Everything these days needs to be fancier than in the past. Cell phones didn’t used to have a camera, and now they have a minimum of five. Razor blades used to just be a one bladed murder implement wielded by an orangutan, and now they have a minimum of five. Cars used to be horses. While improvements are good, sometimes the old ways are the best ways. Or at least equally delicious ways.
Read MoreEssay: The Rise of Seattle's Totchos
With the West Coast on fire and Seattle having its own… issues… recently, let’s look back on better days. Like the fantastic 2015 where Tater Totchos were all the rage and an exciting new thing on the scene. and not just expected at restaurants now. Man, times change right?
Read MoreEssay: The Nacho Donut
We recently found out that Mike’s Donut’s & Chicken in Kenosha, Wisconsin closed for good, with the goodbye quote of, “We believe the future is bright in downtown Kenosha and look forward to passing on the reins and watching this beautiful property develop into an entirely new concept over the next several months.” Not sure if that is still going to be the case now considering… well… 2020, but let us reflect back on the light shining in this darkness that is the Nacho Donut.
Read MoreReview: Smokin' Bowls (Part 2)
Cheech and Chong Chili, Cheese, Chips
About a year ago I was passing through VT and stopped at Smokin’ Bowls for some nachos. I ordered the Pulled Pork Nachos (because when there are Pulled Pork Nachos you always order Pulled Pork Nachos) but always wondered how my life would have been different if I had gotten their other nacho offering, the “Cheech and Chong Chili” Nachos instead. Well step aside Gwyneth Paltrow, because these sliding doors are moving out of the way for nachos.
Read MoreHappy 125th Birthday Ignacio Anaya!
I can’t see the future, so I can’t know if Google is going to replay their Ignacio Anaya doodle again this year for his 125th birthday, but is does seem really dumb that they would celebrate his 124th and not his 125th. Big, multiple of 25 number, anniversaries we love them. Just so it doesn’t get lost to the annals of history in case they do not, here it is for your entertainment, but with the dates updated to reflect this year. As our new line of “Cool Dude” shirts in his honor will say, “Honor the Amigo, eat the ‘Cho”
August 15, 2020
Ignacio Anaya García’s 125th Birthday
On this day in 1895, Mexican culinary innovator Ignacio Anaya García was born, whose proper name is not as familiar as his nickname: “Nacho,” a common abbreviation for Ignacio. As shown in today’s Doodle, illustrated by Mexico City-based guest artist Alfonso de Anda, this particular Nacho revolutionized world cuisine by melting grated Wisconsin cheese over some jalapeno slices and totopos (tortilla chips), thus inventing the dish he dubbed Nachos especiales.
The year was 1943, and García was working as Maître d' at Club Victoria, a popular restaurant in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila. A group of American women, wives of soldiers stationed at nearby Eagle Pass Army Airbase, stopped in asking for a snack. Unable to find a chef, García took matters into his own hands, improvising the tasty treat much to his customers’ delight.
Word soon spread about the Nachos especiales, which were added to the Club Victoria menu, imitated around town, and written up in an American cookbook as early as 1949. By 1960, García had opened his own restaurant, El Nacho.
In the 76 years since their invention, nachos have spread all over the world. A mass-produced version was introduced in 1976 at Arlington Stadium in Texas, with liquefied cheese sauce pumped out of large cans. Stadiums were quickly selling more nachos than popcorn.
Although García refused to patent his creation—“It's just a snack to keep my customers happy and well-fed,” he reportedly said, “It's like any other border dish”—his name has gone down in history. Each October, Piedras Negras hosts the International Nacho Festival, and the town has erected a plaque in his honor, a fitting memorial to one man’s delicious legacy.
Guest Artist Q&A with Alfonso de Anda
Today's Doodle was created by Mexico City-based guest artist Alfonso de Anda. Below he shares his thoughts on the making of the Doodle:
Q: Why was this topic meaningful to you personally?
A: This topic was meaningful to me at a gut level, quite literally.
Q: What were your first thoughts when you were approached about the project?
A: Making a Doodle has been in my illustration bucket list for a while now, so I was instantly stoked when I read the email. It was such a nice way to start the day.
Q: Did you draw inspiration from anything in particular for this Doodle?
A: There isn't a whole lot of information on Ignacio, so I shifted my focus onto the dish itself. My approach was very straightforward; imagining Ignacio making his first plate of nachos while implicitly communicating a sense of fun.
Q: What message do you hope people take away from your Doodle?
A: I hope people get an instant crave for a snack after they see the Doodle. I also hope that they instantly drop whatever it is they're doing and satisfy that craving.
Concept sketches by guest artist Alfonso de Anda
