Columbia Nachos

I am running out of places to review during my lunch break and will soon need to go further than the Compton area.  The next place on my Nachos reviewing spree is Columbia Burgers located in Carson, California.  Don’t get confused by the name Columbia Burgers, this place is actually a diner type of place that sells everything from onion rings and tacos to Greek salads and Oreo cookie shakes.   Delicious desert items aside, we all know I’m here to eat and review one thing, Nachos.  Or, “Nacho Grande” to be exact.  

Black Olives??

But just so no one confuses these Nacho Grande with all the other generically named Nacho Grande at every other restaurant in the country, Columbia Burgers added a suffix that will make you think twice before comparing them with any other.  Nacho Grande Supreme.  I looked at the picture on the menu and tried to figure out what made these Nacho Grande supreme.  Was it the black olives on top?  The lack of guacamole?  The fact that the sign was being held by a freaky looking chef-guy that in no way resembles anyone I would ever want cooking me up some Nachos?  Whatever it was, I would soon find out.

Ronald McDonald has got nothing on him

As I perused the restaurant and tried to keep my shoes on my feet on the way-too-dirty and too sticky floors, I glanced over to what would be considered the salsa bar.  It contained some of favorite hot sauces:   Cajun Chef hot sauce, Tapatio hot sauce, habanero flavored Tabasco, and of course, mustard.

It wasn’t even the spicy kind

I took some of my favorites and sat down at my table and waited for my Nacho Grande Supreme.  When they arrived, I was greeted with enough chicken for me as well as the three hobos that were wandering outside the restaurant.  With the exception of the sour cream, which was dabbed on both the left and right hand side of the plate, all other ingredients were hidden under the chicken coops-worth of meat.  There were some jalapeños, tomato squares, refried beans and Velveeta cheese.  These Nachos were lacking the whole black olives that the menu showed but at least they were truthful about their lack of guacamole, which made me sad.  Well, I had my Nachos, but I wasn’t sure what made them supreme.

Super Mega Nacho Grande Supreme

I tasted some of the chicken and was greeted with an interesting flavor.  I could see there was some type of red sauce on the chicken, which at first made me think it was so fresh that it had just been killed right there in the kitchen.  To my relief (or maybe dismay) the closest flavor I could identify it to was enchilada sauce.  This might work for enchiladas, but I wasn’t sure about Nachos, but I decided to give it a shot.  The refried beans were fresh but mainly covered in enchilada sauce due to the chicken, which took a little away from the taste.  The sour cream and tomato slices tasted just like they should have tasted, nothing special.  The cheese had a really generic taste to it, but again, it was typical generic Velveeta cheese.  There was also a lot of cheese and it was enough to make all of the bottom chips rather soggy.  The chip to topping ratio was at the highest it could be, a little over ¾ per chip.  This may sound like a good thing, but not when that ¾ is composed of mainly one thing.

I almost grew wings

It didn’t really matter what the rest of the ingredients tasted like, since all I could taste was enchilada sauce.  I’m all about trying new toppings and tastes on Nachos, but one always has to be careful when putting ingredients together so individual ingredients can be tasted.  I was already not feeling this enchilada sauce and the fact that everything ended up covered in it didn’t help.  I would recommend this for a group of hungry friends with only $7 between them, as they will each get enough nourishment to stay alive.  However, I would not recommend this for someone on their own looking to pig out on some delicious Nachos, as the enchiladas are cheaper and that’s the only thing you will taste.  Of course this is me speaking, so group of friends or not, these Nachos did not stand a chance.  Oh, and the only Supreme thing about these Nachos was the Supreme feeling I had running to the bathroom a few hours later.

A Supreme disappointment

-iwst99

________________________________________________________________