BEST NACHOS IN VANCOUVER

My 31st birthday, a gang of mates and an authentic Mexican joint…perfect conditions for nacho tasting. 

Doña Cata, on Victoria Drive at 34th over Collingwood way, is a bit of a trek but its reputation as one of the best Mexicans in Vancouver made it worth checking out.

More a cafe than a restaurant, the interior is every bit as vibrant as you would expect - fuchsia pink walls surround a few comfortable tables, while a taco chef works her magic behind an extensive free salsa bar.

An ice cold can of Corona in hand, I ordered the nachos borrachos for CAD $9 plus tax with a big serving of guacamole for an extra CAD $6 plus tax.

My friends all having ordered the house speciality, tacos of all varieties, I sat working my way through Corona and sangria, wondering whether I had accidentally chosen something substandard.

As the glistening heap of nachos and a hefty bowl of guacamole arrived, I wondered no more. Here was a true contender for best nachos in Vancouver.

With the exception of the guacamole, all the sauces, which included Mexican crema, chunky chopped tomatoes and refried beans, came already drenched over the chips.

Everything tasted absolutely homemade and fresh, including the guacamole, which was chunky, refreshing and as moreish as hell.

Satisfyingly, the warm tortilla chips were almost inseparable from the wedges of melted cheese binding together this birthday nachofest.

The only thing missing was chillies, so I followed the lead of my taco-eating friends and spooned on some tasty salsa verde from the salsa bar.

It wasn’t until I came to write up this review that I decided to consult the staff at Doña Cata to query the odd lack of jalapeños. It turns out I have fellow customers to blame. Their nachos used to include chillies but so many people preferred them without, the restaurant took them out permanently.

I have to admit then that these were top notch nachos and guacamole, lacking hot chillies only because of the mild tastes of Vancouverites. In the end, a great birthday present and some of the best nachos I’ve had in Vancouver so far.

Doña Cata
5076 Victoria Drive
Vancouver
V5P 3V8
http://www.donacata.com/

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It was a stormy night when we took shelter in Pepitas, hidden almost out of sight above the YVS Vitamin Store on 4th and Burrard in Kitsilano.

There seemed to be only two other customers sat in the tiny Mexican restaurant when we arrived - a couple engrossed in a game of dominoes. This turned out to be the owners.

Mexican pop music blared out of speakers near our rainy window seats and Frida Kahlo prints surrounded our tiled table.

Our server was brusque and seemed annoyed at being interrupted on a quiet night. After a quick browse of the myriad of menu choices, I went for the only nachos available.

Surprisingly these came with the guacamole included for CAD $10.95 plus tax. Adding chicken or beef brought the cost up to CAD $13.95 plus tax.

That is about everything positive I can say about these nachos.

The tortilla chips were burned, giving the whole dish a dried out, overdone flavour. Chillies and spice were nowhere to be seen either sprinkled in the nacho chips themselves or in the mediocre salsa.

At best, everything else - cheese, guacamole, beans - can only be described as ok and were so bland they merit no explanation.

These were the worst nachos I’ve had on my Vancouver ventures. Time will tell whether Pepitas can survive the opening of Chronic Tacos next door.

Pepitas
2015 Burrard Street
Vancouver
V6J 3H3
http://www.pepitasonburrard.com/

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OK, OK - I have to confess - it’s been a while since my last nacho review. A busy family Christmas of salmon, snow and sniffles somewhat got in the way of nacho eating and review writing.

But let’s start the New Year as we mean to go on - at a Mexican restaurant with a plate full of nachos!

Las Margaritas in Kitsilano is always busy and the day of my latest nachofest was no exception. It was lunchtime on a gloomy weekday but still the spacious cantina was packed with happy customers, whose level of chatter was only challenged by the Mexican folk music filling the air.

Faced with three different kinds of nachos to choose from on an extensive menu, I opted for a half order of Nachos Rancheros for CAD $6.50 plus tax.

