Tag Archives: Sports Bars

Vito’s Tavern: Leave the Gun, Take the Nachos

13 Oct

We normally avoid the North End like overpriced, overtouristed area should be avoided, but also because even if we did manage to find Italian nachos, they would probably be terrible. After a mediocre experience at Anchovies and a downright disastrous attempt at making our own pizza-inspired ‘chos, we had little hope.  But hunger goes hand in hand with poor judgement, so we found ourselves at the semi-new Vito’s Tavern in the North End, to try their ‘Bruzzese Sausage nachos, with “the usual.”

  • Appearance: (8) Ooze is the name of the game here, as we immediately spot the double-team of cheese AND cheese sauce.  Red-white-green toppings were very appropriate, considering the neighborhood.
  • Quality of Ingredients: (7) Even without our most cheese-sauce-friendly correspondent in tow, we had good things to say about the cheese sauce. It was right on the border of homemade-or-not, enough so that we still aren’t sure if it was from a can or the kitchen.  The chips were also debatably made in-house.  Guacamole was fresh, heavy on the red onion, and the salsa was more of a pico of fresh veggies.  We enjoyed the Italian sausage, though larger pieces might have made a bigger impact on the palate.
  • Distribution of Toppings: (8) Vito’s employed a distribution tactic we had never seen before– a layer of black beans on the bottom of the plate, but nowhere else.  We found this a little odd until we considered that the beans elevated the chips enough to keep them from getting totally sodden in cheese sauce. Was this intentional?  Unknown, but it did work. As could be expected, the combination of cheese and queso sauce left practically no chip untouched.
  • Price:  (8) At $11, these provided an ample amount of heart-stopping goodness for two people.
  • Overall: 31/40.  These were more Italian-inspired than a direct translation, earning them a place in the Best of Boston rather than the Specialty Nacho category.  But who cares? They were pretty darn tasty.  We are curious to come back and try the vegetarian nachos, with roasted and sauteed veggies.

The Stadium: A Sporting Chance at Decent Nachos

4 Jun

South Boston may seem a little off the beaten path, and indeed had long been off our nacho radar.  However, only the briefest of internet searches reveals that Southie is a veritable treasure trove of virgin nacho destinations (except for the Boston Beer Garden, which considering it is related to both great and terrible nacho destinations Brighton Beer Garden, the assorted Taverns in the Squares, Joshua Tree and Shitty Side, is something we will only approach with great caution).  In the interested of breaking new ground (and evening out the north-heavy Nacho Map), we ventured to The Stadium for some nachos and beeyah.  As much of a sports bar as you will ever find (the waitresses wear modified soccer uniforms, which, upon consideration, doesn’t make a lot of sense for an American sports bar), The Stadium was pleasantly uncrowded despite an impending Bruins playoff game.  And thence came the nachos:

  • Appearance: (7) Very colorful, but in an unsettling way.  Only canned condiments and pre-made chips are ever that bright.
  • Quality of Ingredients: (5) Jarred salsa, guacamole from a bucket, and the chips, while colorful, were a little stale.  The chili was good but had a strange hint of summer sausage flavor, which, while not unpleasant, was a little odd.  We were puzzled by the sour cream, which appeared to have some sort of chives mixed in, but with no discernible effect on the flavor.
  • Distribution of Toppings: (6)  While there was a fair amount of chili, the cheese was not entirely melted, which hampered distribution.
  • Price: (8.3)  In this age of nacho inflation, it’s nice to see a sizable plate of nachos, with chili for only $10.
  • Overall: 26.3.  These nachos were exactly what we expected from the place, nothing more, nothing less.  Edible, even enjoyable, but worth neither a long review or a return visit.

No one’s first time is all that great, right?  On to bigger and better Southie nachos!

Hurricane O’Reilly’s: Naturally, a Disaster

4 Dec

Save for The Fours and their delicious buffalo chicken nachos, the bars of the North Station area remain an unknown quantity to us. Perhaps it’s because we know exactly what to expect from them: crowds of Bruin and Celtic jersey-sporting bros in varying states of intoxication, out-of-towners who don’t know any better, average draft lists, and mediocre, overpriced food.  Before attending a recent Celtics game, we put our theory to the test and went right for the heart of Bro-Town: Hurricane O’Reilly’s.  The crown jewel in the strand of mass-produced Mardis Gras beads that is the Glynn Hospitality Group, Hurricane O’Reilly’s is the kind of place that’s sort of comforting in it’s timeless, generic blandness (and indeed, at least the website is in a time warp: it refers to TD Garden as the Fleet Center and has a completely obsolete menu).  Surprised to find the place rather empty for right before a game and 3(!) types of nachos on the menu, we forewent the plain (boring!) and buffalo chicken (too many bad memories) versions and ordered the Nachos Grande, which came with chili and BBQ pork.

  • Appearance: (4) For nachos “grande”, these certainly did not live up to the size of their name.  All of the colors seemed faded, and the salsa and sour cream were in plastic takeout containers.
  • Quality of Ingredients: (5.5) The chili was watery, and some of the chips were a little stale.  The large chunks of BBQ pork were OK, but would never have been tasty enough to carry a pulled pork sandwich on their own.  The red onions were intended to be pickled (which would have been a lovely touch) but still had too much of a bite to eat on their own.  And the cheese, while it was not quite the dreaded American cheese, came very close (we dubbed it “Guam cheese”).
  • Distribution of Toppings: (7) There was decent distribution, and even some cheese padding on the plate.  The watery chili made things soggy and sort of disappeared into the other ingredients; we wouldn’t have known it was there if it hadn’t been on the menu.
  • Price: (4) On the Sunset scale of size-to-price ratio, these barely registered.  But hey, it’s downtown…
  • Overall: 20.5/40.  We debated heading over to The Fours after the game to wash away these bad nacho memories with some good ones.  You would be wise to do the same, or just head there in the first place.
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