Highland Place "Nachos"
  • ktc
    I'll start off by saying what was served tasted fine. The balsamic reduction was a nice touch.

    However, four tortilla chips on the plate is not "nachos." At this point in the culinary universe, "nachos" means something very different than what was served. What was served was a pretentious, trying-too-hard-to-be-precious fine dining interpretation of "nachos." It was Top Chef wannabe unnecessary refinement, overly affected. The only thing worse than insincere food is mislabeled insincere food. For a place with Hirschfeld Jerry Garcia art on the walls, this kind of contrived food is disappointing.
    Post edited by ktc at 2012-06-04 10:30:31
  • davedave
    As I recall, they are described as 'neat nachos' and so are individually made.
  • ktc
    dave said:

    As I recall, they are described as 'neat nachos' and so are individually made.



    On the menu it just said, "Nachos."
    Post edited by ktc at 2012-06-04 10:41:55
  • boomieboomie
    Yes, and they are delicious. This isnt a big sloppy plate of chips and cheap meat and greasy cheese heaped together. These are chicken breasts, avocado and a few other things I can't recall, and four is pretty filling for an appetizer.
  • boomieboomie
    ktc said:

    dave said:

    As I recall, they are described as 'neat nachos' and so are individually made.



    On the menu it just said, "Nachos."


    No, it says "neat nachos"
  • ktc
    boomie said:

    ktc said:

    dave said:

    As I recall, they are described as 'neat nachos' and so are individually made.



    On the menu it just said, "Nachos."


    No, it says "neat nachos"


    It didn't.



    boomie said:

    Yes, and they are delicious. This isnt a big sloppy plate of chips and cheap meat and greasy cheese heaped together.



    It doesn't have to be one or the other.

  • ml1ml1
    I disagree. Those nachos are awesome. Best thing on the HP menu, IMHO.

    Your results may vary
  • davedave
    They are more like four chipotle grilled chicken sandwiches with avocado and awesomeness on large nachos.
  • OldstoneOldstone
    Sounds good to me. So you use a fork and knife. I hate picking up nachos with my hands.
  • ktc
    The nacho chip they served was regular size.

    I guess I just don't get the culinary POV of the menu aside from "pretentious."
    Post edited by ktc at 2012-06-04 10:47:03
  • ml1ml1
    Here's a PDF of the menu. Not only does it say "neat nachos," but there's a full description of what they are:
    http://www.highlandplacesteak.com/menu112911.pdf
  • hankzonahankzona
    what does having Hirshfeld Jerry Garcia prints hanging on the walls have to do with anything? By the way, in his concert rider, Jerry required bottles of the most expensive Bordeaux wines, and Bobby was a big fan of his high performance BMWs.
  • ktc
    ml1 said:

    Here's a PDF of the menu. Not only does it say "neat nachos," but there's a full description of what they are:
    http://www.highlandplacesteak.com/menu112911.pdf



    It only said "Nachos" on the printed menu in the restaurant.
  • boomieboomie
    Ok, if you insist.
  • doubleteedoubletee
    I absolutely adorrrre those things, but I would love if the order came with a few more, too.
  • ktc
    hankzona said:

    what does having Hirshfeld Jerry Garcia prints hanging on the walls have to do with anything?



    Presents an impression of being down-to-earth. The food was anything but, imo.
  • hankzonahankzona
    ktc said:

    hankzona said:

    what does having Hirshfeld Jerry Garcia prints hanging on the walls have to do with anything?



    Presents an impression of being down-to-earth. The food was anything but, imo.


    I think an old tattered Steal Your Face is down to earth...a Hirshfeld print? Im not so sure. And just because its the Dead? Please. Assumptions such as that are pretentious.
  • ktc
    This is not to say pretentious food can't also be great. My meal at 11 Madison Park last week, for example, was certainly not unpretentious, but there was a definite point of view. Pretentiousness for its own sake is the worst kind of culinary experience, imo.
  • RobB
    ktc said:

    My meal at 11 Madison Park last week, for example, was certainly not unpretentious

    Were any of your famous European friends present?
  • ml1ml1
    of course theses things are subjective.

    but you are the first person I've heard pan that particular dish. everyone I know likes it. a lot. to the extent that I thought this thread was going to be a rave that I would get to add my "ditto" to.
  • Train of ThoughtTrain of Thought
    Jerry Garcia may connote "down to earth," however Al Hirschfeld pieces -- IMHO -- connote sophistication, regardless of the subject. Again, just my opinion.

    Having said that, I do respect ktc's opinion in as much as I've actually never tried the neat nachos specifically b/c the description always had me envisioning something other than what I generally consider to be "nachos." I stick to the jerk wings and the "tortilla" tapas.
    Post edited by Train of Thought at 2012-06-04 11:00:41
  • ktc
    Train of Thought said:

    Jerry Garcia may connote "down to earth," however Al Hirschfeld pieces -- IMHO -- connote sophistication, regardless of the subject. Again, just my opinion.



    I see that point. Still, the food and its presentation was incongruous to that. Sophisticated food is great. Pretentious food is not.
  • SO RefugeeSO Refugee
    ktc said:

    ml1 said:

    Here's a PDF of the menu. Not only does it say "neat nachos," but there's a full description of what they are:
    http://www.highlandplacesteak.com/menu112911.pdf



    It only said "Nachos" on the printed menu in the restaurant.


    Really? That appears to be the same, exact menu used in the restaurant...

  • ktc
    That was my first visit to HP, and I certainly would've laughed at "Neat" Nachos had it said that.
  • grilled webergrilled weber
    ktc: Maybe you just missed it saying neat.
  • ml1ml1
    maybe you should do what reviewers do. before you pan something in print, visit twice.
  • noracoombsnoracoombs
    SO Refugee said:

    ktc said:

    ml1 said:

    Here's a PDF of the menu. Not only does it say "neat nachos," but there's a full description of what they are:
    http://www.highlandplacesteak.com/menu112911.pdf



    It only said "Nachos" on the printed menu in the restaurant.


