(TV Diner) - Stepping into Cactus Jack's reminded us of a southwest museum with its alcoves reminiscent of old saloons, Texas long horn antlers over doors, life-sized wooden statues of cowboys and cactus-lined window shelves. The thick worn leather-bound menu turned pages and pages of Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico cuisine.
We opened with Chicken Tortilla Soup. Full chicken flavor came through in the nicely salty piquant thick broth with huge chunks of moist poultry, corn and diced vegetables. Crowned with crispy tortilla strips that never lost their crunch, it was one of the best.
California Chopped Salad spread finely cut vegetables with avocado, crumbled bacon and cheeses under fantastic skewered Cajon shrimp that straddled a wide plate. Melding smoky bacon flavor, dairy and produce-no oily dressing necessary! Great!
Slow-roasted Apple Maple BBQ ribs lay across a foot-long platter. Sweet meat fell off the bone to mingle with strong maple and subtle apple. Chewy with pungent cheese, the dual potato au gratin matched the earthy taste of the roasted root vegetables with sweet signature onion rings to complete a plate to satisfy any hungry ranch hand.
Crunchy-baked, the Tostada Stack was a strata of homemade tortillas with refried beans, shredded cheeses and grilled veggies-even asparagus--all drizzled with enchilada sauce. Rice and guacamole made for very good Mexican.
Ganache blanketed the Funny Bone Cake layering chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter mouse that tasted like a Funny Bone! Good fun!
Inundated with a ring of too much whipped cream drizzled with caramel sauce, the Fried Ice Cream was basically a soupy, but tasty satisfying mess in the middle!.
Service was great and prices phenomenal with appetizers five to thirteen, entrees eleven to twenty-three and desserts four to six dollars for very generous portions.
Local
The best part of Cactus Jack's is that it is ALL made from scratch. They oblige by noting fat and calories on the gargantuan menu and by using hot peppers judiciously for a nice kick that does distract from their definite flair for Southwest cuisine.
They say there's gold in them there hills and there sure is at Cactus Jack's with their new Gold Plate. Located at 782 South Willow St. in Manchester, New Hampshire, they can be reached by calling 603-627-8600 or by visiting www.t-bones.com
.