News

What can be more American than fast food? When we crave calories and cholesterol, the last thing we want standing in our way is having to wait more than 30 seconds to get it. Fortunately for all of us attention deficit snackers our there, MasterCard and Taco Bell have…

Oh look! A birdy just landed on my windowsill. Aaaaand, there it goes.

What was I talking about again?

Oh yeah. MasterCard and Taco Bell have made the process of getting our nachos even faster! They’re currently testing the MasterCard PayPass Touch & Go payment solution at approximately 100 Taco Bell stores. This means that the next time you want to order enough nachos to get your daily allowance of Vitamin C, you’ll be able to shave precious seconds off your total wait time. Priceless!

[SOURCE: AMonline]

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A reader recently sent in this picture and suggested we write a story about it. Not content with simply commenting on a photo, we were compelled to venture to the source. We wanted to find the person responsible for such a glorious handcrafted piece of cheesy machinery. Our search lead us to Chris Vogt and Schuyler Senft-Grupp – two Electrical Engineering and Environmental Engineering alums from MIT. Chris gives Schuyler credit for coming up with the idea after watching the movie Talladega Nights and recounts that, after it was suggested, they were both “on a mission from the Nacho Gods” to create “the beast.”

The next four hours were spent at Home Depot looking for supplies. 4 gallons of water, 6 feet of copper tube, 1 plumbers torch, 4 hose clamps, 4 plastic bowls, 1 aluminum water heater drip pan, 1 emergency drill pump, 1 power drill, various PVC bits, some string, 2 heating plates, a wooden spoon, several bags of chips, and 6 gallons of cheese later, they were ready to begin. If you think this is beginning to sound like a MasterCard commercial, you’re absolutely right. Because after 6 hours over 3 days, what these two visionaries created was “priceless.”

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The Academy Awards were on last night and many people walked away winners with a gold Oscar clutched in their hand and tucked under their arm. But the true big winner last night was ILoveNachoCheese.com. Because of visitors like you, our humble little site was able to claw its way up over 500 different Food & Drink Blogs on TopBlogSites.com into the TOP 10!

And just like the Academy Awards, this occasion deserves a speech:

First and foremost we need to thank you the reader. It’s our fellow nacho loving community that’s helping to keep this site alive with cheesy content. And of course you probably would’ve never found us if it hadn’t been for the following blogs that picked up on our site, wrote about us, and helped spread the good word. So a big thanks goes out to:

SlashFood.com
Skoopy.com
littlerockblog.com
Daily Foolishness
DoubleViking.com
Across-The-Board
MyNinjaPlease
BagOfNothing.com
My Life!

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It may be hard to believe that people other than overweight Americans eat nachos, but Canada’s Print Measurement Bureau conducted a survey to obtain the snack eating habits of their citizens. One particular question in the survey specifically called out their love (or lack thereof) of nachos. The survey was then indexed by each of Canada’s 10 Provinces.

In order to get the details of the survey, you need to subscribe to PMB (which I’m not about to do). So, while much of the diagram doesn’t make much sense, it is interesting to see a couple of factoids. For instance, while Prince Edward Island has the lowest nacho consumption rate at home, there’s some crazy special event going on there that skyrockets their nacho eating populous. My question is: What in the hell kind of event is it and how can I get invited? Another interesting tidbit is that Manitoba is the overall winner for nacho lovers? Hmmm…the plot thickens.

PMB SURVEY:
Where people have eaten nachos – Indexed by Region.

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Saying “NO” to drugs is one thing, but saying “NO” to cheese is quite another. And for nacho lovers it’s downright impossible! However, Dr. Neal Barnard, author of “Breaking the Food Seduction“ delves into why people are addicted to various foods.

In Chapter 4 entitled, “Opiates on a Cracker: The Cheese Seduction,” the good Doctor explains that “Cheese is particularly addictive because it contains small amounts of morphine made in the cow’s liver. When the dairy protein breaks apart in the stomach, it releases the opiate molecules.” He goes on to say “[Cheese] has about one-tenth the strength of morphine, and while that may not sound like much, because the foods are so available it’s easy to satisfy a fix.”

While I don’t advocate curbing your daily cheese intake for the sake of “health,” it is interesting to learn and now know why cheese is so damn good. And knowing is half the battle.

GO JOE!!

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From a soft and creamy wedge of Camembert, to a firm block of cheddar, cheese comes in a variety of states, sizes, and shapes. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are taking cheese shapes to another level by cutting patterns using a pulsed ultraviolet laser.

“One motivation is the ability to cut cheese into fancy shapes that appeal to kids, such as a dinosaur or letters. The fast food industry is very interested in that idea. Basically, the cutting process is cold laser ablation, like that in laser eye surgery.”
Xiaochun Li, UW Researcher

While I congratulate Li and his fellow researchers on their cheese experiments, I personally could care less about the shape of my cheese. It’s all going to end up the same way…melted.

