Where To Find America's 10 Best Nachos
Nachos, in all their cheesy, crunchy, meaty goodness, are quite possibly the finest appetizer/ bar food/ party snack known to man. But unlike, say, chips and dip, nachos are very easy to screw up. When they're good, though, they're good, and these 10 places serve America's best.
American Ice Co., Washington, D.C.
The "swachos" at American Ice Company may be a little bit soupier than you're used to thanks to a big ladle of melted white cheese sauce, but when mixed in with pulled pork and chopped pickled jalapeños, the result is simple nacho perfection. Vegetarians also swear by their veggie nachos, which swaps the pulled pork for beans, corn, and pickled green beans.
Cora’s 471 Grill, Castroville, Texas
This place prides itself on serving "the best damn nachos in Texas," and everything here is made from scratch, fresh daily. Opt for the Super Nachos with ground spiced beef, cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes, and onions and enter nacho paradise.
El Vez, Philadelphia and New York City
The Macho Nachos at restaurateur Stephen Starr's Mexican hotspot tops chips with melted Jack cheese, black beans, salsa ranchera, sour cream, pickled red onion, jalapeño, and crumbled housemade chorizo.
Juan’s Flying Burrito, New Orleans
This funky New Orleans joint serves some of the city's best burritos, but don't miss the five varieties of nachos. You can top your chips with melted cheese, sour cream, salsa, jalapeños, and your choice of beef, chicken, steak, or shrimp; or you can choose from their house varieties: Super Nachos Grande (ground beef, chicken, beans, cheese, sour cream, guac, salsa, jalapeños); Hawaii 5-0-4 (bacon, pulled pork, mango salsa, pineapple salsa, chipotle cream, avocado, cilantro, jalapeños); Three Amigos (beans, tofu, melted cheese, lettuce, Greek yogurt, salsa); or Jerked Nachos (jerk chicken, beans, cheese, avocado, cilantro, chipotle cream, pineapple salsa).
Little Goat, Chicago
Chef Stephanie Izard's insanely popular diner-style follow-up to her Girl & The Goat is offering some spot-on nacho perfection: barbecue pork, beans, pickled peppers, Cheddar, sour cream, and avocado atop housemade corn chips.
Professor Thom’s, New York City
Unfortunately for Yankee fans, New York's nest nachos are served in notorious Boston bar Professor Thom's, but they'll just have to visit in the off-season and ignore all the Sox paraphernalia. The nachos here really are a thing of beauty, heaped onto a silver platter (a large can easily serve six). A pile of chips are topped with an inordinate amount of melted cheese as well as individual scoops of guacamole, pico de gallo, and pickled jalapeños, as well as a ramekin of salsa. It's a work of art.
Saucy Porka, Chicago
This hip Chicago restaurant has roots in an Asian-Latin fusion truck, which explains its creative menu as well as its non-traditional approach to nachos: The nachos are topped with pork, chicken, or miso short rib along with scallions, kimchi, and jalapeños garlic aïoli. One bite and you'll be putting kimchi on all your nachos from now on.
Tinga, Los Angeles
This LA hotspot offers three varieties of nachos, cochinita pibil (spicy slow-roasted pork), moist and flavorful shredded chicken tinga, and black bean with goat cheese. Served with your choice of guacamole, queso fresco, crema, and pico de gallo, you may need to order all three.
Trapper Grill, Moran, Wyo.
Located in Grand Teton National Park's Signal Mountain Lodge, the low-key Trapper Grill has one claim to fame: Its "Signal Mountain of Nachos," which can easily feed four. Piled so high on a plate as to defy gravity, this mountain of chips is stacked with plenty of melted cheese, taco beef, shredded chicken, black beans, onions, tomatoes, and black olives with sour cream and homemade salsa on the side. Adding homemade guacamole costs $3.95 extra; we suggest you spring for it.
Velvet Cantina, San Francisco
You'll find nachos of some sort or another at just about every Mission burrito spot in the city, but none do it better than at Velvet Cantina, where homemade chips are topped with chile con queso, black beans, sour cream, and guacamole. Add chicken (or better yet, chorizo), and you'll reach stratospheric levels of nacho deliciousness.