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

Welcome to the Official Nacho Club Tally Blog

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).

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.

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 as Brookline, Lexington, Newton, and Ireland specifically for the event. The only slight mar on the evening was the lack of founding member, Laura, who chose to study in the library rather than travel to Central square and indulge in a beer-fueled pig out of nachos, wings, and sweet-potatoe fries (a decision completely unfathomable to all).

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.

Minutes from the November 22nd Meeting: 19 Trowbridge St, Apt #6

At the very first meeting it was suggested that Nacho Club is headed towards a heart-warming ending where the club members realize that the nachos they have been searching for were inside themselves the whole time, and the quality of nachos enjoyed on Sunday certainly speaks to this storybook conclusion. Because Laura's attendance was in question, and Sean and Mike wanted to be thrifty, and the many friends who expressed their enthusiastic commitment to nacho club over beers all abstained, again, from actually joining in, an official Nacho Club outing was nixed. Instead, Sean threw together an exemplary stack of nachos using steak, two kinds of beans, guac, sour cream, a veritable salsa buffet, and much fancy cheese, thereby combinding the many lessons of nacho club onto one platter. Salsa was made available on the side as well as on the chips, to avoid the drying-out recently experienced at Tommy Doyles. Cheese and beans were distributed evenly throughout the multi-layered feast, thus negating the dreaded Dead Zone of Daedalus infamy. The only missing ingredient was the perfect chip; indeed, the chips used (blue nacho chips) left something to be desired. Let the record show that this may have been due to Laura's absence. As the resident chip snob, her input may have led to an increased chip excellence (especially if the club had used chips on par with Borders chips). The club members decided not to vote, as they would be biased. But, as nacho enthusiasts and professional nacho judges, the club can confidently say that with a few minor corrections their brand of nachos could become an undeniable force in the Cambridge nacho community.

Minutes from the November 15th Meeting: Tommy Doyle's (Harvard Square)

Once again a trio and not a troupe, the gang headed to Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square. Nachos were ordered with chicken and guacamole, as well as a side salad (Laura) and some incredibly unhealthy corned beef and cheese steak fries (Mike and Sean). It was agreed that the plentiful toppings added to the nacho plate's value, although more salsa was desired and the portion was only of an average size. The chicken left a little to be desired, and, while not as bad as last week's specimen, there was a noticeable dead zone in bottom layer. Mike and Sean preferred the Daedalus chips, but Laura ardently preferred these, most likely because they were multicolored. It should be noted that the server was overly friendly and persistent in talking about Nacho Club with us, yet slow to deliver the check. With two votes for 3 and one for 2.5, the group agreed on a decidedly average 3 of 5 chips overall score.

Nacho Club will be taking a hiatus as Laura attends and perhaps runs a marathon next Sunday the 22nd.

Minutes from the November 8th Meeting: Daedalus

On our way to some other place (Shay's) Sean endorsed somewhat tepidly, we decided to venture in Daedalus.
Nachos existed at this meeting and were eaten, adding much-needed credibility to the club.
The nachos were excellent. The toppings were plentiful, coming standard with salsa, sour cream, beans, olives(removed) and guac (bonus). We upgraded to the Chicken Nachos for an additional three dollars.
During the meeting, Laura repeatedly tried to find fault with the chips, which were fine, and was justly shouted-down by Mike and Sean who suggested Laura was holding the nachos to an impossibly high standard which may in fact never be met (let the record show Laura was suffering from the plague at the time).
The only suggested drawback was the infamous deadzone underneath the first layer of the chips. This seems to be an occupation hazard, but could have been remedied had additional condiments been served on the side.
Overall, the club felt comfortable awarding Daedalus 3.5 chips out of 5. Although the nachos were delicious and plentiful and satisfied all our basic nacho expectations, they did not add to the genre of Nacho in a significant way, thus limiting their scoring potential.

Next week's goal: more than three members!

Minutes from the November 1st Meeting: Border Cafe

Laura, Mike, and Sean met at Borders Cafe around six. Shortly after sitting down, they discovered that the Borders Cafe does not serve nachos. This resulted in a negative opinion of the Border Cafe, but also reflected poorly on Laura, Mike, and Sean, as the first meeting of Nacho Club concluded without anyone actually eating any nachos.
-Let it be noted that Laura did not appreciate paying $4 for Lone Star beer, and all three in attendance left with stained shirts/pants--in the true spirit of Nacho Club.

Stay tuned for the next Nacho Club meeting(hopefully with nachos)!