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| - I didn't write this review immediately. My friend and I were out at dinner at a different restaurant the other night and while we were eating our appetizer, I was thinking about our dinner at Monterey and said,
"Hey, remember those chicken and waffle nachos??"
He paused mid chew, frowning. "Why would you make me hate the food that's currently in my mouth? It's not bad. It's really good. But I HATE it." (They were awesome good mac and cheese bites, for reference)
I should have written my review immediately.
We were up one weeknight and needed a late night meal. The kitchen was open until 10, so we headed out on a whim, looking for a place we hadn't been before. Monterey won due to its yelp reviews and I'm so glad it did.
Normally, the mere concept of chicken and waffles kind of wigs me out and the description of them normally doesn't win my craving at all. It's been one of those dishes I've always been aware of that I simply filed under weird and never ordered, like Monte Cristo sandwiches. So I'm thanking the food gods that that night I went against my normal ordering habits and got them as my meal.
And they ARE a meal, don't worry.
"Belgian waffles, maple syrup, bacon, and pieces of fried chicken drizzled with jalapeno berry jam."
I think it was the jalepeno berry jam that hooked me and I don't even LIKE or EVER EAT jalepenos, but the combo sounded promising and I lept. I was not wrong. It was amazing. I'm pretty sure it was fate.
Outtakes of our conversation that evening re THE NACHOS:
"They had this perfect thing, and THEN they put bacon on it and they didn't even have to but they did and OH MY GOD."
and
"It's not even that it's a waffle, it's that they take the waffle and THEN deep fry it and I can't stop eating."
So. You should go. Right now. Get the waffles. Get other stuff too I guess.
(Oh yeah, our beers were good, the location quaint, the atmosphere was neighborly, the staff friendly, my friend's Guinness Shredded Beef Boaty was also delicious, and the menu interesting enough to keep us coming back for some traditional Irish fare, but more importantly....)
Chicken. and. Waffle. Nachos.
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