Thirsty Cactus

Smoked pulled pork and brisket come out of the kitchen at the King Street East corner, and that smokehouse thread is what keeps Thirsty Cactus from reading as the standard downtown Dundas Tex-Mex stop. The menu calls itself Southwestern, which is the more honest read: jerk chicken tacos and steak fajitas next to a jalapeño-cheddar brisket sandwich, pulled-pork mac and cheese under Cactus Q barbecue sauce, and wings wearing dry or wet Cajun, jerk, Nashville Hot, or hot honey. Twenty-six taps run the bar, the kitchen stays open every night, and the rest sorts itself out across the dining room and the patio.

The orders with the most to say sit on the smoked-meat half of the card. The jalapeño cheddar brisket sandwich is the clearest handheld read on that work — smoked beef, jalapeño, and cheddar on ciabatta — and it pulls more weight than the burger route. Jerk chicken tacos come three to a plate with carrot, cabbage, pineapple, chipotle mayo, and cilantro, a rare plate that holds its own next to heavier sharing. Pulled-pork mac and cheese folds smoked pork into a cream cheese sauce, finished with Cactus Q and scallions. The bowls and skillets carry the same instinct — a jerk bowl, a brisket skillet, Cajun chicken pasta — and the loaded-fries section runs from Cactus Cut and Nashville to birria, mexi, pulled pork, and sweet potato waffle. Around those: queso roasted corn dip, Cajun chicken wings, pork carnitas enchiladas, the steak fajita platter, and the cactus nachos that have been on the menu since the early years.