Nachos, possibly due to their ubiquity at ballgames and gas stations, seem like a poster child for the
bastardization of Mexican food. While I’ve never seen nachos on a menu in Mexico, other than in resort
towns catering to tourists, the truth is that they were invented in Mexico by a Mexican, so that makes
them at least tenuously authentic in my book.
As the story goes, nachos were invented in the town of Piedras Negras, literally a stone’s throw across
the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas. In 1940, a group of American military wives were eating at the
Victory Club restaurant and asked Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya to whip up something out of the ordinary for
them to eat. In a moment that I like to believe was inspired, Nacho fried up some tortilla wedges,
melted cheese over them, and added pickled jalapenos as a garnish – and a favorite food of stoners and
drunken frat boys the world over was born.
Nacho Anaya took his recipe to the nearby Moderno restaurant, which is still in business today and still
sells nachos made the way they were that fateful day in 1940. The town of Piedras Negras holds the
annual Nacho Fest the second weekend of October, attracting nacho lovers from both sides of the
border. Nacho Anaya’s son has often judged the best nacho contest. There is music, a beauty pageant,
jalapeno-eating contests and, on their 25 th anniversary, the world’s largest nacho was made, feeding
over 300 people.
My first nacho memory, seared indelibly in my mind, was as a young child at a Padres game with my
father. He gave me a plastic container filled with chips, liquid cheese, and a generous helping of
jalapenos, and I was hooked. Since then, I’m hard-pressed not to pick up nachos whenever I’m at a
baseball game. The amazing thing about nachos is that they can be very simple – think gas station
nachos with the warm cheese dispenser – or very complex, with an almost endless variety of potential
toppings.
When I heard there was a food truck selling nachos and only nachos, I had to check it out. Nachos Live
opened in November. The owners acquired a very spacious trailer and then had to figure out what to do
with it. The family felt they made an excellent rendition of nachos, figured no one else is doing a food
truck exclusively selling nachos, and a business idea was underway.
I’ve seen Nachos Live at events around town, but most of the time they are parked in Lehi alongside a
building that provides indoor seating. The “Live” part of their name refers to the live music they often
have on Fridays and Saturdays. As I was there on a Tuesday, I will be judging them solely on their food.
The menu is simple – choose what size you want your container of nachos to be, which also corresponds
with the number of meats you can add. I went with the family tray, which comes with four meats, and
chose pulled pork, grilled chicken, al pastor, and carne asada.
The wait was a little longer than I expected, but well worth it. The tray of nachos was a colorful work of
art! The meats were laid out so that each fourth of the pan was topped with a different meat. This
provided the opportunity to be selective and have variety as I proceeded through my mountain of
cheesy, salty goodness. In addition to meat, the chips were topped with melted nacho cheese, refried
beans, shredded melted cheese, onions, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, and a slice of lime. I
was also given several containers of salsa on the side – a green mild salsa and a red slightly spicy salsa.
Two things hit me right away: first, this was not a haphazardly thrown together pile of chips with
toppings slopped on. These nachos had layers – carefully constructed so that you don’t run the risk of
eating all the toppings and being left with naked chips. Every chip layer was carefully adorned with
meats, cheese, and the other items, which brings me to point two: the quality of the toppings. Living in
Utah, I’ve become accustomed to fantastic vine-ripened tomatoes. It seems like everyone I know either
grows or has access to flavorful, red, juicy tomatoes. Everyone, that is, except restaurants. Time and
time again, when I go out to eat, I’m confronted by pale, mealy, flavorless tomatoes. It’s unacceptable.
Well, I don’t know where Nachos Live gets their tomatoes, but they were on point and really added to
the overall dish. The meats were excellent as well – I particularly liked the pulled pork and the grilled
chicken.
A couple worries I had as I saw the size of the nachos were if they would get cold before I could finish
them and if the chips would get soggy. I was surprised to see that they largely held their warmth, no
doubt helped by the steaming hot meats. As for sogginess, there were a few chips toward the bottom
that got limp, and this seemed largely due to the grease from the al pastor. Regardless, they still tasted
fantastic. My only complaint is that I wish there was more nacho cheese. Others may not feel that way,
but I like a lot of cheese on my nachos and would have loved a sidecar of cheese to add as I went along.
Overall, I was very impressed by the execution and definitely recommend Nachos Live to anyone in the
mood for fully loaded nachos.
Know Before You Go: The family tray with the four meats I chose was the most expensive item on the
menu and came out to $24.13. A word of warning – the family tray is BIG and could easily feed 2 very
hungry people or 3-4 with a more modest appetite. Nachos Live is frequently found at 286 E Main Street
in Lehi but check out their website nachoslive.com or social media before going because they do move
around. Go on Friday or Saturday if you’re wanting live music. They also cater if you’re throwing an
event and require a minimum order of 75 individual-sized trays of nachos.
