You need a fairly sturdy chip for good nachos. Something that can withstand the glorious mass of meat and cheese and pico de gallo and jalapenos. Fuck I'm hungry now
It requires the right kind of chips (size and strength) the right kind of cheese (needs to have the right stringy consistency to hold together but not too strong that it fights the chip being pulled away) and it needs to have the right amount of toppings spread thinly and evenly across the plate.
Too many places use anemic chips or way too much refried beans/other toppings. They layer them too deep as opposed to wide. They either don't melt the cheese enough or they melt it too much and then serve it once it's already started to hardened.
Truthfully nachos are a difficult dish to do correctly, but when you get good nachos they are absolutely heavenly.
I think one of the biggest problems people have is that they assume there is some level of skill present in food service providers and restaurants - There really isn't.
Obviously many are skilled, but in a general sense, people don't know what they're doing with food and they just throw ingredients in a heap and heat it up.
The internet is filled with fake culinary people wearing blackly latex gloves, they have pig butchery tattoos, and they think a brioche bun is how you serve a hamburger. Like no.
Did you get nachos from a vending machine in a rural, Midwestern, gas station bathroom? I'm trying to imagine the food crime you experienced, but I've had 7-Eleven nachos better than described. Who hurt you?
A proper nacho plate is made like a lasagna/casserole, with proper layering. Most people just dump chips and then toppings right on top. Imo this is a taco salad more than nachos.
Nachos and salads are the same thing, a messier version of a sandwich or taco. Or are sandwiches and tacos just really convenient forms of salads or nachos? I'm not sure.
This is the way. Especially if you are using queso.
I worked on various homemade nacho techniques w/ queso to see if there was a way to serve them without the chips getting soggy and messy. It’s pretty much impossible unless you can serve and eat them within 2 mins.
Queso and toppings on the side fare sooooo much better. Maybe it’s more work but worth it for the superior nacho experience.
Fuck. That's so simple! Other places do it with broth/sauce, and noodles/rice... Why TF don't they do this with ordered nachos!? Even my lazy ass has no issues with pouring cheese sauce on chips...
Only nachos I like are the skating rink/gas station nachos that are only the cheap salty chips and that wonderful hot queso cheese that isn't really cheese.
Nachos with toppings like beans, rice, real cheese and olives are disgusting.
A really incredible plate of nachos is a great pleasure of life, but most places do suck at them. You basically need to fry your own tortilla chips, because anything that came packaged will not be able to survive a good number of toppings.