Nestled way back in there somewhere around Belt St. (1749 to be precise) next to Riverside Park lies the Park Bench Pub. Once known as Boomer’s, recently re-re-owned by former Magerk’s sushi chef Richard, it’s a neighborhood bar through and through with your good ol’ fashioned pub grub, brand new sushi menu (sure what the hell), and something that struck me on the menu – their nachos are “FAMOUS.”
Ahhh, the ubiquitous term “famous” on the menu. Gotta love that. The only term more endearing for me would be “locally famous,” which this menu lacks but I digress, let’s talk about these nachos. These are chili nachos, which for a dollar above the standard Park Bench Nachos includes chili (duh) alongside pickled jalapenos, nacho cheese, shredded jack cheese, olives, salsa and a bit o’ sour cream. The major selling point of these ‘chos is most certainly the chips. They’re homemade, thick, really crunchy and surprisingly light for how, well, substantial they are. It’s not often you see homemade tortilla chips at any pub or restaurant and that makes these something worth trying.
And overall the nacho experience with these chili nachos is a good one – the chili is meaty and mild, the penos are spicy, the cheese is cheesy – but as you might notice from the photo, not quite enough coverage. Several naked chips were left behind all cold and lonely, shivering and sad from the mental stress of not being digest alongside their nachoey brethren. This is a big no-no, and normally a deal breaker, but fortunately the portion size and quality of the homemade tortilla chips save this pile from the brink of mediocrity. So I guess if you were to say, order some of these nachos, ask for extra cheese. The service is pretty friendly and I’m sure they’d oblige.
PROS: The homemade chips are delightful.
CONS: Needs more cheese, heap on those toppings!
VERDICT: Three and a half golden nachos out of five
