Cactus Pear is a Tex-Mex restaurant, or Southwestern Bistro if you prefer, with two locations, one in Blue Ash and the other in Clifton.
Although I’ve been once or twice before, we went again recently because there was a coupon in one of those magazines that comes in mail, addressed to Resident. Usually I get a little shy and feel like a cheapie when I use coupons – am I alone on this? It was something like get $4 off a second entree, so just enough to make a difference.
The food was good, though. Alex and I went to the Blue Ash location late on a weeknight to treat ourselves after an exhausting trip to the mall.
We got chips and roasted tomato salsa brought out right away. I understand sometimes they charge extra for the chips, but even with our coupon they were on the house. I wonder if it was because we were late, or maybe because we ordered beer?
Alex chose the Aztec tofu sandwich, which he loved. The tofu was well seasoned and topped with avocado and a chipotle sauce, and even the bread was good. We certainly weren’t expecting great bread at a Tex-Mex place, but we found it. These came with a side of roasted potatoes in a sticky spicy-sweet sauce that was really good.
I got the vegetarian soft tacos, which was a heaping portion of mixed grilled vegetables including bell peppers, onions,mushrooms, and zucchini, with warm tortillas on the side. They also have fajitas, so I’m not quite sure what the difference is (unless it’s the iron skillet?). There are more fajita choices, too: you can get portabella, eggplant, or tofu fajitas. These veggies were good. I ate them all. They were much less oily than my typical experience Cincinnati-Mexican fare.
All in all, the food was good and our waitress was really helpful when I was asking questions about the tacos. Plus, we practically had the place to ourselves. So although I don’t think Cactus Pear would be at the top of your list when dining in Cincinnati, it’s a nice place to get some good food, especially the tofu sandwich making an unexpected but welcome appearance on the menu.
A Tofu Sandwich at a Mexican restaurant is very exciting! If I were local, I'd definitely go there and order it just to show there's a demand. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI'm really intrigued by those potatoes! I thought they were plantains from the picture--so tasty looking!
ReplyDeleteYUM...that's some good looking food! That looks like a place that I would be visiting often.
ReplyDeleteI used to feel weird about using coupons, but not anymore...especially when you are on a budget. Every little bit helps! :o)
Aztec tofu! Oh yummy yum!
ReplyDeleteI feel weird using coupons for restaurants too it isn't just you.
ReplyDeleteThe tofu looks delicious.
Ali
Dark salsa always looks so good to me. I don't mind being a cheapie at all. At WF, coupons are spilling out of my purse everywhere. I'm like, "Can I use this one?...how about this one?" Of course, now that I think about it maybe I have never used one at a restaurant. I never see those!
ReplyDeleteChain restaurants always send email coupons for a free fountain beverage with a full price food purchase. While they charge up to $2 for their boring fountain drinks, they cost only a few cents to serve. I consider the practice (both charging so much and giving it away as an incentive) extremely tacky. I refuse to use such coupons because its insulting, even more than those buy-one-get-one-of-eaual-or-lesser-value-free-Tuesday-evenings-when-business-is-slowest.
ReplyDelete