    Really? That appears to be the same, exact menu used in the restaurant...



    Hmmm....I was there last night and the menu said "neat nachos." I remember specifically because I thought about ordering them, since I didn't really want a big pile of traditional nachos.

    I ended up getting the special smoked tomato soup and the chicken paillard, both of which were excellent. HP has definitely earned a spot in the restaurant rotation.

  • davedave
    I try to judge a restaurant on the entres.
  • ktc
    grilled weber said:

    ktc: Maybe you just missed it saying neat.



    Definitely not. Was there with some industry people and that would've jumped out.

    Even still, while the food had some fine flavors, it was trying too hard. I'm not attempting to pan HP. My main point is that in this world there is an expectation that comes from "Nachos" and the dish did not deliver. It was fussy and contrived, and I really dislike that kind of cuisine.
  • ktc
    Maybe I got an old version of the menu?
  • davedave
    You were expecting apoxy like cheese adhered to crappy chips with a mound of canned ground beef and a few hot pepper slices.. We understand.
  • HarleyQuinnHarleyQuinn
    Now let's not be to hard on ktc ...

    I do believe some of the menu are a bit different ...

    I once ordered a sandwich and the waiter came back to me and said they didn't had it ... and I said "I just saw it on the menu" ... so he brought a menu back and its true it wasn't there. I told him bring back the exact menu I used and he did .. and sure was, my sandwich was in "that" menu .

    So in one menu they had my sandwich and other they didn't ... go figure
  • hankzonahankzona
    I try to judge MOL restaurant reviewers by how open or closed-minded they are in other areas of MOL
  • HarleyQuinnHarleyQuinn
    ktc said:

    Maybe I got an old version of the menu?



    this could be ..

  • strawberry
    I've seen "neat nachos" on the menu, not just "nachos". In any case, HP is doing it right! What a great place to eat, drink and be merry! That said, maybe it's time to add just "nachos" to the menu!

  • HarleyQuinnHarleyQuinn
    Lets give ktc the benefit of the doubt, some menu are not the same .. I've witness it
    Post edited by HarleyQuinn at 2012-06-04 11:16:45
  • davedave
    If a waiter puts a plate in front of you and it doesn't look like what you ordered, why accept it?
  • meandtheboysmeandtheboys
    Oy.

  • Navigator
    ktc, you have violated the 2nd Maplewood Commandment. Thou shalt not speak ill of a Maplewood establishment, especially one of the beloved sacred cows. Your comment will be marginalized with vigor, your right to your opinion smothered. and once we find out your address, we will march to your home with torches and pitch forks. Straighten up and fly right, drink the kool aid or move!
  • HarleyQuinnHarleyQuinn
    dave said:

    If a waiter puts a plate in front of you and it doesn't look like what you ordered, why accept it?



    this has happen to me ... but when you are very hungry and the food looks good (even though you didn't ordered it) and you don't wish to wait any longer ... I have no problem eating it ;;)

    Post edited by HarleyQuinn at 2012-06-04 11:23:11
  • forkinatoaster
    The nachos taste good, but they ARE misnamed. So is HP's "tortilla." It's really more of a frittata.
  • mammabearmammabear
    The menu says "neat nachos". HP menu's are different than Crane's menu's. Perhaps that is the confusion?
  • strawberry
    Navigator said:

    ktc, you have violated the 2nd Maplewood Commandment. Thou shalt not speak ill of a Maplewood establishment, especially one of the beloved sacred cows. Your comment will be marginalized with vigor, your right to your opinion smothered. and once we find out your address, we will march to your home with torches and pitch forks. Straighten up and fly right, drink the kool aid or move!



    exactly. Go trash businesses in other communities. We need ours to do well.
  • RobB
    forkinatoaster said:

    The nachos taste good, but they ARE misnamed. So is HP's "tortilla." It's really more of a frittata.

    If we're going to pig-pile it's only fair we bring Stony's "fish tacos" into the discussion.
  • ktc
    In my first post, I actually said the food was fine. But those weren't "Nachos." Maybe they added the word "Neat" to later editions of the menu for this very reason. Still, I found the food overall to be cloying and trying-too-hard, and the "Nachos" just exemplified that.

    But I'll give it another shot.
  • ctrzaskactrzaska
    I've had those same excellent nachos well before they ever appeared at HP, in the kitchen they were created in no less, and they've remained consistently named and individually prepared since.

    And the jalapeño pesto is to die for... I'd buy a vat of it if I could.
  • ctrzaskactrzaska
    I suspect they pair rather well with an aged Havana Club, too. Ahem.

    :-D
  • HarleyQuinnHarleyQuinn
    mammabear said:

    The menu says "neat nachos". HP menu's are different than Crane's menu's. Perhaps that is the confusion?




    In my case, the menu I had were both HP ... and I showed it to the waiter and he was kind of puzzle ...
  • ktc
    strawberry said:

    Navigator said:

    ktc, you have violated the 2nd Maplewood Commandment. Thou shalt not speak ill of a Maplewood establishment, especially one of the beloved sacred cows. Your comment will be marginalized with vigor, your right to your opinion smothered. and once we find out your address, we will march to your home with torches and pitch forks. Straighten up and fly right, drink the kool aid or move!



    exactly. Go trash businesses in other communities. We need ours to do well.


    I don't think I "trashed" the place at all.
  • HarleyQuinnHarleyQuinn
    this thread made me hungry now ... 8->
  • davedave
    everyone should go to HP to form their own opinion
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