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Story suggestion by: Shara M. 

This classic nacho scene in Napoleon Dynamite is monumental. Just as the Karate Kid inspired kids around the world to ask their mothers to sign them up for Karate lessons, this pivotal scene demonstrated that nachos are more than just a local pub appetizer or sporting event snack. Nachos could be consumed at home. And making nachos is as easy as grating some cheddar on chips. Let’s just hope Kip remembered to nuke those bad boys a bit before feasting.

The kitchen is retro with formica countertops and dark stained cabinets. KIP (Napoleon’s brother) is seen making nachos. Gripping a large block of cheddar cheese and grating it over a plate of tortilla chips, it is quiet until the phone rings. KIP answers.

KIP Hi.

NAPOLEON Is Grandma there?

KIP No, she’s getting her hair done.

NAPOLEON [SIGHS]

KIP What do you need?

NAPOLEON Can you just go get her for me?

KIP I’m really busy right now.

We’ve all got dreams and aspirations. Fame, fortune, family. These are all common milestones for human success. For cheese, I imagine success would come in the form of being melted down and drizzled on chips.

The West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers has blessed the web by allowing the world to witness a rack of cheddar mature. What is the fate of this cheese? What will it become when it’s all growns up? We may never know. But we can all watch and keep our fingers crossed.

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This is a must-see event for any die-hard nacho lover out there!!  This year the festival runs Oct. 13-15 with an itinerary full of live music, art, cultural activities and, of course, the popular "biggest nacho of the world" contest, an event which is registered in the Guinness Book of World Records.  Though I’ve never attended, I’m putting this on the agenda for future years.  If I can make it out there, I’ll write a full report on my findings.

Learn more about the event at:  http://mexicolesstraveled.com/nachofest.htm

I’ve read a lot of conflicting stories about the birth of nacho (from Wikipedia, etc ), but this one seems the most legitimate.  Here’s what the site says about nachos:

"Yep, the nacho. Born in the late 1940’s in Piedras Negras, Mexico, it’s beginnings may have been a little humble. But down through the years it has grown into one of the world’s most favorite and famous snacks. Now, every year the nacho is celebrated in grand style at the International Nacho Fest in the place of its birth, Piedras Negras."

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Alice @ 97.3
They Better be Good
“I think these guys should be the official snack food provider of the Sarah and No Name morning show. …I’m telling you, these guys are onto something.”

[LINK]

Alice @ 97.3
From Private Dinners to Public Nachos
“I gotta say that nachos are one of the ‘super foods.’ You got beef jerky. The nacho combination is definitely there. Everyone check out [their] thoughts on nachos at ILoveNachoCheese.com.”

[LINK]

San Jose Mercury News
‘Nacho Nation’ has a Home on the Web
“The three Silicon Valley friends are so committed to their favorite snack that they created a Web site to explore the intricacies – and eccentricities – of nacho cheese and the people who love it.”

[LINK]

eReleases
Featured in the San Jose Mercury Newspaper
“The worldwide leader in nacho cheese related news and entertainment, I Love Nacho Cheese, announced that their website is the subject of a feature story in the April 4, 2007 issue of The San Jose Mercury Newspaper.”

[LINK]

KGO-AM 810 NewsTalk
Food for Thought as the Bloggosphere Gets Cheesy
“All things nacho will become an Internet destination as three Silicon Valley locals take the cheesy snack to the next level. Nachos may not make them rich, but it is no joke.”

[LINK]

Six Apart: Typepad
TypePad Featured Blog
“Who doesn’t love nachos? Seriously. Corn chips covered in melted cheese (or a cheese-like substance). Didn’t think there was much to say about nacho cheese? Think again.”

[LINK]

Slashfood
And now, Another Episode of Everybody Loves Nacho Cheese
“For such a limited topic, this is a great blog. You’ll get reviews of nacho products, links to other nacho blogs, and, of course, many recipes.”

[LINK]

The Monterey Herald
Point, Click… to the Nacho Cliques
“Of the three [nacho related] Web sites, the San Jose guys have the most variety and certainly the most recent postings, including a story about nacho ‘patents.'”

[LINK]

Engadget
MIT Grads Recreate Nacho Fountain From Talladega Nights
“This contraption doesn’t look as slick as a PS3 bbq, nor is it an ideal option for gamer sustenance, but it sure packs a punch for true nacho fanboys.”

[LINK]

Little Rock Blog
I Love Nacho Cheese
“Come to find out knowing about “Nacho Cheese” is kind of a big deal. Yes, someone one has taken their love for Nacho Cheese to the max with [a] new site dedicated to all things nacho cheese.”

[LINK]