Matt and I had headed over to Downtown Disney for the distinct reason of going to Cookes of Dublin to try their Battered Burger & Chips. It was Matt’s first trip to DTD in quite some time. It took the allure of a deep fried burger to get him over there! Unfortunately, when we arrived, they were closed due to the kitchen having technical difficulties. We were in disbelief, bummed out, and left starving.
We strolled around Pleasure Island a bit since so much was new to Matt, and decided to stop into Paradiso 37. I hadn’t visited since my Mangled Margarita trip, and it had been even longer since I’d eaten there, so I was game. We were both starving, but just wanted something to hold us over until dinner. We decided to split the P-37 Nachos, which sounded pretty good: corn tortilla chips, queso fundido, chili, queso fresco, sour cream, pico de gallo, and jalapeños.
We immediately looked at each other with the same thought in our head. Have you ever watched the show “Cook Like an Iron Chef” with Michael Symon on the Cooking Channel? Now don’t get me wrong; I love watching the guy, but he puts a salad on top of all his dishes. Well, I think the folks at Paradiso have been taking that tip a little too far. Over 1/3 of that plate was shredded lettuce (not even the best of quality, at that). After scraping most of the lettuce to the side, we were finally able to eat.
Result? Not very good. The queso fundido had already congealed on the chips (making them soggy), the chili was watery (not helping the soggy chip situation), and I believe the left out the queso fresco. By that point, two other couples at the bar had ordered the nachos as well. I would have liked to have warned them they might want to change their order, but maybe some people like their nachos like this (though I can’t imagine why).
We picked at the plate for a little while and then finally pushed it away. “Giving up already?” asked the bartender, who was not very attentive in the first place. “Yes,” we replied, both with expressions of disappointment on our faces. We wanted to tell her that they were probably the worst nachos we’ve ever eaten, but I minded the fact that two couples on either side of us were noshing away. I could have gone through the Taco Bell drive through and had better nachos at about a quarter of the price.
Now I don’t want to leave this post on a negative note, and this is probably my most negative review on this blog. Every other experience I’ve had at Paradiso 37 has been fantastic, so I don’t want this one item and bad experience to deter you from trying the restaurant, especially if you’ve never been. Perhaps you’ve had the nachos and they were better, or maybe they were prepared the same but you liked them. Maybe the kitchen was having an off day. Unless the preparation changes, I will not be ordering these again. I’ll stick with their chips with one of their trios of dips next time I want a snack there, or am looking for a preface to an entree. I know I’ve enjoyed those in the past.
