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Very Best Restaurants: Cactus Cantina

Very Best Listing | Very Best by Cuisine | Very Best by Location

Cactus Cantina *
Washington, ¢

From its early days as an imitation of the original Rio Grande Cafe in Bethesda to a popularly demanded expansion that accounts for its current cavernous size, Cactus Cantina's kitchen has continuously improved to the point that it can be ranked among the area's best Tex-Mex restaurants. Now, if it would only start using real lime juice in place of institutional mix for its pricey margaritas, it could be a candidate for a second star.

Like its brethren, this is a plate-of-food-as-a-meal place, but two of the appetizers, pork tamales with a racy green sauce and smallish chiles rellenos, are well worth ordering. This kitchen's best includes anything that comes off the mesquite-fired grill: beef fajitas accented with soy sauce, great spareribs, and quail that are every bit as good as those at the Rio Grande Cafes.

Cactus Cantina , 3300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington; 202-686-7222. Open daily for lunch and dinner. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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