Cactus Cantina

Tonight I went to dinner with one of my very best friends, Carolyn Eby. She lives in South East DC and I live in Gaithersburg, MD so we decided to meet somewhere in between. I'm into Mexican food, so we decided on a little place called Cactus Cantina. Located on Wisconsin Avenue between Glover Park and Tenleytown, this restaurant has a rich history in northwest DC.

I had never been there myself but I've heard great things. Before we went, I read a couple of reviews from fellow foodies. I found out a few things that I kept in mind while perusing the menu. For one thing, I heard the house-made tortilla chips are amazing. A true statement. They come to your table fresh and warm with just the right amount of salt and sweet corn taste. The salsa was great too- very much like the salsa I've had at places like Guapos and Uncle Julio's.

Carolyn and I ordered one of the appetizers from the specials menu- Queso and Guacamole. The queso was way too sweet. It tasted as though someone had dumped sugar in there in place of salt. We thought some hot sauce might help, so we asked our waitress who brought us typical tabasco sauce- not the right addition to our Mexican meal. The guacamole was alright- fresh avocados were definitely used. It was lacking in other ingredients, however. There were probably a total of 4 tomato chunks in the entire scoop and not a single piece of onion. Not what I like to see when I'm paying $8.95 for an appetizer.

Then it was time for the main course. Carolyn is a big mango fan. As I was sitting in the restaurant, drinking my Corona Light, I saw on the specials menu that there was a Mango Chicken dish. I knew immediately that this would soon be in my friend's stomach. It came to us completely covered in sauce and extremely bright and colorful veggies. It was a delicious dish. If there were one thing I would complain about, it would be the sheer amount of the sauce. But everything else was delectable. And for $13.95, I'd go back and order that for myself.

Mango Chicken Platter- from the specials menu

I always tell myself that I'm going to try something new- something that I've never had before. Then I always end up getting the combination platter. In a way, it is trying something new! I find it very cool to compare and contrast every Mexican restaurant with one another, determining who has the best tamales, enchilada, etc. The platter that I ordered at Cactus Cantina included a Chicken Enchilada, a Cheese Chile Relleno, a Beef Taco al Carbon, and a Pork Tamale. Since I don't eat pork, I requested a Chicken Tamale instead. Out of this entire dish, I would say the tamale stands out the most for me. I don't remember where I heard this, but I know that somewhere in Mexico or Central America, it is traditional to include chick peas and green olives in the tamale. This was a nice surprise that I received when I dug in. The chick peas made a fabulous textural difference in the masa, the chicken with perfectly moist, and everything all together made the tamale outstanding. As for the other components, I couldn't find anything wrong with them, but they were nothing special. This combination platter, Cantina's Special, costs $15.95.

My Combination Platter: Mexican Rice, Chicken Tamale, Chicken Enchilada, Cheese Chile Relleno, Beef Taco al Carbon, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole. 

For dessert, we orders from the specials menu again. Tres Leches Cake. It was moist and warm, but it lacked the yummy condensed milk flavor that I was expecting.

Tres Leches Cake- $6.50

All in all, Cactus Cantina delivered on the basics. I didn't try the margaritas or sangria, but I intend to in the future. I'll definitely be back.