What the hell is this?
Do you ever get annoyed when you can’t find a decent sandwich, or at least have it made correctly? It seems that the art of sandwich making would not take much skill, but apparently one must need a Harvard degree to compose a semi-decent arrangement of meats, vegetables, spreads, and cheeses.
New York Sub employees give you too much attitude and no selection. Potbelly reminds me of eating in communist Cuba forcing you to eat one of 10 sandwiches all with remotely similar ingredients. Jimmy John’s rarely gets your order right, and the bread seems to be somewhat stale. Jersey Mikes doesn’t even have real meat; it appears to be the slimy pre-packaged meat that you can buy at your local Wal-Mart Supercenter. The line at Eatzies reminds me of Disney World. By the time you actually order your sandwich, it’s as disappointing as the Tea Cup ride.
But a Big D original, Which Which (Downtown, Uptown, and Galleria locations,) solves all of these problems. At Which Which, they give you a bag with a listing of breads, meats, spreads, cheeses, vegetables, and so on. You fill in the circle, and bam, you’ve got your dream sandwich. No screw ups, just pure ecstasy. Which Which serves them up in the same fashion as Potbelly, but in a democratic fashion, which is perfectly sized and toasty. Which Which lines might appear to be long, but no worries, it moves fast thanks to its assembly line.
Ahh, spring! Perfect for letting loose and going for on a night on the town. If I were committed enough to make a chart I could show you how my grades have always tended to correlate negatively with this period where the pleasantness hits us from above. We have got to take advantage while we are still young and restless, or bold and beautiful if you will.
So the most critical and essential item we must look for to take complete advantage of the gift we are currently experiencing from above is the patio. Terraces, courtyards, decks, verandas, or whatever you may call them are what we should be seeking this time of year. And with this key knowledge as our driving force, H&A have taken this as an opportunity to test out what may be downtown’s finest patio, the Iron Cactus located at 1501 Main St.
Having experienced the Cactus once before to much displeasure, H&A were certain that this would be the place we could do a less than complimentary review on. The previous time I had gone, I probably had one of the worst margaritas I have ever tasted, and therefore had never gone back. Not the case this time. The Cactus has recently changed management, which most likely has something to do with the improvements in service and quality. The margaritas were succulent and strong, nothing fancy but they definitely got the job done.
Regarding the menu it should be said that the Cactus claims to specialize in Southwestern food, so basically Tex-Mex with an added flare here and there. I didn’t quite experience this twist they claim to have, but was quite pleased to find that the food wasn’t as grease laden as is the norm at any other Tex-Mex/Mexican restaurants. I therefore was able to go home feeling quite good about myself, a feeling most likely exacerbated by the tequila, whatever works.
The true reason for going to the Iron Cactus is the atmosphere. Going downtown is like visiting a whole other world and a nice alternative to the Park Cities. Nestled nicely among towering skyscrapers, the Cactus is a modern three story building which sticks to its Southwest roots through the use of limestone, steel, and brick facades. The dining rooms are on the first and second floors, while the patio encompasses the third floor with an outstanding view of Pegasus Plaza with its exceptional backdrop of lighted skyscrapers. It’s truly one of the coolest places to relax and throw back some margaritas.
Don’t forget though that this is in the very heart of downtown, so bring along a lot of quarters if you’re lucky enough to find a spot, otherwise be prepared to shell out six bucks for valet parking. H&A, fair, balanced, telling it how it is.
Harrison Polsky and Alex Schmidt can be reached at [email protected]
