Have you ever wondered where Nachos came from? In honor of National Nachos Day on November 6, we present here the story behind this tasty dish:
One afternoon in 1943, four ladies walked into the dining room of the Victory Club in a small Mexican town of Piedras Negras looking for something new and different from the other cocktail hour snacks. They asked the chef, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya to make them up something, and he obliged. He went into the kitchen, looked around at the ingredients, and came up with an idea. He saw a bowl of freshly fried pieces of tortilla; then he figured some grated cheese on them might be all right. About this time, he got the idea to put some jalapeno strips atop the cheese. As he finished, he decided it would be a good idea to put the whole thing into the oven to melt the cheese.
‘Nacho’ Amaya nervously set the dish down.
in front of the ladies, muttered a little about it, and was turning away when he heard the ladies asking for more! ‘Nacho’ went back into the kitchen and made a second batch for the women. When he gave them the second plate, one woman asked what they were called. ‘Well,’ stammered Amaya, ‘I guess we can just call them ‘Nacho’s Special.’
He figured he never would hear of his strange snack again, but he was incorrect. The next day when he arrived at work, the waiters asked ‘Nacho’ what the “Nacho’s Specials” were. Apparently, they were demanded all night long, but the restaurant could not make them because they did not know what they were!
The original plate of nachos contained fried tortilla quarters, cheese, and slices of jalapeños. Since then, nachos have evolved and are now served a variety of ways all over the world.
At Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria, we keep our nachos close to the original and only add pico de gallo, beans, sour cream, and whatever meat your heart desires. We think our nachos are as awesome as “Nacho’s Special,” but we invite you to come see for yourself!
