Nachos in Paradise: Pacos Tacos with Roman and Macie

Two of my favorite humans came to Hawaii but they were staying on a neighbor island and did not have time to come see me on Oahu. We really wanted to spend time together so they bought me a plane ticket to spend one fabulous day on Kauai with them. My flight was at the ridiculous hour of 5am but it allowed for me to get there nice and early to take a little nap and have some breakfast with the family. After, the three of us broke away from the rest of the group and I showed them some of my favorite places on the island. We saw a plethora of animals like albatross, goats, nene, wild pigs, cows, etc. We stopped for a photo op at the lighthouse and other scenic overlooks. We wandered around the shops at Hanalei and drove all the way out to Tunnels so they could see the lava tube. I think they loved this the most. It was equally terrifying and fun since it was dark and Macie was scared of the spiders lurking in the huge cavern.

Since I was flying back to Oahu that evening, we decided to get closer to the airport and stop for nachos. The rain started coming down so hard. We found a place in Kapaa and lucked out with parking right in front. The nachos were a fabulous treat after a long day of adventuring.

Nachos - Corn tortilla chips topped with melted cheese, refried beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, and your choice of meat: Carne Asada, Chicken or Carnitas - $16

Roman (5) - PRESENTATION: It's a very good even topping. The proportions look pleasing, but it's low on the sour cream, and there is really almost no pico de gallo. Chips are payed out nicely, the frame in the toppings. SOMETHING RAD: The meat is amazing! Carne asada is full of flavor, and goes great with the sauce. And the refried beans taste so good, but... SOMETHING LAME: These chips came out of the kitchen as soggy as a dogs ass in the rain. As Shannon pointed out, refried beans covered with cheese on the chips causes this. Not huge though, since only the top layer caught the sog. 90% of the chips are crisssssp. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 5, We are almost done and most chips are gone, which means we had plenty of toppings. For a basic nacho, these are great. The carne asada was Steph Curry carrying the team, but overall a balanced nacho. The only place on the island that has a traditional Mexican restaurant feel, friendly staff, and great location with good parking. Would come again.

Macie (4) - PRESENTATION: Good ratio of toppings. Not too much of anything. Nachos are baked with cheese on top and refried beans on the bottom. SOMETHING RAD: I love how gooey the cheese is! Also the steak is amazing. Tender but not a bunch of fat. SOMETHING LAME: Chips on the bottom were bare. But at least it was layered well so they weren't soggy! TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 3, Good toppings but not enough for the amount of chip that was there. The steak and cheese was amazing. The provided squirt bottles so you could get the creamy spicy mayo and salsa on every bite. Which made the empty chips great as well. Taquitos yummy as well.