New Hampshire, New Restaurants

I'm back on the road for work this week. After a 7-hour drive on Monday afternoon, I got up to Concord, NH on Monday night. I decided to stop at some casual dining restaurant called Cactus Jack's. If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of casual dining. That being said, I'm not sure how to describe this place. It's either a rich man's Chili's, a poor man's Red Lobster, or a homeless man's Cheesecake Factory. Or all of the above.
http://www.go2cjs.com/

Either way, it was pretty good. I ponied up to the bar, wearing my Penguins hat, which apparently was a bad move, as the Pens had just taken out the Boston Bruins' best player, possibly for the season, the night before. This was not a good way to make friends, but I managed to make the most important one in the house: the bartender. He supplied me with a menu, which was encased in leather. It also was one of the most diverse menu's I've ever encountered. I would say it was a Tex-Mex-Cajun-Creole-American-Seafood-BBQ joint, and I ordered accordingly, going with the Rajun Cajun Catfish Tacos, after much deliberation. About 90% of the items on this 12-page menu appealed to my favorite tastes and food genres.

So these tacos consisted of fresh Cajun-seared catfish inside two crab-dip-wrapped hard shell tacos. They were filled with lettuce, pico de gallo, poblano peppers, and melted colby and jack cheeses. These cheeses were actually a really good addition because they were plentiful and super melty, so they really kept the tacos from crumbling and spilling all over the place. And as a whole, I would have to simply say these tacos were awesome. They came two to an order, had a lot of flavor, and once they got to me, they did not stand a chance. Only thing that was missing was a little extra heat, so I asked for hot sauce. I was offered Tabasco (a personal dietary staple) or their signature "Habanero Death" sauce. Being a sensible human being, I opted for the Habanero Death. It was aptly named. This was certainly not the hottest sauce I've ever tasted, but it put a kick into these tacos that could qualify them for the World Cup this summer. I have to hand it to Cactus Jack, though. For a sauce that hot, the Habanero Death also had plenty of flavor. As long as it was applied sparingly, it took these tacos to a whole new level, and boosted a slightly better than run-of-the-mill casual dining joint to a 7 Bearclaw Dinner. Add in the fact that the tacos were flanked by the interesting side dish choices of sweet potato fries (crispy and excellent) and cactus slaw (basically just cole slaw), and I'll bump this particular selection at Cactus Jack's to a 7.5.

**I found out on my way out that Cactus Jack's is a chain exclusive to New Hampshire, so if you're ever up there, it's worth stopping in if you're looking for something quick and fairly cheap.