Restaurant Review: Fat Cactus Grill and Bar

Pic taken from Fat Cactus Facebook page

A week ago, I went out with some gal pals from high school to check out a mexican restaurant located in San Ramon, CA called the Fat Cactus Grill and Bar. This place was literally like a minute away from my house yet I had never tried it before. We all went on Tuesday because we were drawn in by the awesome price of $2.00 tacos! (After 5:00 pm)

Once we all went in we found it was packed with people. The hostess asked us if we would like to wait for a table or sit outside. We asked how long of a wait it would be and she said 30 mins... Really? To seat 5 people inside it was a 30 minute wait?? We didn't see anyone else waiting so we said we'd sit outside. Luckily, she found us a table right in front of the door (going outside onto the patio) where we could all fit. Yay, for air conditioning!!

Outdoor patio at Fat Cactus (taken from Fat Cactus Facebook page)

So we sit down and start perusing the taco menu which has 4 tacos listed at $2 and about 15 tacos listed as $3.50, but these were specialty tacos so I was willing to pay a bit more. As soon as our waitress comes to the table and takes our drink orders, she ended up returning shortly to tell us that they didn't have any clean water glasses and were currently washing some for us, so it would be about 10 minutes until we could get water.

..... after a moments hesitation, we all simply nodded and said "ok!" When she left we kind of gave each other a look like, "They don't have ANY clean water glasses??" The place wasn't even full! I wonder what they use when it is...

We expected some chips and salsa because we saw some at the table next to us, but we had to pay $2.50 for that too. After getting our clean water finally, we ordered. Me, being the more adventurous one, decided to try the Alligator Taco and the Kangaroo Taco. Here are the results:

The lighter meat is the alligator and the dark meat on the right is kangaroo.

Alligator: A bit tough for my liking. The texture was kind of like hard, chewy, fat and the taste was a little sweet. Hard to explain, but not my favorite. The meat was almost clear looking, very strange.

Kangaroo: I did really enjoy this one. Not as tough as the alligator, it had more flavor and tenderness.

Both had a strawberry salsa on top and some lettuce. Really? No cheese, or sour cream or avocado or anything?? Nope, these were just the bare bones tacos. Meat, some salsa, and lettuce. I thought this made them extremely dry but maybe that's just me.  I ended up just eating the meat and not the tortilla, it was too dry.

Overall, the service was bad, and the food wasn't good. It was bland and dry. So not worth the trip there. I've heard their brunch is ok, but I've never tried it myself. After the tacos, I'm not sure I want to go back. If you're looking to try variety meats though, they do have a wide range. Everything from Buffalo and Ostrich, to Shark tacos were on the menu. I'm willing to bet that you could find better somewhere else however.

Stephanie, WWT

Restaurant Review: Cameron's Pub

This visit was from about a month ago, but I forgot to blog it! Anyway, me and the parents went on a weekend drive to Half Moon Bay located on the coast of California about an hour away from our house. Unfortunately, we picked the wrong day to go because it ended up raining! This weather is crazy right? As a side note, today (June 28th) it thunderstormed here... in California!

Right, so back to the restaurant review! We were heading to Duarte's, located in Pescadero, but realized there was something funky happening on the highway. Apparently, there was some rock slide and the cars were restricted to one lane for both directions of traffic. This deterred us back the way we came and we ran into Cameron's British Pub and Inn!

The pub/restaurant itself is very cool and decorated with tons of both British and American memorabilia and just about everything you could imagine. When you dine here, it is definitely mandatory to walk around and look at everything! There is a decent sized bar area, outdoor seating, a game room with pool tables, shuffleboard and arcade games, as well as a small area where they sell British items like food/candybars. There are two huge double decker buses outside (one for smoking and one for non-smoking) as well as a British style taxi-cab. The food is typical British pub grub, lots of bangers and mash and fish and chips.

London Taxi!

The immense collection of beer cans.

As for the food, I had a vegetable sandwich, which was unfortunately pretty bad. I honestly could have made it myself at home. It had a random assortment of veggies including some black olives, mushrooms, onions, and peppers slathered with some melted cheese between two slices of wheat bread. I also tried the bean salad which was actually pretty good consisting of green beans, kidney beans, and some carrots. I know they're not trying to be all gourmet about their presentation, but it wasn't anything special. 

