Nachos in Paradise: Chiko's Tavern and Kelly's 30th Birthday Celebration

In honor of Kelly visiting us on the mainland for her birthday, we had a special nacho night just for her. We also learned that it can be very dangerous to mix a nacho night with a 30th birthday on a Tuesday when $2 beers are involved. The night started off so innocent with the gang arriving at the quaint, yet a little dark, Chiko's Tavern. We got a killer spot in the corner with plush booths, a couple tables and ottomans for additional seats. Our server, Quinn, was amazing. Not only was he the only person serving all the tables on the floor, but he was the only bartender. I cannot even imagine how many steps he ran back and forth with all of our drink orders. The menu pleasantly surprised us with not just regular nachos, but tater tot nachos too! Nom nom nom nom nom nom. Reasonably priced as well, just $7.50 for the tater tot nachos and $6 for the regular (you can also add kalua pork for $2 to either). After the gang sporadically strolled in, we ordered 5 or 6 orders and prepared to feast. They were served in baskets and a decent size, especially for the price. The only thing was the lighting was pretty dark so we could not see what we were eating. The regular nachos had chips that at first we thought were wontons because they were super tasty. Come to find out they are flour tortillas that they fry up in house. Thanks to our extremely attentive server, the drinks just kept-a-coming. Once the shots started happening and we were trying to figure out where to go next to celebrate, the evening took a whole different path, and for the worse. Extremely funny, but definitely for the worse. We decided on Pint + Jigger around the corner since Kelly was such a beer lover. Upon arrival there were no communal seats together so we sat in a line upon the wall and played telephone. Don Frijoles was so toasted by this time, he messed it up every time. Once a table did open up, the gregarious group moved over. And then there were shots. Shortly after, one of our lovely ladies who was definitely loving life that night was asked to leave after she sexy danced the floor and the bench of the table. We stayed for a bit until it became clear that the Don Frijoles was next on the managers list. At this point, he was just mumbling and occasionally trying to sing songs and/or obscenities. All we had to do was close out and leave. And then the computer systems went down. We tried to wait it out, partaking in libations as we sat around of course. Each one of us tried our own technique of trying to get thru to Don Frijoles to pay his tab with no avail until the manager finally came over and said he had to go. We tried to put him in a cab, but he did not know his address. Lucky a fellow nacho friend had been there before so she hopped in for the ride. Leave no nacho friend behind! Once we got the two drunky poos home, we headed that way ourselves...with the little angels on our shoulders telling us how comfy our beds are. In the end, the little devil won, because there was another place nearby with $2 beers. Hard to pass up such a deal. The birthday girl, however, had had enough. She walked the entire trip home with hiccups and fell right to bed. We hope you had an amazing 30th birthday Kelly, even with the drunky poo drama. As Don Frijoles put it, "I may be crazy sometimes, but we all are. That's why we are all friends." Well put my friend. On a side note, Didio came up with the grand idea of having a nacho friend weekend in Vegas. Scared and ridiculously excited. Let's make this happen nacho friends!

Kelly (3.5) - Awesome! Good size portion for the price. RAD: Good price@ Easy to order vegetarian or meat. Homemade chips. LAME: Fake nacho cheese. T:C Ratio=3, too much toppings on top. Tater tots had almost too much toppings. Quinn was very attentive and totes awesome. What a wonderful way to celebrate my 30th birthday. I had a blast!

Traci (3-regular, 2.5-tater tots) - Covered in nacho cheese sauce. RAD: Interesting flour tortilla chips with good crunch. Olives. LAME: Not a lot of variety to the toppings. Salsa is blah. Tater tots crumbled apart, good thing we had chopsticks. T:C Ratio=2, lots of toppings but all empty chips underneath. No variety, need guacamole and beans! Quinn was cool! Never been to Chikos before, but I would come back. Thought the chips were wontons because they were so airy and crispy.

Julia and Erik (3) - Nachos in a basket, not so sure about that? RAD: Wonton chips LAME: NO BEANS T:C Ratio=3. We love Quinn!

Shananigans (3.5, love 2 options!) - Round baskets, it's a little dark in the corner to see anything. RAD: Home friend flour tortilla chips were tasty tasty tasty and stayed crunchy. Tasted kinda like wonton chips. LAME: Kalua pig a little on the salty side, no spice…dande esta jalapenos? T:C Ratio=4, everything has stuff, tater tots were covered, chips had a couple empty stragglers. Quinn was amazing. Rad seating options with comfy chairs and pull over ottomans. Quinn ran back and forth keeping our drinks filled always with a smile on his face.

Erica (4-only my 3rd nacho night) - Excellent. I can't hardly see any chips/tots under all the toppings. RAD: Wonton chips, Quinn is pretty awesome LAME: A bit too salty. T:C Ratio=4.5. It's dark and I can't really see what I am writing.

Didio (4) - Excellent presentation RAD: Wonton chips, tater tots. LAME: No guac, jalapenos. T:C Ratio=4. The service was great!

Will (4.105) - Wooooooo I'm gonna destroy this! RAD: Dude, tater tots. LAME: Nachos with chopsticks. T:C Ratio=5, the tater tot nachos were nothing but toppings, awesome. 3.5, regular nachos not so much. Quinn was great, very attentive, even though he was busy.

Grannysaurus (3.5, mostly because I don't care for the cheese) - Very colorful and carefully placed! RAD: TATER TOTS! Potatoes rule! LAME: The cheese isn't very tasty, I usually love liquid cheese. T:C Ratio=They took the word "topping" very literally as the chips on the bottom were nakies! Quinn is awesome and very attentive. Yay Quinn!

Don Frijoles (3.1) - You get plenty fried white tortillas. RAD: Nacho friends LAME: No jalapenos. T:C Ratio=3.1, I love French fried taters. Kate is a piece of pie.