have noticed an apparent lull in nacho activity, and may have assumed the club was shirking duties. Nothing could be further from the truth, and recent weeks have seen more nachos eaten than ever before. Such a frenzy has taken its toll, however, and left several members recuperating from the Nacho Sweats, a blight which they have only recently recovered. But now back in health, the club will soon add to the ongoing nacho tally.

Our progress to date has been remarkable. Among the average bar-fare nachos, members have unearthed some true gems. Let the record show that, although uncommon, nacho club members have sought out plates that not only satisfy the expectations of the lay-eater, but have also begun to redefine the genre of nacho as experienced by diners, moving away from the stale, often hap-hazard piling of chips-and-toppings appetizers and towards the appreciation of the nacho as a meal in its own right.

Thus far, we have found nachos incorporating new combinations of toppings that truly stretch the imagination. This has not come easily, and close readers of the nacho blog will note that the shores of nacho glory are littered with the sunken wrecks of valiant attempts (the spinach dip variation offered at Asgard comes to mind as a particularly ambitious and ultimate tragic plate). But among the average, sub-par, and very good nachos, we have come to discover remarkable creations. For the first time, members experienced nachos as a desert item. We have also discovered a restaurant that offers a new nacho every week, which is a testament to the many serious nacho fans in the greater Cambridge area. My friends, the nacho is alive, well, and flourishing.

Most important, though, has been the rapid expansion of the Cambridge Nacho Club. Our membership has expanded exponentially, exceeding even our most optimistic expectations. It is the members that mark a club's worth, and our humble organization has attracted some of the most exemplary members and pledges that I, or anyone, has had the pleasure of eating nachos with. As membership increased, our modest organization grown from a hung-over day dream to actual meetings, recoreded in Gdocs, and finally settled in on this page. Through the postings of the enthusiastic and oft-belligerent Ignacio Sanchez, we have learned the the CNC is not alone in its dedication to nachos, and that there are even other organizations in our own city, such as The Nacho Patrol, a clan of cartographers likewise charting the undiscovered country of nacho.  Although Ignacio may have gotten the clubs off to a rocky start, that is just part of his charm. The CNC recognizes anyone who has shown dedication to seeking, eating, and evaluating nachos as kindred spirits, and offers to the Partol and any other nacho-themed affiliations in the greater Cambridge area promises of camaraderie (and, perhaps, the challenge of a nacho-eating contest).

To our critics, who suggest the nacho is not a serious genre of American cuisine, we offer our the record of the CNC as irrefutable proof. As in any art form, the progress comes from the margins, where experimentation is allowed and encouraged and, eventually, integrated into the mainstream in act of subversion. We are the proud eaters and recorders of this movement.

So, my friends, it is with pride in our recent accomplishments and great hope for the club's future that I leave you. Although our progress has been commendable, our work is far from over. Through our efforts, we have found truly remarkable nachos, nachos that we could comfortably stuff ourselves with each weekend with great satisfaction. But the CNC was not founded on such stagnation, and while it is tempting to give in to the comforts of the familiar, we will instead journey onward, recording our nacho adventures, chasing that one perfect plate of nachos even as our most recently-enjoyed meal fades into memory.

I leave you with a quote from The Great Gatsby,a pillar of American Literature whose lesson in the dangerous pursuit of the American Dream is as applicable to the today as it was when F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote. Although it cannot be proven Fitzgerald was inspired by the quest for the perfect nacho when he wrote these closing lines, it cannot be disprove, either. But, in reading his words, we recognize he may as well have been transcribing the very essence of the Nacho Club.

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."