If you fancy something meatier, you can add roasted or ground beef or shredded chicken for CAD $2.75 plus tax. Impressively, guacamole is already included - this is how nachos should be and a bargain too.

No sooner had I ordered, than my excellent server brought over a dish of free tortilla chips and salsa while I waited. As I sat admiring posters of Frida Kahlo artwork - some of my favourite paintings in the world - I couldn’t help but have a good feeling about the nacho feast to come.

When my modest nacho heap arrived, I was happy to see all the sauces were already piled high on the plate - the first time this has ever happened during my nacho adventures in Vancouver.

Indeed, the homemade guacamole was chunky and refreshing and the salsa was rich and spicy. But my romantic thoughts of finding the perfect neo-mexican nachos ended there.

A complete lack of chillies sprinkled among the cheese made the sour cream pretty redundant and the whole dish seemed to be drowning in a sea of lettuce.

Even the tortilla chips were in short supply, leaving me to try to mop up the sauces with lettuce - perhaps I should have saved some of those free ones?

Overall a fairly mediocre start to the nacho year - here’s hoping 2012 brings us more chillies, more chips and lots, lots more cheese!

Las Margaritas 1999
West 4th Avenue
Vancouver
V6J 1M7
http://www.lasmargaritas.com/

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Russian rugby, American football and Aussie Rules - what more do you need for a night of sports at the Speakeasy on Davie? Answer - great nachos of course!

The Speakeasy, full of dark red booths and big screen TVs, offers Nachos with the Works, for CAD $14.95 plus tax. Unusually, you can order a half size at CAD $9.95 plus tax but after waiting and failing to get a table at The Score, directly opposite, my hunger had gone beyond.

I opted for the full size plate plus spicy refried beans for an extra CAD $1.50 plus tax and small guacamole for CAD $2.75 more plus tax.

There is an impressive list of extras available at the Speakeasy, including spicy beef or chicken for CAD $4.00, double chicken for CAD $7.00, double cheese for CAD $3.50, large guacamole for CAD $3.75 and extra house made salsa for CAD $1.50, all plus tax of course.

With all these extras, you really can make these nachos into a mammoth serving if you’ve got the cashola to blow, but the feast that arrived in front of me needed no super sizing.

The warm, crisp chips were coated in waves of marbled cheddar and while the bottom layer did miss out on cheese, some naked nachos were much needed to scoop up all the delicious leftover toppings.

Heaps of olives, onions and tomatoes joined a generous helping of delicious refried beans, whose spiciness was only beaten by the myriad of unusual chillies lurking beneath a cheesy camouflage, most notably the deceptively named banana pepper.

The dips, while sitting sadly on the side, proved the best I’ve had so far on my quest and for once the sour cream was a crucial counterbalance to the hot kick of the banana peppers.

The homemade salsa was sweet and spicy, while the guacamole was slightly chunky, very tasty and to my delight, had added chopped tomato, something I always include when making my own.

Far from disappointing, Speakeasy’s feisty nachos were the best I’ve had so far - big and brash with one hell of a kick.

Speakeasy
1239 Davie Street
Vancouver
V6E 1N4
http://www.thespeakeasy.ca/

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Somewhat unpredictably, my quest for great nachos this week took me to Moose’s Down Under, a vast underground Aussie bar on West Pender Street.

On the night we visit, the waitresses and owners, all true Sheilas, are scurrying from table to table, trying to please diners gearing up to watch Geelong beat the West Coast Eagles in the AFL preliminary final.

Needless to say, the Aussies aren’t renowned for their nachos, their most famous dish being Burger With The Works, piled high with fried egg, beetroot, pineapple and cheese.

But when I spotted Nachos With The Works at CAD $13.99 plus tax on their extensive and mostly Antipodean menu, I thought it could be worth a crack. Did they mean the real Works?

The name of the dish certainly sounded promising, but what to make of paying extra for guacamole (CAD $1.29 plus tax) and beef/chicken (CAD $3.99 plus tax)?

