Cactus Club Cafe - Reliably Tasty (Edmonton 30 in 30)

As we progress along my Edmonton 30 in 30, I cannot help but feel a sense of nostalgia. Most of the restaurants that have been featured so far are ones I loved as a child, grew up with as an youth or fell in love with as an adult. Cactus Club Cafe lies in that latter category. Created by head chef Rob Feenie, Cactus Club's arrival in Edmonton's food scene coincided with my exploration of new cuisines and fine dining. When a medical school friend of mine called to do lunch we quickly agreed to meet at Cactus Club Cafe.

There are two locations for Cactus Club, the original at West Edmonton Mall and the newest on Jasper Avenue. Perhaps synonymous with the transformation of downtown Edmonton, Cactus Club is one of a host of new restaurants in the renaissance that is Jasper Avenue. This place is gorgeous, with huge cavernous windows, plentiful seating (there is a lounge and a traditional dining room) and helpful and personable wait staff.

Thankfully the menu has not changed much. Their head chef is Rob Feenie, the chef and previous owner of a few popular Vancouver restaurants and sole Canadian chef to be victorious in the Food Network show Iron Chef America. The food is contemporary with numerous Asian, Southern and South Asian influences and strives to deliver quality food harvested from sustainable practices. Special care should be taken to those dishes with a RF symbol as those are considered the signatures of their head chef Rob Feenie.

The two of us shared a Szechuan Chicken Lettuce Wraps to start. Harkening to the new age of DIY (do-it-yourself) style food, Cactus Club pairs crispy chicken with a spicy szechuan glaze with iceberg lettuce halves and two sauces, Korean Chili and Spicy Yogurt. I found the dish had a nice combination of textures with the crisp lettuce and crunchy fried chicken and enjoyed the flavour profile found in the szechuan glaze and the. I was less enthused, however, with the two sauces and found them lacking and adding very little to the rest of the dish. Overall tasty!

We both love Rob's Hunter Chicken, a dish featuring a large roasted chicken breast with a bed of potatoes and green beans and topped with a three mushroom demi-glace. Thankfully their quality has not slipped as we were delivered incredibly tender and juicy chicken breasts that soaked up the shiitake, portabello and button mushroom sauce. The potatoes added much needed starch while the green beans provide color and crispness to the entire dish. Excellent balance of textures; exquisite balance of flavours; and expertly presented.

Overall Cactus Club Cafe continues to deliver tasty and reliably high quality dishes amenable to any classy or fine dining outing. The skill of chef Rob Feenie shows in his masterful balance of textures and flavours and should be experienced by anyone interested in excellent contemporary cuisine.