-Nacho Mike

Minutes from the January 18 Meeting: Rattlesnake Bar

Scores of Cambridge Nacho Club followers will no doubt have noticed by now the club meeting was on a Monday, not the traditional Sunday. This aberration from club procedure was for two reasons. First, the club was given a tip by nacho connoisseur, longtime member, and accomplished nacho sleuth "Guaca-Molly," of Nacho Average Mondays at the restaurant. This tip was immediately followed by a spontaneous invitation from Greg, a cohort of the club, who just happened to be rallying friends and nacho lovers to the same Monday night feeding. Nacho Average Mondays intrigued the club for obvious reasons: any restaurant willing to dedicate a day to Nachos is on our wavelength. Legends told of a recent Lobster Nacho plate at Poe's and, as there was no advanced menu available, the club did not know what new and tantalizing topping they would be served until faced with the menu. Intrigued and hungry, founders Sean, Laura, and Mike were joined by Molly and Marks. Marks repeated, earning his full member status and all the right and honors that entitles. The club was too busy eating to notice or celebrate, however, and only realized this personal milestone in hindsight, which speaks to the quality of nacho encountered. The nacho of the evening: Wild Boar. The only thing more wild than the nachos offered was the manner in which the club savaged on two delicious plates.

After settling in with Greg and his two guests, Nacho Club dug into both the regular and Wild Boar nachos with their trademark zest. The Wild Boar meat was delectable. The winter greens accompanying proved exceptional. The blue cheese, although feared to commandeer taste buds and bring to mind cheap chicken-wing flavor, was in fact complimentary instead of overwhelming. The chips crispy and strong: they supported heaps that would have crumbled ordinary chips and did not turn into the wet-cardboard consistency lesser nachos might have dissolved into. The members had no real qualms with the nachos, except perhaps the fact that they were in the "appetizer" instead of "meal" nacho variety. But wanting more nachos immediately after eating is hardly a complaint.

The regular nachos were themselves just as good. It seems that chef Brian Poe has worked hard to build a solid foundation of nacho knowledge before engaging in any pyrotechnics, bringing to mind the early mastery of realism that enabled Picasso to later experiment successfully with forms and styles. The nachos were delicious and deftly constructed. The only point if disagreement among the club was about the Aolie Mayo, which divided members. Although the flavor was excellent, it may have been too runny. Thick, spicy, and chock full of chunky vegetables is the favored salsa of the club, and it was suggested that a thickening agent may have been wise. Let the record show, however, several members used bread to mop up the soupy remains.

A highlight of the evening was the chance to share our table and appreciation with with Brian Poe, head chef and Nacho mastermind. When he asked what topping members of our club might enjoy in the future, a member immediately ventured "Snake" -a tall order. Poe responded by serving up two snake meat cakes, along with a story about some of the details about cooking such exotic fare. The cakes were tasty, the tale hilarious, and our host most gracious.

Drinks, snake-cakes, and warm welcomes are all fine and good, but the Nacho Club values Nachos above all else. Luckily, the rattlesnake nachos turned out to be the BEST nachos eaten so far. We will happily return to Rattlesnake on another Monday. As tempting as returning every Monday might be -and there was an extended argument that nearly came to blows in favor of just that- the expressed mission of nacho club is to seek out, devour, and evaluate all the nachos of the Greater Cambridge Area. We will return for recreational eating, of course, but in carrying out our official duties the club will journey ever onward. 

Bullet Pointed Nacho News

Hola fellow tortilla tasters,
A few quick updates after a much enjoyed MLK meeting (minutes coming soon; we ate snake meat!).

• We've adjusted our scoring system. While we will still be discussing scores at meetings as a way of judging and quantifying the enjoyment of our nachos, we are instituting a Real Time Nacho Peddler Ranking System (RTNPRS--pronounced "rittenpurs"). You can find it in the right column, where the meeting locations are ranked by awesomeitude.

• The first poll has closed. Salsa has been chosen as the most crucial non-cheese topping. New poll up soon. Vote away.

• We have learned of multiple other nacho-oriented groups in our region, and are considering militarizing and becoming a warring faction in defense of Nacho Club's honor. More to come on that, but links to other club's sites are included at the right (really? an interactive nacho map! we are not impressed...) for the purposes of reconnaissance.

Special Monday Nacho Club 1/18/09

Rattlesnake on Boylston. 6 PM. Special Nachos.

