Trees Restaurant and Bar inside the Doubletree Hotel

One of my favorite things is meeting someone that works at a restaurant I have never been to and then finding out they have NACHOS!  While celebrating the anniversary of one of my favorite local restaurants, Hiking Hawaii Cafe, we met Brandon, the manager of Trees Restaurant inside the Doubletree Hotel. We immediately set up a nacho night to come check out the newly remodeled restaurant and bar. Brandon went out of his way to make sure we were taken good care of and even had live music by Johnny Suite for that extra top notch atmosphere. The bartender, Earl, was witty and your instant BFF, putting a smile on your face as soon as you sat down. We had a long table near the bar for all of the nacho connoisseurs.  The nachos are $11, but definitely big enough to share.  The house-made chips are crunchy and perfectly salted and the queso is super creamy and delicious. I love that the Happy Hour lasts till 7:30pm so that I can actually make it after working all day. I will definitely be back to try more of the items on the menu.

The COOLEST thing about this special nacho night is a love story about two of the most adorable, sweet, and kind NACHO FRIENDS, Mike and Stacey.  So the story goes that way back in November 1993, Mike was the bartender at this very bar and Stacey came in with her girlfriends.  It took them till July the following year to go out on a date but that was all it took. They got married on September 6, 1996 and had their reception at the Doubletree, the place that they met. The bar and restaurant have changed quite a bit since the days when Mike was behind the bar but Stacey and Mike are as much in love now as they were then, as you can tell by the picture below. They are almost too adorable.

$11 Kalua Pig Nachos - smoked pulled pork, black olives, jalapenos, onions, tomato

Jim (4) – PRESENTATION: Good color with veggie chips, but not toasted. RAD: Self fried chips and homemade queso. LAME: Not toasted. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4, Lots of fresh toppings, fresh jalapenos. Fresh, colorful, variety of toppings. Bright, but friendly. Not many servers, but attentive.

 

Trevor (3.5) – PRESENTATION: Colorful, good proportion, fresh. RAD: Pork had a great smoky flavor, chips were large sized with no crumbs.  LAME: Not enough pork, it's delicious. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 3. Friendly servers, clean atmosphere, quick.

 

Nacho Tree (4) – PRESENTATION: Lots of colorful chips and a big shareable plate.  RAD: Homemade chips and queso sauce. The queso was pretty evenly distributed, even on the chips lower in the pile. LAME: The guacamole and salsa were obviously from a jar. A fresh pico to top these would have been much tastier than jarred stuff. Luckily the nachos didn’t need much of these for toppings. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4.5, Really good distribution of chips to toppings. It appeared that they had done some layering of the chips and queso. It was nice having topping that lasted until the end. They were a good simple nacho. Plenty of toppings. No outrageous gimmick. Fresh salsa and/or guacamole would really jump it up a level.  Friendly staff. Good live local music.

  

Stacey (4.5) – PRESENTATION: Really pretty presentation, colorful, lots of toppings, looks really appetizing.  RAD: Delicious! LAME: Maybe a little more meat would be good. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4. A little busy so the service was a little slow.

Nacho Libra (4) – PRESENTATION: Colorful! Big ol' plate. RAD: Variety of fresh toppings. I like the salsa, guac and sour cream on the side. The queso sauce is yummy! LAME: Empty chips…at least the sides are there for dipping.  TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 3.5, great variety but could use more layering.

  

Shananigans (3.8) – PRESENTATION: Huge pile of tri-color fun! RAD: I love it when olives are on nachos. The queso is super yummy, fresh spicy jalapenos, tasty pork, and house-made perfectly salted chips.  LAME: Salsa is sub par, guac is meh.  TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4, no empty chips. Great basic nacho with fresh, quality ingredients. Lovely live music, great happy hour from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Super friendly staff, the bartender and server took great care of us.

Cliff (4) – PRESENTATION: Looks good, get in my belly.  RAD: The red chips. LAME: Needs more cheese. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4, chip to topping ration is good. Good.

Miguel (4) – PRESENTATION: Excellent First Impression! RAD: The colors are fun and the different toppings in texture and color are great! LAME: Really tasty kalua pork but could have had a little more.  TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4, all good just needs a little more pork. Atmosphere and service very good. Music was very good!