It was our last day in Toronto and we decided to take the long ride from our hotel by the airport into town for one last shot at what could be the best plate of nachos in Canada. I wasn't ready to say that the Beertown nachos were the best on our trip or that the Snooty Fox in Fredericton were the best in Canada. I was ready to have my mind blown and when it's your last day in a big city, you have to make it count. I wanted these nachos to be on my mind while we are trying to land in foggy Saint John and then rushing to work immediately after landing with my ears still plugged up from the plane. Plus, who knows when we will be in Toronto again? It's between Toronto or Quebec City for our fall marathon next year. They are doing a battle in my mind. We went to Squirly's because the editor did some research and saw that Squirly's might be good. This restaurant had previously closed their doors after 36 years and recently re-opened to be Squirly's 2.0. How were t...
The Tipsy Tomato is located in Millidgeville which is in the north end of Saint John, New Brunswick. Millidgeville's first neighborhood pub seems to fill a need in the area, which had only the basic fast food options - Wendy's, Subway, etc. for the longest time. I visited the Tipsy Tomato in 2020 and was not satisfied with my experience. However, I went again in April 2023 and had a much better experience.
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| Tipsy Tomato "Nachos Grande" with Beef - April 2023 |
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| Tipsy Tomato "Nachos Grande" with Beef - April 2023 |
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| Tipsy Tomato Beef Nachos - 2020 |
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| Tipsy Tomato Beef Nachos - 2020 |
Distribution of Toppings
You know what I love? I will tell you a secret: I love when I go back to a place and I come to find out that they improved everything I suggested in the blog after having an earlier bad experience. The pictures almost say it all. I bet you didn't think that those pictures were from the same place, but that is the difference three years can make. That is why we always give places more than one chance. There was something for every chip in our April 2023 plate of nachos at the Tipsy Tomato.
Quality
You will notice from the pictures that proper, traditional style triangular corn tortilla chips have replaced the round chips I was served in my first experience. There were loads of delicious veggies, including some spicy jalapeños. The perfect blend of cheese made these nachos hit the spot. Every bite had a "wow" factor.
Value
The "Nachos Grande" are $16.75. If you add beef of chicken it is $4.50 extra. If you add salsa it is $1.75 extra. If you add sour cream it is $2.50 extra. Fair enough, I appreciate the opportunity to choose what dips I would like. Sour cream is better than salsa on any plate of nachos but that's just my personal preference. The value is amazing - period; no further big analysis needed.
Quantity
Before we saw these nachos, we thought about having mozza sticks with them. After we got a look at the size of them, we were glad we just had the nachos to share as a meal.
Service
The server was very friendly and helpful. She had me sold on their Thursday night karaoke. I'm either going there or Jungle Jim's some Thursday night soon. I'm torn.
Conclusion
Old Conclusion: "I just reviewed the Pub Down Under and a lot of my arguments that I made regarding the distribution of toppings apply to The Tipsy Tomato. There are some pros and cons of each but I think they deserve the same rating. To conclude: they need restaurant style tortilla chips, more veggies, and to effectively layer their nachos, potentially add some kind of spice to them. Great service though."- 2020
New Conclusion: I am keeping my former conclusion above as an example. Let's keep a history of this to prove my point that sometimes a place can turn their nachos around and blow me out of the water on the next visit. This is one of those times. Thank you Tipsy Tomato for a lovely experience.
Nacho Blog Rating: A