Nachos in Paradise: Impromptu Nachos in Wahiawa

Every time I drive thru Wahiawa, I am tempted to stop at El Palenque to try their Mexican food. I had heard good things, but my expectations were not high. Because honestly, one of the only draws to living in this paradise is its lack of quality Mexican food. Each new restaurant I try just makes my cravings increase because the food just does not meet the mark. Being from Northern Nevada where you can go to a plethora of little taquerias and eat super delicious made from scratch Mexican food all the time, my taste for Mexican is a bit biased. Since we were super early heading to an event on the North Shore, we decided to stop and do an impromptu nacho blog. There was a line of about 10 people out the door on the sidewalk. I took this as a good sign. When we walked up, there was a man picking up his order and speaking only Spanish to the waitress. Another good sign, if Mexican people eat here, it must be good! Then I noticed that the lady at the front of the line was an old neighbor of mine who had driven from Kahala to eat here. Fancy running into her all the way over on this side of the island. While we were waiting and talking story with the others waiting, we found out that the other three couples in front of us were all from California. Yet another good sign because people from California know good Mexican food too! Could this actually be a nom nom nom nom Mexican restaurant on the island that will make our bellies bueno? The restaurant itself is super small, only 6 four-top tables. We were the last to sit down and most of the other tables had their food already. Except for the latin music playing on the speakers above, the place was silent as everyone was intensely enjoying the food before them. We were extremely excited, ESPECIALLY when we saw that elote entero (sp?) - roasted corn on the cob covered in queso and chile - was on the specials menu. We ordered the chicken nachos and some chilaquiles (Nacho Cousin) to share and waited. Another bonus is that El Palenque is BYOB so grab some margaritas or whatever your poison is to enjoy when you visit it to eat.

This cute little fellow kept coming to say hi to us as we were waiting in line. He had the longest legs!

Chilaquiles - $10.95 - Corn tortillas cut into small pieces with cheese and your choice of beef, chicken, or pork covered with your choice of green, red or table salsa. AMAZING!

Heather (5) - First impression is that this is exactly what I have been looking for. Trifecta/Holy Trinity: Good environment, friendly service and authentic food. RAD: Everything! LAME: Too popular, waiting in lines no bueno. Topping to chip ratio: 5, An oasis of cilantro guacamole made the already visually dynamic presentation a completely satisfying experience on all levels. Explosion of flavor! They played Selena right before we left, made my day!

Nachos - $6.25 - Chicken, cheese, guacamole and beans. Simple yet delicious!

Shananigans (4.75) - Smothered in cheese, limited toppings. There is a nacho salad on the menu that offers more toppings like lettuce, tomato, etc. RAD: SO much real cheese, nom nom beans, the chicken is flavor explosion, you can really taste the pepper in it, the quac was bursting with cilantro. Could not stop eating it. LAME: would have loved some jalapenos on them for some spice, I like it hot! Topping to Chip Ratio: 4.75, even though there were not a lot of variety of toppings, what was on there was perfect. The flavors meshed well together and all the chips were covered. The waitress was extremely friendly and you could see the cook in the back plating the food with love. The salsa verde on the chilaquiles was so ono. Cannot wait to come back and try more food here.