by Emma

Taqueria Diana

Taqueria Diana has four locations throughout the city: Hell’s Kitchen, East Village, Williamsburg and LES. Known for serving their nachos on a metal sheet tray rather than a plate, they’re on Gothamist, Thrillist, and Foursquare’s “Best of…” lists.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Friday, June 22nd, 5:00pm
Nacho Style: Mexican Nachos
Price: $12.00 for just cheese; $14.50 with meat (we ordered carnitas). Guac is 75 cents extra.

Daisy had passed by the Williamsburg location on a recent trip to the cobbler and seen a platter of nachos served to a table of attractive millennials. They looked delicious! It was clear that Taqueria Diana would be our next stop.

Beers
Although we researched the location menus in advance, we did not plan appropriately for beverages. Only the Williamsburg and Hell’s Kitchen locations have full bars. Neither of us partook of the relatively meager beer selection at the LES location. Williamsburg has some delicious-looking and affordable cocktails.

Daisy: All I wanted was a margarita, which this location did not serve.
Emma: I also arrived very much looking forward to margaritas, only to discover that they weren’t available. The fact that I had several margaritas the previous day was immaterial.

The Bar
Size and ambiance vary by location.  The LES one is tiny, with a hole-in-the-wall vibe.

taqueria diana storefront

The storefront at Taqueria Diana on the Lower East Side.

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by Emma

Warren 77

After several weeks of gourmet nachos, we were eager to return to something a little bit humbler. Bar nachos were in order. Warren 77 fit the bill perfectly–it’s a sports bar in Tribeca with a relaxed atmosphere, bubble hockey, and glass-topped arcade game tables that allow patrons to drink and play Pac-Man at the same time.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, June 17th, 7:00pm
Nacho Style: Bar Nachos
Price: $14.00 (chicken, chili, or guac are $4 extra)

It was a beautiful evening, and neither of us had eaten lunch. Apparently the New Yorker  once rated Warren 77’s nachos the best in the city, and as faithful New Yorker readers we found this very exciting (NOTE: Warren 77 claims that this is true, but I can find NO PROOF OF THIS ONLINE).

bubble hockey

Daisy tries her hand at Warren 77’s bubble hockey table.

Beers
This was a bit of a sticky spot. On paper, their draft list wasn’t bad–ten taps, with a decent variety of beer types. In reality, however, they were out of almost all of them.

Daisy: Ommegang Witte; some weird pilsner that I regret ordering.
Emma: Cigar City “Double IPA.” The menu did not say which one, which I found annoying because Cigar City has multiple double IPAs and they are not all the same. Maybe Cestero?

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by Emma

Mexicue

Mexicue is a small chain with three locations in Manhattan and one in Stamford, CT.  They specialize in tequila, bourbon, and mix-and-match tacos, sliders, and burrito bullets. We chose the Chelsea location, which is conveniently near a puppy store.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, June 10th, 6:15pm
Nacho Style: Mexican Nachos, Fancy Nachos
Price: $12.75 (tuna ceviche nachos), $10 (classic nachos)

Yes, we got two kinds of nachos. Emma had a lot of residual hunger from a full-day dodgeball tournament on Saturday, and Daisy was very curious about the tuna ceviche nachos but not willing to commit to them. Today’s post will therefore feature two separate nachos sections, a first for us here at NYC Nacho Quest.

Mexicue in Chelsea

The fully stocked bar at Mexicue in Chelsea.

Beers
Like at Coppelia, neither of us drank beers. Unlike at Coppelia, this wasn’t because the menu lacked beer options. Instead, it was because the margaritas looked (and were) delicious.

Daisy: Smoky margarita (tequila blanco, mexcal, mole bitters, chili simple syrup, lime juice, chili lime salt)
Emma: Spicy margarita (fireball tequila, jalapeno, chili simple syrup, lime juice, habanero bitters)

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by Emma

Valhalla

Disclosure: We visited Valhalla before we created this blog and did not take notes, so this entry might not live up to our usual standard of detail. While we felt that Valhalla’s nachos deserved a review, we did not feel that they merited a second visit.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, May 6, 7:00pm
Nacho Style: Bar Nachos
Price: $13.00

Heartbroken from the loss of South’s, we were eager to find a replacement. Valhalla had come onto our radar about a year prior, when we were looking for a Midtown bar that had an extensive beer selection, cheap food, and readily available seating (we failed, although were able to find several places that met two of three). Emma had also previously lunched at Valhalla with former coworkers.

valhallanyc

DISCLAIMER: This picture is from Google. We did not take pictures here.

Beers
Daisy: Daisy does not recollect what beer she had. This is why we usually try to write reviews immediately after our visits.
Emma: An IPA of some kind (delicious) and a porter or stout (too sweet/boozy)

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by Emma

Coppelia

It was a muggy Manhattan evening and everybody in New York was at Coppelia! Daisy had already had five free tacos, so her appetite for nachos was somewhat diminished for this one. Emma, on the other hand, postponed dinner to take advantage of Coppelia’s extensive non-nacho food menu.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, May 20, 8:30pm
Nacho Style: Fancy Nachos
Price: $10.95

Coppelia came highly recommended–we had seen it on multiple “Best Nachos” lists, and several acquaintances had suggested it as well. We were eager to break away from bar-style nachos and try something a bit more interesting.

coppelia-outside

Some of New York’s trademark scaffolding nearly marred Coppelia’s friendly diner-style facade.

Beers
Neither of us drank beer (more on that later). We had cocktails instead.
Daisy: A gussied-up Matador
Emma: A Gran Paloma

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by Emma

Professor Thom’s

It was a dark and stormy night, and the usually bustling Professor Thom’s was empty. It was a promising start to a delightful nachos experience.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, May 13, 9:30pm
Nacho Style: Bar Nachos
Price: $17 for a single (serves 1-2) with chicken

Professor Thom’s came recommended by a number of Best Nachos lists. We’d heard about them in the past while searching for a good Game of Thrones screening, but had never before made the trip.

Beers
Daisy: Harpoon Camp Wannamango
Emma: Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

The Bar
Professor Thom’s is a Boston sports bar often filled to the brim with Red Sox, Patriots, or Celtics fans. It has a spacious downstairs bar area and a private screening room upstairs. On this rainy Sunday night, we had the bar to ourselves.

professor-thoms-bar

The bar at Professor Thom’s in Union Square.

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