Iron Cactus

While in San Antonio, my brothers,

my sister-in-law,

my mom,

my girlfriend, and I took a stroll on the city’s famed Riverwalk; a man-made river running a circuit through the center of town, peppered with bars, gift shops, art galleries, and restaurants. It was at one of these eateries, Iron Cactus to be specific, that we decided to have our lunch. This Tex-Mex restaurant is the newest of four locations, the other three also being in Texas; two in Austin and one in Dallas to be precise.

The entrance to the restaurant had a pseudo-Aztec bust over the door and the interior looked like a very nice bar/restaurant,

but our dining experience was to be outside in the sunny Texas weather where we could continue our out-of-doors adventures. The outside dining area was a collection of umbrellaed tables on an area of the riverwalk fenced off from the madding crowd, but with out so adulterated a view that we couldn’t people-watch.

Our waiter was incredible friendly and attentive and arrived soon after the six of us were seated with ice water and tortilla chips accompanied by two salsas;

a milder grilled salsa served warm, and a slightly spicier, though quite green tasting traditional salsa served cold.

We ordered drinks; 2 blended margaritas for Jenny and my Mom,

2 margaritas on the rocks for Aaron and me,

a Dos Equis lager for Jon, and a soda for Liz. We also ordered an appetizer of chipotle and shredded chicken jalapeño poppers.

The drinks arrived at the same time as the appetizer and we dug right in. I can say, without a second thought, that these jalapeño poppers (easily twice the size of a traditional popper) were the best I have ever had. The addition of shredded chicken, spiced to perfection, teamed with melty and good cheddar cheese and a fresh jalapeño, coated in Panko and fried to golden brown deliciousness made this a truly inspired take on a traditional appetizer. The icing on the cake, so to speak, was a ramekin of richly spicy chipotle mayo sauce to dip in.

The drinks were, though not earth-shatteringly amazing, quite good and very welcome on the hot day. The rocks margaritas were made perfectly with quality tequila and Cointreau in place of the usual triple sec (The difference is huge, I’ll break it down for you in an upcoming review, I promise).

The blended margaritas were pretty tasty as well, especially considering that they spend all their time swirling around in a modified slushie machine at the bar. Jon enjoyed his Dos Equis, of course, and even squeezed the lime wedge provided into the bottle.

We ordered our food from the lunch menu,which offered a selection of the usual entrees pared down in both size and price for the midday meal.

Both Aaron and I had the Pollo Relleno; a breast of chicken stuffed with cornbread, cheddar and jack cheeses, chilies, and corn, covered in a jalapeño cream sauce. It was quite delicious, although the vegetables that came with it didn’t match in the least, would have been more fitting relegated to a high school cafeteria.

Jon had what was essentially half of an avocado, stuffed with shredded chicken, breaded, lightly fried, and covered with melted cheese and a cream sauce. As overpowering as eating half of an avocado is, the spicy chicken made the experience worthwhile, while the cheese and cream sauce ensured that you were getting your daily intake of fat in one sitting. Although it was also served with the puzzling and inferior vegetable medley that accompanied nearly all the entrees, it was also served with a side of soupy beans, spiced perfectly and I can only assume delicious as they were not long for this world once Jon had his spoon in hand.

Liz had the Ahi Tuna Ceviche, which was tequila and lime marinated Ahi Tuna studded with tomato chunks and diced onion served with lemon wedges on a bed of lettuce in a giant lopsided cocktail glass. Traditionally this would have come with tortilla chips, but Liz, fearing gluten, opted out. I didn’t try any of this, absorbed by my own entrée as I was, but I am told it was somewhere in the neighborhood of “Fair to Middling”, though very heavy on the onions.

My mother had the Numero Siete, essentially a combination plate. It came with a taco, an enchilada (which seriously lacked in poultry payload), and the obligatory puddle of refried beans and Mexican rice. This was very standard fare, and did not impress, which is too bad because I’ve always seen the “sampler” style of entrée as the perfect way for the restaurant to show off what they do best, things that set them apart from other eateries. All too often however, as was the case here, the kitchen merely pumps out bland and non-offensive fare that “anybody can enjoy”. I don’t want all my food to taste the same, no matter where I go, that is why I go to different restaurants, if an establishment cannot wrap their head around that concept then they need to seriously rethink their purpose.

Jenny’s entrée was the Fire-Grilled Salmon. This was a decent sized chunk of salmon fillet cooked over an open flame and, from what Jenny says, is some of the best salmon she has ever had. It was lightly, subtly seasoned, the majority of the flavor coming from the fresh salmon itself and the caramelized char on the outside of the fillet. This was served along side a mound of Mexican rice and a half-plateful of those damnable cafeteria mixed veggies.

Aside from a few missed opportunities, namely the unimaginative combo plate and the oblique choice in vegetative accompaniment, Iron Cactus really did impress us. Though their Mexican fare is not exactly authentic, borrowing many queues from America’s Tex-Mex eateries, I don’t think it was ever intended to be taken as seriously as to bear the label of “Authentic”. The atmosphere is fun and the service is exemplary, the prices are pretty much what one would expect from an eatery abutting one of the largest tourist draws in San Antonio. The drinks are great, the food is better, and the poppers are the best.

If you find yourself meandering the murky green waters and lush greenery of San Antonio’s Riverwalk, you could do a lot worse than to take lunch at Iron Cactus.