Alas, when the admittedly huge serving of multicoloured tortilla chips did arrive, my suspicions were proven right. No ‘Works’ here.

But the slatherings of olives, jalapeños, tomato and melted marbled cheddar were initially a tasty, albeit standard, alternative.

Dips once again came disappointedly on the side but the spicy salsa seemed homemade, unlike the guacamole, which seemed a literally pale, slightly chunky imitation of the good stuff.

The stalwart sour cream stood, silent witness to the nacho massacre.

Sad to say, said massacre wasn’t quick enough. I’m not one to dally over any food, especially nachos, but very quickly the cheese became rubbery and the chips took on a very dry, overcooked quality.

In the end, it stopped being an enjoyable feast and I abandoned my effort to finish the dish.

Overall this was neither a great example of a Mexican dish, nor a memorable Aussie take on a tortilla chip classic. Here’s hoping the Sheilas at Moose’s decide to pioneer nachos with the real Works. That would be a real treat.

Moose’s Down Under
830 West Pender St.
Vancouver
V6C 1J8
http://moosesdownunder.com/

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A quick and dirty review as this particular nachofest took place under the heavy influence of mucho alcohol.

Stumbling down Davie Street in search of beer and food - in that order - we fell into The Score and caught the last few minutes of a Canucks match before going to town on the appetizers.

Among the Appys on offer - buy 2 get 1 free - were the CAD $17 nachos. Guacamole was an extra CAD $2.50 and if you wanted beef or chicken, that would be an extra CAD $4. All plus tax. A hefty price for a sports bar.

But there were six of us and we were hungry, so to hell with it, we ordered away. Nachos plus guac (and five more Appys) were soon on their way.

What landed several minutes later was an immense mound of nachos, with thin, crispy cheese at every level, garnished with tasty handfuls of olives, jalapeños and chopped tomato.

On the downside, the dips were on the side and none seemed homemade or particularly tasty.

But after two pitchers of lager, none of that really mattered and barely a second after I took the above picture, this unsuspecting heap of nachos was ripped to shreds by my drunken compatriots. And me. OK, mostly me.

As so often happens the morning after the night before, such excesses did come back to haunt me and I confess to feeling disappointed by The Score - a great tortilla line up let down by mediocre dips on the bench.

The Score
1262 Davie Street
Vancouver
V6E 1N3
www.scoreondavie.com

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Where better to begin my hunt for Vancouver’s best nachos than where it all began? El Furniture Warehouse on Granville Street was the first place we stopped for food after landing three weeks ago and I’m already a fan of the cheap and chilled atmosphere.

So, lounging on the padded wooden benches out front and glugging a Pacifico beer in the sunshine, I revved myself up and ordered the Nachos for 1. Here I noted, with a sense of foreboding, there were no “Nachos for more than 1” on the menu.

But, I thought, at CAD $4.95 + tax, this is a steal compared to other nacho heaps I’ve enjoyed. And even though you do pay an extra CAD $1.55 + tax for guacamole/chicken/beef, this still only brings the bill to half what you pay elsewhere.

Unfortunately though, my sense of foreboding was right. These nachos may be half the price but they really are half the size. I know, I could - and sometimes do - eat nachos all day but I think most people want something bigger than a saucer of chips.

That said, the chips themselves were large and crisp, warmed thoroughly under a thick layer of melted marbled Cheddar, and scattered with a liberal helping of chunky jalapeños. The strips of sweet red and green bell peppers were a nice addition.

Dips came on the side - a personal bugbear of mine - and the gooey guacamole clearly came straight from a jar. But the salsa roja, whilst not spicy, was obviously homemade and the sour cream was, well, sour cream.

Overall, El Furniture Warehouse was a bargainous choice - small and tasty but not quite perfectly formed.

El Furniture Warehouse
989 Granville Street
Vancouver
V6Z 1G3

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