The 5 best nachos in Nashville

• Chauhan's lamb nachos? Not ba-aa-aad
• Saint Anejo short rib nachos are long on flavor

I wanted an excuse to eat bunches of nachos all around Nashville, and here's what I found out — you can eat too many nachos.

I also discovered Nashville's best nachos aren't in sports bars. They're in trendy restaurants and barbecue joints that know how to kick up chips and cheese and salsa into something extraordinary.

The very best nachos the city has to offer, though, are pretty simple.

Thanks to my celebrity nacho tasters, NewsChannel 5 anchor Vicki Yates, former and current Channel 4 sportscasters Rudy Kalis and Joe Dubin, 104.5 The Zone show co-host Dawn Davenport and Tennessean sports writers Joe Rexrode and Mike Organ.

1. M.L.Rose

Three locations, Melrose, Sylvan Park and Capitol View. Grilled chicken nachos, $10.99

These are pretty straightforward — chips, queso, black beans, jalapeño and grilled chicken, with, of course, sour cream, guac and salsa.

But man, oh man, the ingredients are amazing.

Extraordinary, crispy fresh homemade chips that stand up under sour cream and salsa.

Super velvety-smooth queso flows.  

The chicken chunks are big, tender and perfectly spiced.

And the proportions are perfect, with just the right amounts of each ingredient.

It's the kind of plate of nachos that disappears quickly. And everyone looks down at the table and goes, whoa, what happened to that gigantic plate of nachos??

Did we Hoover those in five minutes?

Yes, we did. Yes, we did.

2. Chauhan

123 12th Ave. N. Keema papadi nachos, $12

So, OK, hold up, these nachos have what in them?

Well, spicy lamb keema, papadi chips, tamarind chutney, provel cheese and — of course — cucumber tomato kachumbar.

I'm embarrassed to say that I only know about half of those words. Therefore, I was a little dubious about what these "nachos" might taste like.

Turns out they taste like the most awesome crunchy, meaty, cheese snack you've ever had in your life. Only better — and way more interesting.

The chips are actually thin deep-fried pieces of naan, an Indian oven-baked flatbread, and those chips are thick and crunchy and delicious on their own.

Add the spicy lamb and that cheese and some ground mustard, and whew, forget it! Really fresh flavors, a perfect blend of spicy with a touch of sweet and the most unique Indian-American fusion dish I've ever had.

It's like celeb chef Maneet Chauhan ("Chopped") bit into some nachos at some sports bar and roared, "What's this garbage!?!? I could do 500 times better than this!" 

And she did.

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3. Bastion

434 Houston St. Nachos, $10 or $12 with meat

Ask anyone under the age of 40 about nachos, and they all say the same thing — "Bastion."

For the uninformed, it's a new-ish hipster bar in Wedgewood-Houston (WeHO). And the bar serves one food item — nachos.

NewsChannel 5 anchor Vicki Yates went with me, and she loved the vegetarian version, which includes pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos and, uh, radishes. For real.

"Crunchy and clean," Vicki enthused.

I myself preferred the slow-roasted, tender, tasty pork on top. 'Cause I like gettin' piggy wit it.

4. Saint Anejo

1120 McGavock St. Skillet nachos with short rib, $14.50

The nachos by themselves are solid, with warm gooey cheese and a tasty pico that gives a nice little kick.

But if we're being super real — the only way to be — it's the short rib that's the star of this show. 

Cooked for nine hours, drenched in a delicious sauce, and you didn't have to go digging around the nachos to find a chunk of beef. Short rib was e'erywhere on that plate.

In fact, fellow nacho lover Dawn Davenport from 104.5 The Game said:

"Hold the nachos — I just want the short rib."

Real.

5. Edley's

Three locations: East Nashville, 12 South and Sylvan Park. BBQ nachos, $10

I brought along four guys from the sports department on this excursion, so I was going to consider it a win if they just had enough food for all of us.

Turns out they did. Joe Rexrode, Mike Organ and Michael Murphy and I all left pretty full — and really happy.

Their BBQ nachos come with, I dunno, six or seven different kinds of meat, all tender and fresh and delicious. The brisket tips were crispy and crunchy and salty and yummy.

And check this out — no tortilla chips. Instead, Edley's uses house-made, super-thick potato chips. Yesssssss! Touchdown, as the fellas might say.

Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com or 615-259-8384 or on Twitter @bradschmitt.

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