Four Peak’s Nachos Must Have Peaked Last Year

Bears take one from the Pack!! WOOHOO! What a game! Turnovers, underhanded passes, great plays, etc. This game had it all (except for a Hester return, but we’re not that picky). Ya gotta love when the Bears bear down and beat Green Bay! To those who say we “took advantage” of a few turnovers, I say,

Isn’t that the point of the game???

Ok, off our high-horses now. On to one of our favorite places in Tempe: Four Peaks!

Let me set the stage a little: Four Peaks is the kind of bar --I mean "restaurant" that does things right. It is a microbrewery making “seasonal beers” with all the favorites, (but get the IPA), it takes great pride in food quality and is close to campus for lots of college energy. It is the kind of place that is full of patrons even on Tuesday afternoons -- the smell of hops permeates the place because the distilling tanks are in the same room. It is indoor/outdoor so you can people watch, enjoy great food, beer and BEARS! So go here. Yes, I’m talking to YOU. Even if you don’t like beer. You’ll like Four Peaks. Honest.

The last time I had the nachos at the Peaks, they were phenomenal. We sat down envisioning a similar nacho masterpiece, barely able to contain our excitement. The beers arrived quickly. However, when our plate of nachos arrived,

THE NACHOS WERE ONLY MARGINAL!!!!

Marginal? How could this be? The Peaks is known to dominate the nacho community (and there IS a nacho community, you would be surprised). Check out the picture:

• The condiment plate sat directly on the nachos, squashing about one third of them into uneatable pieces.
• She threw the nachos down and dashed away from the table, not giving us enough plates.
• Too much cheese, not enough nacho chips
• It was undercooked, the cheese was not melted
• If you were lucky enough to find a full chip, you could not pick it up without digging through the cheese layer.
• The jalapenos, tomatoes, olives and beans turned into soup after the first dip.
• Don’t put the dirty bottom of a plate directly on my food!
• The chips were not that good, mostly crushed and inedible.
  
  We waited for her to come back to voice our concerns, but she did not return. Finally, I had to call out to her as she whizzed by with a loud “excuse me!” She stopped and seemed a little upset—Great, now she’s kind of PO’ed at us. Could we have another plate? Also, these nachos need a few more minutes in the oven? She reluctantly took the plate back and rushed off.
  
  I swear I’m not being hyper-nacho-critical; I don’t have a nacho chip on my shoulder, this batch of nachos was marginal to poor. We dutifully chowed-down on the nachos, not eating most of them.
  
  I guess, to get a little nacho-sophical: Even when nachos are not that good, they are still pretty good…
  
  Think about it!

Chips 3.0: I’ve had better, plus they were squashed. A nacho chip should be a triangle, not a crumb!

Toppings: 3.0 They had all the right toppings, just not in the right amounts and in the right spots. Don’t use the topping plate to crush my nachos. Too much cheese. The bean bowl is not a good idea.

Wait Staff: 2.0 She disappeared for a LONG time. Where could she possibly have gone? To smoke? Is she a day trader? Does she cook the food herself? To text her BFF?

Beers: 5.0 This is the best beer in the world. There! I said it! I’d say it again!

Price: 4.0 $2.75 for a pint!



Bears Viewing 4.0 Good TVs, plenty of TV, you might say that there were TVs “galore!”

Overall: 3.5 (as much as I hate to do it!) I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, BEER SAVED THE DAY!