Two weeks ago, Dave and I went down to Tucson for a long weekend. On the first night, we decided to go to J Bar, my friend, and James Beard award-winning chef, Janos Wilder’s, casual restaurant which is right beside his acclaimed upscale namesake restaurant, Janos. After perusing the menu, we wanted to order everything on it!  Instead, we decided we’d control ourselves and just come back the next night, which we did. One appetizer we just had to have was the J Bar Nachos. They did not disappoint – I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind since!  When Janos came to the Valley last week to teach a class, I asked him to please share the secret of “the out-of-this-world” chili con queso that pushed the nachos into a league of their own. Turns out the con queso had an Italian twist in the form of mascarpone. I didn’t ask for the exact recipe, although he offered, Dave and I think this is pretty darn close. The Salsa Fresca is from Janos’ cookbook, The Great Chilies Rellenos Book, which is a must-have if you love Rellenos. I used heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market I visited this morning.  See, I took my own advice and went this weekend, hope you got a chance to get to one too!

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