Nachos in Paradise: International Day of the Nachos - SWIM at Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach

Not only was it International Day of the Nacho, but it was Honolulu PRIDE! I got up early and headed over to Magic Island to be a part of the Wang Chung's float (bonus PRIDE pics at the end of the blog). We were all dressed like Power Rangers with different colored shirts that when you lifted above your head made a mask. It was too much fun. We marched the long route, giving high fives to everyone along the way. My arm was so sore at the end. I made sure everyone was applying sunblock because it was hot AF out there and no shade cover. However, in my diligence to make sure everyone else was taken care of, I forgot to apply to my face. So as you will see in the pictures below, my face is super red. 7+ years in Hawaii and you think I would learn this little lesson by now.

We might be biased but we are pretty adorable for International Day of the Nachos in our matching Nacho Problem shirts

After the parade and post-parade parties at all the places in Waiks, I headed home to change into my International Day of the Nachos outfit to match with Nacho Libra. Once again, if you ask us how many matching outfits we need, the answer is, "ALL OF THEM!" We walked down to the Hyatt just as the sun was starting to set and ordered the works nachos with spicy queso. Holy expensive Batman! The nachos were $25 for us to add the beans, meat, and spicy queso. DAMN that is some Waikiki pricing. The view was totally epic though, overlooking Kalakaua and the ocean below. Our waiter was not attentive at all. We ordered the nachos and told him we would probably order a drink but we just needed to review the menu a little. He never came back until the nachos were in his hand. I decided not to order a drink because of his lack of service.

The nachos were weird and by weird I mean they were like nacho soup. Maybe they are less soupy without the addition of the spicy queso? I don't know. You couldn't find most of the ingredients under the queso so it was an adventure with each bite wondering what you were going to get. Traci accidentally ate a jalapeno...oh no! At one point when we had eaten quite a bit, we were surprised to then find the sour cream. You definitely needed a fork to eat these nachos as the chips were super thin so they became soggy immediately. We tried to finish them, but we could not. I'm not sure if there were a bunch of tomatoes in the spicy queso or in the salsa but I definitely ate too many for my comfort level. I couldn't really pick them off because they were so soupy it was hard to tell what was what. The atmosphere of the place was pretty epic and I would probably go back sometime with friends that are visiting or maybe on a date but I don't think I will be trying the nachos again. They do have some other ahi nachos and a different version of their nachos available on happy hour but that's only Monday - Thursday from 4pm to 6pm. In the pursuit of all nachos that is the nacho blog, we might have to go back to see what these happy hour nachos are all about.

After nachos we went to Wang Chungs to kill time before going to see Lea DeLaria at Blue Note. We drank some moscow mules with housemade ginger that made our tummies all better. When we got to Blue Note, we were expecting a comedy show. But no, Lea DeLaria is an amazing jazz singer. Apparently we are super shitty fans because we did not realize this about her. We thought she was an actress and a comedian. We got a table right up front and I noticed some CDs and a vinyl for purchase on the stage. What is that? And why does the cover remind me of Bowie? Oh that's because she's going to perform an epic jazz show of a bunch of David Fucking Bowie songs. We had no idea and we were absolutely blown away. Every second of that show was good. She is an incredible singer, ridiculously hilarious, and she lets you know exactly how she feels about our current president. We feel the same way Lea! Thank you for speaking your mind so loudly and proudly. After the show, we wanted to buy a vinyl so we could go listen to it at the Chateau, but sadly she was sold out. NOOOOOO! I was super bummed and then when it was my turn to take a picture with her, I asked her about the record that was on the stage. She went and got it for me! I am the luckiest person in the whole wide world. She signed my record and we went straight home to listen to it. I highly recommend anything you can do that involves Lea DeLaria in your life, but especially if you get a chance to listen to her Bowie album. Come over anytime and I will play it for you.

These nachos probably win best view.

Tortilla Chip Nachos 15

homemade cheese sauce, cumin jalapenos

salsa, sour cream, guacamole

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black beans 3

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kalua pork 4

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grilled chicken 6

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the works 8

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spicy queso 2

They look really wet and honestly not the most appetizing

It's okay cause we look good...

Before the nacho blog we used to be very self-conscious about double chins and showing off what we considered "flaws" such as what we saw as not the most perfect teeth. Now we just take the pictures and embrace all of what makes us unique because we are beautiful...even when shoving messy nachos in our faces!

Shananigans (3) - PRESENTATION: I like nachos in a bowl because the ingredients usually don't make a mess all over the place. Not sure what's going on with these, looks like some weird coral color of sauce (filled with tomatoes) is covering all the other toppings. RAD: Lots of queso, pockets of spice, adventurous not knowing what you will get with each bite.That VIEW! LAME: Super soupy right away. The waiter was horrible. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4, sometimes your toppings can be too much. I hate to complain about too many toppings, but when it's all one big soup, it's not my favorite. The atmosphere was great and I want to go again, maybe during happy hour. I love this place because it is where I met the beautiful Melissa so many years ago during breakfast at the bar next door.