so i didn't post anything about the making of the rillettes, nor the beef jerky. but here's a quick sum up:

rilletes: i cut the pork into too small chunks so that by the time it was cooked and i put it in the kitchen-aid stand mixer, the finished texture was kind of dry, overcooked and mushy. the thing is, though, is that it wasn't overcooked but it's texture was really not that great. so i'd have to say the potted meat project was a failure. *sigh*

beef jerky: this was cavin's project, so i can only comment on what i know. because our oven's temperature only goes as low as 150 or 165, and the beef needed to dry out at 90F, he propped the door open. in the beginning, this turned out pretty good; cavin had the thermometer inside the open oven and the temp was steady at around 90-100. but, i was told after an hour or so of cooking, the oven door somehow shut close, without him knowing it, and so the oven temp went back up to 160. i don't know how long the jerky stayed in the 160 oven, but cavin decided to take it out a lot sooner than the 10+ hours it says in ruhlman's charcuterie book. either way, it actually turned out pretty good, though, probably more dried than supposed to be, and a little more saltier than it should have been. i think it was saltier because he left the beef to sit in the marinade (of onion powder, garlic powder, adobo chipotle chili, and salt) longer than called for. but we've been snacking on it and he's ready to try another batch in the near future!

but the real reason i wanted to post was because the other night we finally went back to cractus, uh, i mean cactus (cantina). it's yet another restaurant/bar trying to cater to the mediocre college graduates looking to take it one step higher than say, the newish manayunk tavern.

the first time we went was opening day. sure, i expected it to be chaotic that first day. but i didn't expect to not even get greeted by the host, waitress, or the several bartenders helping the other boozers trying to get their drink on. i mean hell! i understand all about getting their drink on - that's why cavin and i went. but i at least wanted someone to say to me, "hi, i'll be right with you," even if they were lying.

but we got nothing. so after standing behind all the bar patrons for a good 10-15 minutes with no acknowledgment that we existed, we decided to walk out. and of course, as soon as we started leaving, someone at the door who worked there was alarmed and asked us, "leaving so soon?" to which i responded "yeah, it's too crowded". (i think that's what i said. i could have been more pissed, but it's been months since and i've cooled down.)

so this week was our actual first trip back to the cractus, and i wasn't too impressed. there wasn't really anyone there because it was kind of early, though, there was a surprise party for some beotch that came in blindfolded, led by her idiot friends that didn't close the door behind them so there was crazy cold wind blowing into the bar until cavin went over and closed the door.

we sat at the bar, but honestly? if i ever happen to go again, i won't sit AT the bar. i might sit at the tables against the wall in the bar area, but definitely not at the bar, especially if i'm trying to get something to eat. the bar counter doesn't hang too much over the actual bar. it's hard for me to explain, but basically we couldn't sit facing the bar - we had to have our bodies turned sideways because there wasn't enough knee-leg room. i really feel like owners and designers need to actually sit in the chairs and at the bars of the places they are working on. this was really annoying to me as i had to basically sit slanted for me to have enough leg room.

the food was ok, but nothing special. of course they give you the complementary basket of tortilla chips and their chipotle-spiked salsa (i should mention that it specifically states that only ONE basket of chips and salsa is free). the salsa wasn't terrible, but it was kind of sweet, and i felt like it was a costco tub of salsa that was mixed with some chipotle chiles to make it smokey. i bet i'm not too far off on that.

we ordered a salad with steak, and three pork tacos. you can't really go wrong with a salad, and the pork tacos were decent in flavor, but the texture of the pork reminded me of the pork rilletes i made a few weeks ago: over-cooked, over-shredded, and over-processed.

that leaves me to the drinks. we both stuck with margaritas, and while i didn't taste cavin's 'aztec gold' (cuervo 1800, gran marnier, fresh squeezed lime juice on the rocks), my 'pasion de fresca' (sauza gold tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice, triple sec, shaken over ice with fresh strawberries) was pretty decent. though, i happened to noticed that the bartender (probably the manager) was taking a really long time to mix up the drinks because he was measuring EVERYTHING. now i understand why that first day it was so busy - if you can't get decent bartenders, everything backs up!

they do have some specials, and the ones that looks the most promising is their sunday $10 pitchers of margaritas or their tuesday $2 tacos or their thursday (?) half-price pitchers of sangria.

i was pretty sure that this place wasn't going to be on our go-to list, but think i'd go back for drinks. oh, and did i mention that they have a huge tequila list (something that i'm sure cavin and i would like to go back to sample when we had the time) though i'm betting that the majority of jerks that go there go don't even notice all the tequilcs and care more about getting margaritas, or even coronas.

cactus restaurant and bar
4243 main street
manayunk 19127
(267) 385-6249

Labels: booze, manayunk, restaurant