{"id":223,"date":"2018-12-10T12:23:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T18:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/?p=223"},"modified":"2018-12-10T12:23:17","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T18:23:17","slug":"nacho-best-idea-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/2018\/12\/10\/nacho-best-idea-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Nacho Best Idea Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cracked upholstery of the bar stools in Brewskis\u2019 stared back at Taylor and Tara Van Vliet. They slowly walked toward the stools and the high top table. Their feet dragged slightly on the dingy, carpeted flooring. <\/span><\/p>\n

The reality of what they were about to do, again, was sinking in. They climbed their stools and sat erect, each one breathing slowly while trying to settle the food in their stomachs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Screens of every sport imaginable surrounded their table. The bright lights illuminated their menus in the dark restaurant even though they both knew what they were about to order. <\/span><\/p>\n

Taylor looked at Tara and nodded as the waiter approached. Tara\u2019s shoulder-length brunette hair bobbed as she nodded back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan we get the shredded chicken nachos, please?\u201d Tara said. She watched as the waiter wrote down her order, smiled, and walked away without judgment. Both their shoulders dropped as their stress was released. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brewskis\u2019 was the second stop in the Van Vliet sisters\u2019 \u201cNacho Tour,\u201d as they have chosen to name it. They wanted to try Lincoln, NE\u2019s best and worst nachos in the span of a single day in honor of Taylor returning to college.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lincoln, where Tara would be staying for her senior year of high school, and Sioux City weren\u2019t that far away. Taylor promised she would drive back and forth whenever she could, and Tara promised to visit Morningside to watch her march with the Mustangs.<\/span><\/p>\n

But they knew it would be different being separate. They were basically inseparable.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, nachos were their parting. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe always make a list of things we want to do during the summer, and we had remembered #hashbrownhuntdown2k15 from BuzzFeed,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThis was the biggest regret of my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started by going to the bank and turning in all our change so we would have funding,\u201d Taylor continued. \u201cIs that right?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tara\u2019s high-pitched mechanical voice came through the phone speaker. \u201cYes, that was what we did first. We are both so broke.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried to go places of varying price points,\u201d Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The girl\u2019s first stop was Granite City for some \u2018Idaho Nachos.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople on Instagram fought us about these. They\u2019re actually french fries, so people said they weren\u2019t real nachos,\u201d Taylor said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tara added, \u201cThe waiter was also judging us because we wouldn\u2019t get any more food.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, he asked us like three times if we wanted anything else. Like, no bro, we don\u2019t,\u201d Taylor laughed. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Van Vliet\u2019s felt mildly uncomfortable in Granite City. It was 11 am and they were the youngest in the establishment. Banter from older couples droned on in the restaurant as they waited for the first of many nacho plates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you did a Google search, Granite City was probably like two to three dollar signs. It\u2019s fancy,\u201d Taylor explained. They noticed people were drinking during early business hours, and finished the Idaho Nachos quickly. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They held them over. They turned to each other and decided on their second destination: Brewskis\u2019; the fries and cheese dip settled into the pits of their stomachs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBrewskis probably had the best nachos of the tour, in my opinion,\u201d Taylor commented. She recounted the story. \u201cWe got the chicken nachos and they were delicious.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey had tri-color chips which are definitively better than normal chips. Chip diversity is greater than white chips.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, and the waiter didn\u2019t judge us. But sour cream is nasty on chips and I knew that beforehand,\u201d Tara said. <\/span><\/p>\n

The nachos, including the \u2018gobs of sour cream,\u2019 also had jalapenos that Tara \u201clived for.\u201d Taylor laughed and smiled as she described the bright orange fake cheese dip that was the heart and soul of the nachos. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were also diced tomatoes which added some nice vegetable flare to the plate of saturated fat,\u201d Taylor laughed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After the second stop, the girls could feel the dairy hitting them and decided they needed a break. Feeling ill, they went to Target. Tara, being in the nostalgic mood, bought some pinata socks after conducting an Instagram poll.<\/span><\/p>\n

Up next, the sisters decided on an American favorite: Taco Bell.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe regular chip nachos were gross, but their fry nachos were good,\u201d Taylor commented. The American fast food restaurant was a disappointment the Van Vliet\u2019s agreed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the hottest week of the summer and we were sitting there eating sweaty nachos,\u201d Tara commented. The disgust dripped from her words through the phone speaker and the grimace that Taylor sported spoke volumes to the memory. \u201cThey were definitely the worst nachos of the whole tour.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

They quickly moved past Taco Bell, as the nachos there were what really added to their already-nauseous stomach pits. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their final stop was Amigos, and the Van Vliet sisters were already being dragged down by close to $30 dollars in processed cheese and toppings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The food coma was setting in, and the monotony was following so they ordered Crispos instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCrispos!\u201d Tara exclaimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crispos are an Amigos statement desert of fried tortillas and cinnamon-sugar in a flimsy, American-made pouch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got each of us a bag because we didn\u2019t know how big they were. We regretted that decision,\u201d Taylor commented.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips cut through the cheese, chicken, and toppings and put a sweet little \u2018cherry-on-top\u2019 to the end of the sister\u2019s escapade. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though the Nacho Tour was unique for the Van Vliet sisters, this idea of buying the same type of food from different places is not so uncommon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMe and my best friend did that with chicken nuggets,\u201d Zue Alvarado said. She said that they traveled around Sioux City and bought chicken nuggets from fast food establishments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Food tours have become increasingly popular. Finding the best version of someone\u2019s favorite food has become more than just a pastime, but a trend. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Van Vliets have plans to continue their fun of trying foods. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNext summer we should do a coffee tour of Lincoln,\u201d Taylor suggested.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, I think salad would be best,\u201d Tara countered. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the sisters had consumed enough dairy to last a lifetime. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent $40 on chips and cheese that day,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe were upset about the amount of dairy we consumed, but it was a fun day.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cracked upholstery of the bar stools in Brewskis\u2019 stared back at Taylor and Tara Van Vliet. They slowly walked toward the stools and the high top table. Their feet dragged slightly on the dingy, carpeted flooring. The reality of what they were about to do, again, was sinking in. They climbed their stools and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1010,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4296],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions\/232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/journalism208\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}