Yardhouse

Steve, Kelly, Kate, Autumn, Tom, Eric, Julia, Erik and I all got together at Yardhouse the other night to evaluate their nachos.  The Yardhouse is rad because it has late night happy hour and large booths that fit a huge gang like ours.  Unfortunately there is ALWAYS a wait at Yardhouse and sometimes it can be like 70-80 minutes.  I did call ahead this time and they let us put our number down for call ahead seating which cuts your wait time in half.  We only had to wait about 15 minutes...yay!  The menu is limited with nacho options, it only offers you Chicken Nachos.  We ordered two orders (one with the gardein for the vegetarians at the table.)  Halfway thru eating our order, the waiter let us know that steak nachos are an option that is not listed on the menu.  That would have been nice information to know while we were ordering.

Nacho Friends...

The nachos were $11.85 and listed with the following ingredients:  Chicken, spicy pinto beans, cheddar jack cheese, red & green sauce, tomato, cilantro, onions, guacamole, sour cream.

Vegetarian nachos came out with a little toothpick letting us know the difference. 

Don Frijoles (3) - Presentation was bueno, but they need more kick!  RAD: Plenty of Queso.  LAME: Make sure to order water to was the bland taste of boiled chicken out of your mouth.   Chips + cheese + jalapenos = NACHOS.  Everything else is just fluff.  I like fluff, but start with the basics.  On a side note, Yardhouse is a fun place.  I saw a guy dancing on a keg of beer.  Tonight the service gets 5 sombreros out of 5.

Steve (2.5) - The flatness allows well dispension of cheese and the bean have a nice depth of flavor.  RAD: Chips are not too thick but still don't fall apart and the fake chicken is nice.  LAME:  Guacamole is a little too "pea-green" in color for me.  The topping to chip ratio is about a 3, not enough of either, especially the chicken pieces.  The waiter, Scott, is handsome but needs to flirt more.  The Yardhouse is dark, mysterious and touristy with fast service tonight.  The 80's music playing totally helps.  Scott didn't start off strong but by the end he made a come back. 

Even though Tom is a vegan and can't eat most of what is on nachos, he still comes and plays along.  We love you Tom!

Tom (2) Sorry Yardhouse! - Presentation is plain.  RAD:  Ability to substitute the Gardein chicken for the vegetarians. LAME: Limited nacho selection (hidden steak nachos).   They were a bit light on the toppings, but the classic rock playing was cool!

Boo for dark pictures!

Erik and Julia (2) - Presentation:  Eaten (we showed up late and everyone had already started!)  RAD: Fake Chicken. LAME: Poorly seasoned.  Excellent atmosphere with great company!  Poop!

Lady and the Tramp style nacho eating

 Kelly (3) Meh - Very colorful, nice and flat distribution, each chip has something.  RAD:  Baked, multi-color chips and good tasting beans.  LAME:  Only 1 nacho menu item.  Guacamole is NASTY!  :(  Every chip has toppings - a bit too much.  Server was attentive to my needs and the wait was not too long.

Katia (3.2) Love the gardein option... goveg.com -  I like the duo of sour cream balls and I also like the blue corn chips.  Could be bigger for the $$$ (a mound).  RAD: So ono!!  LAME: Beans should be frijoles negro.  Need more queso...duh.  Atmosphere is fun...love the big booths!  1st impression:  server not friendly, not very good at being an actor-key part of the job!!!

Tom made art with his chicken sticks

Autumn (2.5) These aren't winning any awards - Presentation was very eye catching and colorful.  RAD: Multicolor chips are rad always!  LAME: Definitely not worth $11.85 and boiled chicken is just gross!  There seemed to be a lot of toppings.  Too bad they were all kinda yucky, but then again I am picky.  Love the Yardhouse and my friends.  Even if the nachos suck, still a great time!

Steve's first night out with the the NACHO CONNOISSEURS...he dug right in!

Shananigans (2) - The sourcream balls and guacamole ball looked like a face when they set them down.  Tricolor chips always make for pretty presentation.  RAD:  Beans have good flavor and I love green sauce.  LAME: No jalapenos or spice of any kind; fake chicken had more flavor than the most bland chicken I have tasted in my life on these nachos.  The toppings although they were covering all the chips, were minimal.  Very few of each topping.  There were more beans found under the chips then on top...upside down nachos. 

OVERALL (2.5) - It would have been nice for the server to tell us about the steak nacho option when we ordered.  We did get the fastest service I have ever had at the Yardhouse.  And Scott turned out to be a good waiter, regardless of the first impression. In the pursuit of awesome nachos on the island...we must try the good with the bad.  And these were just bad.  But as Autumn said above, hanging out with our friends and eating nachos is always a good time...no matter how crappy they may be!

Mahalo!