A short while ago I took a vacation to Los Angeles to visit a dear old friend. Less concerned with not being able to see me for 6 days, Lee was adamant about me continuing my margarita correspondence from the west coast. So I did. And of course ate nachos to go along with it.
 
The first words out of my mouth when my friend Courtney picked me up from LAX, aside from “It’s so easy to spot your car with the Connecticut license plate out here in California!,” (for real, haven’t seen the girl since Christmas and that’s what I said), was that we HAVE to get nachos. And margaritas. Shortly there after I would come to find Courtney keeps a bottle of tequila in her bathroom, so she was of course down for this exploration in Mexican cuisine in a city far closer to Mexico than my dear New York.
 
Because I am (or rather, was) clueless about anything in LA, I blindly chose the bar El Carmen to represent all I would know about nachos in the city of angels. How did I come to this decision you ask? Well on our way from the airport to Court’s apartment I spotted a building for the magazine LA Weekly just off the 405. I assumed this was LA’s equivalent to New York Magazine—or at least that their database of restaurants and bars would be similar.
 
All I remember reading was something about hipsters keep on going back for the large amount of tequila in all of their drinks. I was in.
 
Upon entering the restaurant, Courtney, who is now accustomed to all the bright! shiny! things in California (like Heidi and Spencer’s hair), remarked it looked sketchy. Not to this New Yorker! I felt at home in the narrow, just as dark as Belmont Lounge bar.
 

Being that I was on the west coast for the first time, I dove into the deep end with my margarita choice and went with cactus fruit option. Not knowing what to expect, aside from hoping there weren’t any prickles in there, I was pleased with the outcome! And, as described online, the amount of tequila! The cactus fruit gave the margarita an ultra smooth taste, without over-sweetening the drink. Perfect!

We split the chicken nachos, going with something safe in this strange city I was in (we have to DRIVE to the bar? what??). So happy with that decision, as the chicken served on the nachos was perfectly shredded and juicy with flavor. The pico and guac topping the nachos were extra fresh. This was to be expected, as California is known for putting avocados on everything, and I found there were an oddly large number of streets named Pico.
 
Overall, this nacho experience was quite excellent, and made me excited for my next trip out west—sure to be trying nachos more than once next time! Also, El Carmen was nice enough to attach their postcard with the check. Instead of promoting their bar by sending it to one person I know visiting the LA area soon, I’m sending it back to them, directing them to this site where we are promoting their bar to all east coast nacho lovers! Hello from New York!

For even more nacho fun

Nacho Crawl Margarita Breakdown by Maraysa Schwartz

Margarita Report: Lime Jungle by Maraysa Schwartz

Mexico vs US: Nachos Style by Rachel Anderson

Margaritas go with nachos by Maraysa Schwartz