My dad opted for a roast beef with au jus sauce type thing and he declared it to be okay. My mom ended up with the fish and chips which was very good (we all ended up trying hers).
NOTE: Next time, get the burger!!! It wasn't until after we started reading the signed pictures on the wall did we realize that the burger is clearly the star here.

Overall, experience/atmosphere-wise, Cameron's gets a 10. The place is just awesome to look at and is really quirkily decorated. The food isn't really that great, but I can't speak for the burger. If you're looking for a fun place to hang out, get a drink, or some authentic British feel, then stop by Cameron's. P.S. go check out the bathroom, the women's one is so awesome right?

Ceiling of the women's restroom. Gotta love the disco ball!

They have my favorite, Pictionary!!

Stephanie, WWT

10. Support A Government Designed and Run For All The People

#10... politics woohoo!

Basically, if your government is working hard for ALL people rather than a single interest group or "insane dictator" (yes that was in the text) then one should support it.

In cases where the government is not doing this then withdrawing one's cooperation might be the best solution because you are not directly opposing government or doing anything illegal. Fortunately in the United States, we seem to have a government that is taking into account all it's citizens.

A good suggestion that the WTH guide states is that government and how to govern should be taught earlier on in schools. Sometimes the language is intimidating to people who claim they don't like politics however it is important to be informed about the workings of our country. 

"A government cannot bleed, it cannot even smile; it is just an idea men have.  It is the individual person who is alive."

Stephanie, WWT

9. Don't Do Anything Illegal

9 down, 12 to go!

Illegal acts = those which are prohibited by official rules or law

I like one of the things expressed in this point, "ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law." In society, every member has a responsibility to know what is considered an illegal act. 

In my studies as a criminal justice student, I know there are always unfortunate instances of young adults and children that are influenced by gangs etc. and it's not always fair to hold them completely responsible. I do believe that juveniles should be given a second chance, because they're the ones that need it the most.  Many people often restrict their views of crime and legality to street crime, when  white collar crimes can have a greater impact on society. Crime is all about wanting to gain an advantage by breaking the laws, otherwise, we wouldn't have them!

It is important to resist peer pressure, no matter how much you want to fit in, or impress someone, there is no excuse or reason to commit an illegal act. "The way to happiness does not include the fear of being found out."

Stephanie, WWT

8. Do Not Murder

Point #8, these next few have to do with criminal stuff.

WTH guide starts off by distinguishing between killing and murdering. Murder is defined as:

"The unlawful killing of one (or more) human being by another, especially with malice aforethought."

Some exceptions that are stated are killing in self defense or killing animals for meat. We don't normally call this "murder."  Pretty straightforward in today's society. If you murder, you commit a crime and will be punished for it. This point is generally good to follow if you'd like to live a happy life...not in prison. lol

Stephanie, WWT

7. Seek to Live With the Truth

7 down, 24 more to go.

Certain parts of this are really confusing so I will just sum up the points as I have been doing. I think it has to deal with your beliefs and what is important and real/truthful to you. Something like that...anyway:

1) Do Not Tell Harmful Lies

(doesn't this remind you of Harry Potter? lol)
I like the explanation of this point so I'll just state it here, word for word:

"Harmful lies are the product of fear, malice and envy. They can drive people to acts of desperation. They can ruin lives. They create a kind of trap into which the teller and the target can both fall."

2) Do Not Bear False Witness

The WTH guide doesn't give more than a sentence about this, but basically, it discourages and warns against perjury, or testifying to untrue facts.

"The way to happiness lies along the road to truth"

Honesty is the best policy, right?

Stephanie, WWT

6. Set A Good Example

Point #6 from the WTH guide. 6 down, 15 more to go!

You influence many people throughout your life and the way you influence them can either be good or bad.

Basically, the point is, set a good example for others because they will respect you for it. The way this point was written was a little confusing to me, but that is mainly what I took from it.

So...yeah! You shouldn't be a hypocrite then I guess... lol

Stephanie, WWT