Hey, Camp Fans!
Are you nuts for nachos? Who doesn’t love that salty crunch or the lack thereof from a pile of chips that have soaked up some delicious cheese sauce? Nachos with cheese are a common concession at sporting events, state fairs, and movie theaters. How do you make a good thing better? Add more! For today—National Nacho Day—I took a poll around the office to see what peoples’ favorite toppings are for what’s known as Loaded Nachos.
But before we get into that, let’s go over the quick backstory of Nachos. How did these particular variety of chips get their name? The story takes place in the 1940s in a Northern city of Mexico called Piedras Negras. It begins one night at a restaurant when some regular customers came just after closing time. They were very hungry, so the chef seated them anyway.
He explained that there wasn’t much left in the kitchen, but he could go make do with what remained. He cut up some tortillas and fried the pieces, melted some cheese on top, and chopped up some jalapeño peppers. The regulars raved about what a delicious plate the chef had made. The chef’s name: Ignacio, known by all his friends as Nacho.
As the southwestern dish grew in popularity, people started putting their own spin on it, creating their own variation of ‘nachos’. They sprinkled corn on top or pulled pork. Some folks added sour cream while others added pineapple. And some did all of the above and them some more! Loaded nachos were born.
So what do people like around the office here at Everything Summer Camp?
To Cheese or Not to Cheese
Cheese is pretty much a must for everyone here when it comes to nachos. Some folks insist on cheese sauce while others prefer shredded cheese. Some heat the cheese up or melt the shreds. Anita, our Lead Buyer, explained that the shredded cheese would melt appropriately with the heat from the meat. And, of the 8 people surveyed, only our Vice President, Mark, didn’t bother to mention the cheese at all.
The Power of Sour
Six of the eight surveyed said they need sour cream on their nachos. Only two of us including myself said no to the cream. An interesting addition to sour cream was western dressing Anita recommended to try.
Beef up your Nachos
Everybody mentioned some kind of meat in their list of toppings with only one exception from our Operations Manager, Brian. Other items took priority for him. Others specified taco-flavored ground beef, while others just said ground beef or hamburger. Mark was the only one to veer off the ground beef path and say he goes for steak on his nacho plate.
Special Mentions
Black olives were important for only three folks Brian, Anita, and me. Only a couple people mentioned jalapenos like Mark and myself. And it was only Diane and I who mentioned guacamole. Only Brian and Drew, our Marketplace Manager, go for tomatoes, but Drew specified the tomatoes be stewed. Drew and Mark were the only two to include raw onions as one of the most important ingredients. It was just Mark who included pinto beans. And, lastly, as one of the stranger ingredients included, our Graphic Artist, Amy, said she would add salt—in place of salsa if need be. I guess, the chips aren’t salty enough for her!
There was one thing that everybody agreed on and that is a plate of nachos sounds pretty good after talking about it. Maybe you got some ideas from us for your own plate of nachos. Or if you already have your nachos down to a science like some of us do, just enjoy your own mouth-watering creation for National Nacho Day. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!
- John