We're having a Nacho Club a day later this week, in order to best honor MLK's profound love of nachos.

Brief Minutes from the January 16th Ad Hoc Meeting: Bukowski (Inman Square)

Just before the clock struck midnight and January 17th rolled in, an impromptu meeting of Nacho Club was called to order. Though attendance was small, two members of the Security Council were present (Mike and Sean--also in attendance were a professional nacho chomper, Molly, and Megan, a nacho cadet), and thus the meeting was ratified official.

Bukowski's nacho plate was diminutive yet satisfying. It was agreed by all in attendance that the toppings were well-proportioned and presented in an aesthetically, the dead zone non-existant (in fact more chips were nearly requested), and the chip crunch-factor satisfying. The lack of guacamole was lamentable. Indeed its lack combined with the small serving was credited as negatively effecting the score.

The special salsa was a huge hit however, and the inclusion of chickpeas made for a memorable salsa experience. The salsa was the highlight of the meal and Nacho Club agreed its presence counteracted the guacamole score reduction.

All in all the group felt comfortable awarding Bukowski's nachos a slightly above average score of 3.5 chips out of 5.

(It has also been brought to the attention of Nacho Club that score inflation is not going unnoticed, and at the next meeting guidelines for more rigorous and honest scoring will be addressed, as well as the potential for retroactive score alterations--we're looking at you, Tommy Doyle's)

Lobster Nachos Located, To Be Consumed by Nacho Club

Diligent nacho slueth and offical club member Molly has come across a rare and intriguing presentation--seafood nachos. She writes:

"NACHOS! And apparently every monday they have "special nachos" such as last monday was lobster nachos with mango salsa and creme fresh.........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm"


A special nacho club Monday excursion will certainly be announced soonly.

Minutes from the January 10th Meeting: Spirits Bar

Until this meeting, the Nacho Club had met only at night, customarily at 6 P.M. or later. This was the norm for many reasons. Firstly, the requisite hang-overs often do not allow members to eat solid food before nightfall. As evidenced in previous postings, rounding up members is like herding cats, and requires a full day of wrangling. Finally, the club members are such dedicated nacho enthusiasts that when a plate of delectable chips is present to them they often savage said appetizer in a ravenous, blacked-out frenzy, a spectacle comprable to the feeding of blood-thirsty phiranas that is best hidden by the cover of darkness. But there was a game on, so the club met at 1 P.M. at Spirits in Cambridge. The Patriots lost miserably, but the club members drowned their sorrows in beer, nachos, and Buck Hunter Safari.

This club meeting saw the induction of two new official members into the fold, while also introducing two promising new comers. All three founders were present (Laura nearly negated her attendance when she opened her laptop in an attempt at homework. Luckily she was bluffing, and no work was done), and were joined by Kathleen, who made an unprecedented third outing. MacKenzie and Eoin both repeated, thus becoming official members. Nico and Marcos, oft-invited but elusive, rounded out the lineup and made promising debuts. When the nachos arrived, we were ready to celebrate our largest gathering to date. Unfortunately, the nachos themselves could not live up to the expectations of the club.

Scorecards were used in rating the nachos, and unfortunately the innovative tallying technology recorded largely tepid scores. The options for nachos were chili and chicken. The "chili" was really just ground beef and kidney beans soused in wet cumin, giving credence to the long-held prejudice against chili on nachos. The chicken was marginally better, but none of the ingredients wowed the members. The nachos had cheese. The nachos had salsa. The nachos had sour cream. This is all that can be said of the ingredients, and perhaps the nachos themselves: they showed up, perfunctorily. It must be noted, however, that due to the length of the game and scattered arrival times of the members, another plate was ordered later in the afternoon. This plate was enjoyed much more by the club, thanks to the good number of beers drank between servings. Perhaps this is the best recommendation for the Spirits Nachos: like B-movies and late night television, they are best appreciated when drunk. Even inebriated, Spirit Bar scored a 3 out of 5 chips (primarily due to the increasingly troublesome score inflation plaguing club tallies). The wings, touted as being the best in Cambridge, were judged "among the best in Cambridge" by those who tried them. Sadly, the nachos were among the worst.

