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Beef and cheese corn nachos served on a big plate ready to eat
Beef and cheese corn nachos served on a big plate ready to eat - Image
There are many traditions, routines, and hallowed motifs most baseball fans consider sacred if not essential to the game of baseball. I mean consider watching America’s Pastime without a cold beer, a hot dog, or even (dare I say it) a helping of cheese and jalapeno drenched nachos. However, if you were a baseball fan before 1976, nachos weren’t even an option let alone a thought at any concession stand — anywhere.
I know today most people can’t imagine a time when processed cheese poured over premade corn tortilla chips sprinkled with jalapenos wasn’t a thing at baseball games or any game for that matter. But believe me, there was a world where sporting events didn’t have this iconic Tex-Mex fare.
According to Wiki, a modified version of nachos (the aforementioned processed cheese etc.) was first marketed by Frank Liberto, owner of Ricos Products, in the mid to late 70s at Texas Rangers’ games at Arlington Stadium. Soon after this cheese and chip concept was hatched, it quickly became known as “ballpark nachos,” a name that stuck and even crossed over to the game of football.
During a Monday Night Football game between the Baltimore Colts and the Dallas Cowboys in 1978, just two years after nachos were introduced to baseball fans, legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell gave the dish a shoutout. Cosell said he liked the name nachos and made a point to mention this Tex-Mex dish in his broadcasts over the following weeks. We can only surmise that this type of notoriety helped further the popularity of this game-day treat to a whole new audience.
The actual concept for nachos can be traced back to the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila in Mexico, just a stone’s throw from Eagle Pass, Texas. Records indicate that this dish was in fact created almost by accident by, a maître d’ at a restaurant named the Victory Club in Piedra Negras.
Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya
Legend has it that Anaya created this Tex-Mex classic when a group of U.S. military wives stopped into the restaurant for a quick bite. Unable to find the cook, Anaya took some freshly fried corn tortillas, cut them into triangles, fried them, added shredded cheese, and finished the plate off with sliced pickled jalapenos. Pleased with this new food concept, one of the wives at the table asked Anaya what the dish was called. He replied, “well, I guess we can just call them Nacho's Special,” he said, giving his nickname to the plate. For those of you outside of Latin culture, Nacho is the common nickname for Ignacio, Anaya’s colloquial name.
Today, nachos are a staple food for many sporting events outside of baseball. Even several movie theaters offer this popular food item as a snack beside the ever-popular buttery popcorn and box candies. Even the Texas Rangers offer five options of nachos at games that include everything from Ballpark Nachos (loaded) to the more health-conscious Vegan Nachos. And of course, there are many variations of this dish to choose from. Whether you like your nachos with brisket, beans, and different cheeses, it’s basically a blank food canvas waiting for your signature. No matter how this dish is made, it’s always neat to add to it almost like an homage to the dish’s founder.
Speaking of homages, Anaya, who died in 1975, has a bronze plaque in his honor still hanging in Piedra Negras to this day. Furthermore, October 21 was declared the International Day of the Nacho, to commemorate this popular food pairing made entirely on the spot.
This is an image of the original nacho concept served at the Texas Rangers games in the late 70s.
Ricos Products, on the other hand, sells nacho products to 57 countries and works with more than 200 distributors worldwide.
Talk about a success story.
To add to this stat, Ricos has dominated the movie theater concession industry since the early 80s, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Don’t like to venture out? No problem. Ricos also offers families portion-controlled take home packs stating, “make every game a home game,” in their advertisement slogan.
Whatever your take is on nachos, there’s really no wrong way to create them. Just make sure to have plenty of napkins on hand and take a minute to impress your friends with a little nacho history between plays.
