O’Niells Pub Nachos
O’Niells Pub
Rating: 2
Cost: ~ $11
Location: Albuquerque (Nob Hill)
Customized: Yes (Added Ground Beef)
Once again, the lighting is dim, But the Nachos look Pretty Good
O’Niells is located at the very eastern end of Nob Hill, and despite being near few other reputable establishments, draws a large crowd daily. Despite being coined as an Irish pub, the majority of the food is standard American Restaurant fare: Burgers, Sandwiches, Salads, and Pasta. The food is tasty, and the ambiance is nice. On busy nights, the service is often very slow, but they are always very friendly. I recommend O’Niells as a lunch time establishment since I find its primary draw to be its food, and the service is always best when it is least crowded. Its fitting that I review the Nachos from Oniells Pub right after my review of the Two Fool’s Nachos. Both O’Niells and Two fools represent the only significant Irish Bars in the Albuquerque area, and each has its own dedicated loyalists and defenders. This, however, is not a debate as to which is a better establishment… no, this is only a competition of their respective Nacho making skills!
O’Niells offers a single style of Nacho within their starters section. These Nachos are a body of chips covered in ground beef (added cost), black beans, Tomatoes, green chili, and shredded cheese. It comes with a side of Sour Cream and Salsa.
I am very split on my feelings about the O’Niell Nacho. The portion is great, as it could easily fill two people, or provide appetizer for 4+. Much like Two Fools, I am ecstatic that they included black beans w/ their nachos as it is a great addition to any Nacho. The addition of Tomatoes is also well received. However, that’s really where the high quality elements stop. The green chili applied is minimal, and the flavor is bland compared to other restaurants offerings. Due to the slow service, the cheese had already hardened and was cold. This made separating the chips with cheese difficult (often requiring the use of two hands). No layering was employed in the creation of these nachos, so after the top layer is consumed, there are a lot of plain dry chips below. The sour cream amount provided is laughable, and Guacamole is completely absent from this nacho (and not offered as an add on). The biggest trouble with the O’Niell’s Nachos is that meat was so expensive. The addition of Ground Beef to the Nacho cost an additional $3.25 (just under what a pound of free range gb costs at sunflower). All this added fee gets you is a very small amount of bland ground beef that is almost missed if you didn’t know it was in the Nacho. i find this unacceptable considering the quality and quantity of meat on their fabulous burgers. There needs to be at least a double, nay, triple the amount of meat. I find all of this sad considering the high quality that the other O’Niell’s food has. Normally I would rate this a 3, as an average Nacho, since it is nothing spectacular. However, considering that it is also the most expensive Nacho I have ever seen, I can’t rate it any higher than a 2, since it just isn’t worth it.
