Cactus Club Cares About Quality

Last month, in September, John and I raved on and on about the NE Cactus Club to a friend.   She excitedly asked her daughter about it who confirmed how hip, trendy and delicious this place is.   Surprisingly though, that night, the service and food were off, not even slightly but completely missed the target off.  A sad disappointment.   But, after what transpired in the following weeks after posting our review, I’d say that Cactus Club sure doesn’t like being in a negative light.  They aim to please their customers, and it shows!

We got an email from one of their marketing people who had seen our post.  (How pleasant that they would care what an individual,  local person would say about their restaurant!)   They were quite concerned at our poor experience and mentioned that they would forward our post to the managers.  Within days, we got an email from the regional manager who stated that our negative experiences were addressed in the kitchen and at the bar.   Things were pointed out, streamlined, and addressed with the staff, from what we gathered in his email.   He even specified how he reminded the kitchen staff to count the number of scallops and shrimp in their spaghettini  dish.  Initially, I had some skepticism since anyone can simply type out such ‘promises’;  Action is what matters.  When he invited us back for a re-try,  I was pleased to feel that one local person’s opinion mattered to Cactus Club.   To be honest, that one caring gesture alone brought us back into the restaurant.

We ordered the same menu items as on the disappointing night a few weeks ago.   Why critique something different?  The new verdict ..

Tuna tataki. I presume that not many people know the unique taste of yuzu sauce.  It’s a Japanese citrus that is quite difficult to find in Calgary.  (I have had to begrudgingly  resort to a yuzu flavored dressing in my own dishes.)   When I saw the generous pool of the strong yuzu vinaigrette with the tuna tataki,  I was curious to see how the ingredients of tuna, pine nuts, avocado, green papaya slaw, and oranges would work together.   While my husband loved it,  I remarked that I couldn’t taste the fish.   As much as I  admired the bold combination of flavors and textures, I wanted to taste the tuna in the end.

Prawn and scallop spaghettini. Fabulously presented!   A swirl of mountainous pasta topped with a juicy prawn and plump scallop.   Tasty, savory and filling.

BBQ duck clubhouse. Moist, tender duck.  I couldn’t believe how large the slices of duck were in my sandwich.  The pecan fruit bread was sweet to complement the rich taste of duck.  After a few bites though, the bread started to fall apart.   Too many chunks of nut and fruit, not enough bread.  Is that a bad thing?  Hard to say.   It was a little annoying to have to use my fork to finish my sandwich, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Rocket salad. The warm panko and parmesan breaded chicken sits under the salad.  I’d say it was daring to use arugula since it can be overly bitter, but it worked for me.  Great look to the salad.  Unique.  Fresh.  Healthy.  The lemon thyme vinaigrette was a tad too zesty and overpowering.

Chocolate peanut butter crunch bar.   Without swearing, HOLY SMOKES!   It was amazing and has now made it to the very top of my favorite dessert list.   Crunchy base.   Not overly peanut buttery but definitely peanut butter and chocolate.  YUM!  I wished we had a larger slice.

Key lime pie. Quite good.  Peppy.  Zippy.  Zesty.  However you want to describe good key lime pie.  The chef, from the manager’s description, hand squeezes over 100 key limes daily to make this dessert.  Do you know how small a key lime is?   Impressive.   Tiny citrus.  Big flavor.   The only thing that we can mention is that the texture isn’t quite exact as an authentic key lime pie from the Keys.   But if you haven’t been there, you won’t care about Cactus Club’s version.  Heavenly!

By the end of the night, I had put Cactus Club back up on our list of Wow Restaurants.  The service was efficient and attentive.  She was knowledgeable and polite.   The manager and regional manager, at different points in our meal,  stopped at out table to check on how things were going.  We introduced ourselves and mentioned that we were ones who were re-reviewing the restaurant.  They were genuinely curious to hear our take of the experience up to that point.

Throughout the night, I kept an eye out for similar dishes passing our table.   I wanted to be sure that we weren’t getting ‘special’ treatment.  Afterall, I wanted to make a second review that was fair and unbiased.  From what I saw, there were definite noticeable changes in how the dishes were plated and how the servers and manager were getting around the tables.  We weren’t the ‘singled’ out customers.  We were treated like the rest.  Important.  Valued.

I’m glad that we came back.

Thank you, Cactus Club, for caring enough about the impressions and quality you make in the Calgary food industry.

WickedChili.ca Keeps Redesigning Itself

I’m not sure if it’s bending to the wishes of the masses or if someone running the show is experimenting, but WickedChili.ca restaurant seems to be trying many different strategies to get the people there.  The last time I was here in June, it was a week into their opening.   With four months under its belt now, here are the small and not-so-small changes.

1.  They have put up a wall, a distinct separation, between them and their counterpart, the Vietnamese Green Papaya, who share the large restaurant space.  To clearly emphasize their Indian specialty, they have toned down the melon green walls to two harmonious rich colors.   Indian art decorate the wall space with a gold statue of a god standing at the front door.  I think this change makes for a much more cohesive, appealing atmosphere.  I feel more settled knowing what I am getting when I walk in.  Before, it was very strange to walk into the large space, sit in any table or booth, and order from either the Indian menu or Vietnamese menu.

2.  It’s $12.95 for their buffet.   But, for those needing takeout, they offer 3 convenient boxes now, ranging from $6 to $10.  Rice with one side.  Rice with two sides.  Rice with three sides.  Papadum complementary.  Additional charges for naan, salads, etc.   I think people will take advantage of the smaller portions and the smaller price.  Last time, I filled up a takeout container from the buffet for the same price as if I were dining in.

3.  From 1.30pm to 5pm, they offer Happy Hour.  There are drink (beer from $3 to $5 and pop / tea for $1.50) and appetizer specials (veggie pakoras – 50cents each, fish pakora – about $1,25 each, meat samoas – about $1.25 each, tandoori chicken – $1 each).   Papadum is free.   You can order from the menu at 15% discount during Happy Hour too.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Happy Hour at an Indian restaurant but it’s an interesting strategy to compete with the neighboring pub during slow hours.

I had initially went in to grab a lunch box to take home but saw their sign for Happy Hour.  I phoned my husband to come down and chill with me.  The server was then smart to upsell the buffet at 15% off (roughly $10) instead of my first thought to just grab a few pieces of samosas and a beer.  Twenty five dollars later, I’d say their Happy Hour hook worked.  Nice job.

In 4 months, WickedChili.ca is trying to make a viable business.  The food isn’t too bad.  Not spicy enough for me but tasty, filling and hot.  We were there at 1.45pm and their side of the restaurant was about 50% full the hour or so while we ate.  Considering it was after the lunch rush, I thought that was a good sign that there was a  stream of people coming in.

They have a suggestion box at the front doors if you need to make an opinion.  Like I said before, I can’t tell if they are trying to design the restaurant based on popular demand or whether they are just learning by trial and error as they see the needs arise.   We’ll see.