Review Cactus Flower Cafe, PENSACOLABITES.COM Jan 15, 2005:

When we asked Lee Kafeety if the food she serves at the Cactus Flower Café could be considered “authentic,” we expected her to maybe be a bit defensive or school us on what elements make up true Mexican food, so we were surprised at her answer. “I RUN from that word,” she replied unapologetically. What she serves is California Mexican food. We’ve heard of Tex Mex, but Cal Mex? What’s that?

California Mexican is more tomatoes, cilantro, lime, and greens. California-style produce abounds in her menu. There’s no lard or butter and the only cooking oils she uses are canola oil and extra virgin olive oil. That’s not to say there are no meat dishes, but you certainly have plenty of meatless options.

We, however, are carnivores of the first order and our first order was the tortilla soup, a rich soup of chicken stock, tender chicken chunks, cilantro, cumin, lime, corn tortilla strips and threads of melted Monterrey jack cheese. You can order it mild, medium or hot, which will tell them how much cayenne pepper to use. Kafeety says none of her dishes are meant to be spicy-hot and cayenne is one of the few peppers that can heat up a dish without trampling the essential flavors. A top notch soup.

For lunch, we tried the chicken quesadilla, the tilapia fish tacos, the pork chimichanga and the huevos rancheros. No, not at the SAME lunch! We're not pigs, mostly....

The quesadilla was very simple, filled only with chicken and cheese and grilled to give the flour tortilla a nice crispy texture. It was topped with Santa Fe sauce (sort of a Mexican ranch dressing) and pico de gallo, a salsa with tomato, onion, lime and cilantro. We liked this a lot and decided we need to stop putting too many ingredients in our quesadillas at home. Simpler is better.

If you’ve never had fish tacos, this is a good place to start. She takes a very mild white fish, tilapia, fries it lightly and tops it with lettuce and a sour cream based sauce with lime, cumin, cilantro and jalapenos. It’s milder than it sounds and is best with the hard flour shell. This dish differs a bit from the fish tacos we’ve had in southern California which have a little more kick and are topped with cabbage.

Kafeety says she modeled it after her grandmother’s “mariscos” (seafood) tacos.The chimichanga was a flour tortilla filled with pulled pork and cheese, briefly deep-fried and topped similarly to the quesadilla. The pork was obviously slow roasted and was fork tender. The smashed pinto beans on the side were creamy but not pureed and came across as very light, a contrast to some of the canned varieties that are made with lard. These are made in house with garlic, onion and jalapenos and they’re just delicious.

We think the huevos rancheros are probably Kafeety’s signature dish. The plate starts with a flour tortilla at the bottom, which is spread with the smashed pintos, a layer of hash brown potatoes and a layer of cheese. Two eggs (made to order) are then placed on top and the whole thing is smothered with the house ranchero sauce, a delicious topping similar to enchilada sauce that is made from as many as four different red chilies. This is a must-have dish.

The dinner menu is similar to lunch, but there are a couple of items not available at lunch, like the chili relleno. This is a massive poblano chili (Spread the fingers on one hand as far apart as you can: that’s how big this poblano is.) filled with cheese, chicken and herbs. The filled chili is dipped in stiff egg whites to get a good coating and then deep fried. It is topped with salsa verde, made from a medley of green chilies. The poblano is not very hot but, like anything else on the menu, you can amp up the spice level by request.The dinner burrito was as big as our heads. OK, maybe as big as Kelly’s head. We’re not sure anything is as big as Brian’s head, but we digress. It was loaded with chicken (you could get beef or pork or go vegetarian), three cheeses, beans and rice. It’s topped with the Santa Fe sauce, pico de gallo and greens. Totally satisfying.

It will be difficult, but save room for dessert. To us, flan has always been pretty boring. It’s custard, and usually not very flavorful custard. Kafeety’s “fabulous flan,” however, is unlike any we’ve had. It probably comes closer to crème caramel or crème brulee and it’s a rich, thick, sweet treat that will knock you out. Kafeety admits that she changed the rules a little on this one, cheating the recipe a little toward more cream than is typical. To that we say only, “Thank You!” Also, it’s big enough to share.

Lunch entrees average about $8 and there’s nothing over $10. The portions make that a bargain. Dinner prices are higher and the portions are bigger, if that’s possible. The chile relleno went for $15 and there’s a shrimp chimichanga for $13. The $5 for the flan is money well spent.Lee Kafeety says her goal is to serve food that is “fresh, hot and beautiful.” She succeeds in this and that’s a testament both to her culinary skills and her staff, a group that has, by and large, been with her since Cactus Flower opened four years ago. This is a unique dining experience in Pensacola. Who needs authentic when it tastes this good?

Bon Appetit, Y’all! Drop us a line with feedback.