Minutes from the January 3rd Nachopalooza: Sunset Grill

The collective New Year's resolution of the Nacho Club members was to expand our membership, venture into new nacho territory, and discover satisfying-yet-radical piles of nachos in 2010. Unlike most (all) New Years resolutions, Nacho Club met the stated goals on January third. New Members were added: in keeping with the founding bylines, Molly and Kathleen became the first official non-founding members on the third when they returned for a second nacho club meeting (Marks, a promising rookie on the nacho circuit, rounded out the line-up). New territory was explored, as well, when the group jumped on the 66 bus for a field trip to Allson. And lastly, but certainly not least, the members feasted on the most satisfactory nachos to date. In fact, the nacho experience at the Sunset Grill was so exemplary, the club awarded their higeat score yet.

Due to the rigorous debate that occurs each meeting, and impeccable tastes of the judges, it was assumed that as in figure skating and gymnastics a perfect score was not actually attainable, but instead represented the untouchable ideal meant to inspire but remain always out of reach. Not so with nacho club. 

The sunset grill offered "South of the Border Giant Fiesta Nachos," the most impressive title of any nacho the club had previously encountered. Fortunately, the mountain of chips (full sized with lettuce, no olives, and black beans, and all the usual trimming) lived up to the title. These were no appetizer nachos, but a true heaping that satisfied four members while they waited for Laura and Marks to show up unfashionably late. There was no dead zone to be seen; the black-beans were disbursed through nachos, resulting in exciting "flavor pockets." Salsa was served on the side. The chips did not disappoint, and stayed just as crunch throughout the meal despite the proliferation of toppings. Lettuce was served on top. while some were wary of this tactic, upon eating they found it added to the meal and created another level of variety. It was noted that the nachos did not stand out in any particular area, but that all ingredients met the standards the club holds. All in all, the club found the nachos to be exactly what they were looking for in competently-constructed, satisfying nachos. After the usual round-table discussion, the club awarded the nachos a 4, the highest score the club has seen, ousting the newly-crowned Shay's. But, it turned out, the Sunset Grill was not finished.  Under the dessert menu, the words Dessert Nachos caught the complete attention of the club.

Dessert Nachos. This was a gamble by the restaurant, and as the club awaited the dessert, members agreed such a radical move could only end in screaming success of the most abject failure. Tampering with nachos is not to be taken lightly. Luckily for the Sunset Grill, the Nacho Club, and the Greater Boston Area, the dessert nachos were no disappointment. Quite the opposite. In describing the inspired dessert, the club members were often left with only one word: wow. Crunchy, sugared flour-tortillas with a touch of cinnamon: wow. Whipped cream and caramel on top, raisins, chunks of apple, and caramelize banana slices distributed throughout: wow. Malted vanilla ice cream offered, like salsa, on the side: wow. A restaurant that takes a chance by moving a beloved appetizer to the desert menu, re-inventing the nacho without losing its essence: wow. Most nacho experiences end with the appetizer selection (notice the lack of nacho main courses on your next menu). The Sunset Grill appreciates the nacho in its own right, and their reward for this bold, successful experiment is to bump their score up by an additional half point, earning a 4.5 chip score.

1/10/10 Meeting Location Announced - Afternoon Playoff Extravaganza to Ensue

With Nacho Club of course!

This Sunday we'll be having a special AFTERNOON gathering to combine nachos with the return of Nico (and hence football) and wings and beer. Nachos will be had as well as "Cambridge's Best Wings" and sundry snacks. Spirits Bar, Near Porter, 1PM. Bring your hangovers, or don't. And don't forget to bring out your own Tally Card. They can be found at the very bottom of the blog.

Download the ONCTB Tally Card Today

Sunset Grill's Dessert Nachos Are Far From Barren