Exterior: 3/5
Blue Cactus is a strip-mall restaurant, so it's limited in what it can do with its facade. Their sign is nice, although a little hard to read from the road. Their location seems great for business, though, being close to Kroger and other shopping. Honestly we were planning to go to a different restaurant in the same strip but since the wait looked long we opted for Mexican instead. I'm glad we did, and I hope that same situation helps other folks discover this place.
Ambience: 5/5
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| The interior entry - much more exciting than the exterior one! |
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| A snippet of the dining area with the bar to the back left |
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| This pretty lady greets you when you walk in |
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| A tribute to El Chavo del Ocho |
Whoever designed the interior of this place knew what they were doing. The color scheme is classily rooted in black and white but accented with bright colors and neon. Everything feels happy and lively. There weren't a ton of people there when we were, so everything felt relaxed in all of its cheer. There's lots to look at, since the walls are decorated with images of famous people from Mexico. (And like, people that Mexican people would recognize, not just people that the U.S. clientele would have heard of.) All of that, plus it was so, so clean. Great stuff.
Variety: 4/5
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| Tacos Vallarta |
Although we weren't drinking when we were there, the really outstanding variety on the Blue Cactus menu can be found in the drink section. They have a great array of tequila options. The margaritas come in creative flavors like dragonfruit, cucumber, and spicy cilantro, as well as the more standard options you would come in expecting. The cocktails aren't as inspired, but there are three flavors of mojito and that definitely counts for something. Now, all of that said, the food side of the menu isn't as elaborate. There are sixteen - count them - sixteen varieties of tacos, some of them quite intriguing. There's a respectable selection of appetizers as well. Beyond that you're going to be getting a pretty standard selection of entrees and a couple of soups and salads. But, to their credit, Blue Cactus bills itself as a taco/tequila joint, and those sections of the menu are clearly where the chef has put his love.
Quality: 4/5
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| Esquite |
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| Carne Azada Tacos |
I enjoyed everything I ate here. My tacos, tropicalesque with a drizzle of chipotle ranch, were right up my alley. The esquite we ordered as an appetizer was off the charts good - I could happily make a meal solely out of the entire huge bowl of it. The only reason I'm not giving this place a 5/5 is that my husband got the carne asada tacos and did not find them memorable. So I guess go for the exciting-sounding stuff when you eat here.
Kid-Friendly: 4/5
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| Cheese Quesadilla Kid's Meal with Fries |
When we walked into Blue Cactus I was honestly a little worried that it was too fancy a place to have brought my littles. Fortunately it turned out they were ready for them with high chairs and a kids' menu and everything we needed. My baby ate chips and salsa and esquite and was pretty happy with all of it. (They had really nice chips and salsa, by the way.) The 4YO ordered a quesadilla but then said he didn't like it because it had too much cheese. Since this is obviously a preposterous complaint I won't spend time dignifying it. All in all this is a perfectly fine place to bring your kids if they can do a reasonable job of behaving themselves.
Would Eat Again?: Green Light
Man, I wanna go back here ASAP just to try a margarita flight. This place is hip and the menu is creative. I didn't expect to find a vibe like this in Crawfordsville, so props to y'all down there - keep supporting good food!
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