Purple Cactus

Took a while, but didn’t bother me much (beers and music help pass the time). Food was worth it though, was worth a couple of hours of wait, if it had ever to come to that. (Beers fix everything.)

This is a small restaurant located with a business mall. It is located on the second floor in the food court.
I had a grilled steak taco salad. They offer many add-​ins: olives, beans (pinto or black), tomatoes, jalapenos, green onion, sour cream, pico de gallo, guac, and even a side of their salsa.
The salad bowls are available in white flour or whole grain.
My issue was with the man taking orders and their communicating setup, or lack there of. I specifically asked if they could do a grilled steak taco salad. I was informed that they could. So, I ordered it along with a bottle of soda. When the lady creating your food asks you what you are having, it is confusing because I already ordered it. Therefore, you repeat yourself only to have her go into their kitchen area and ask the guy who took the order if you actually ordered that.
This man came out and told me that he charged me for a ground beef taco salad. I said, «Well, I ordered a grilled steak one, so…»
I did get my grilled steak taco salad with no additional cost, but what a terrible way to run a business. He never repeated my order back to me. There was no communication with the person actually preparing the food.
This guy popped his head out and saw people waiting in line to order and went back into the kitchen without helping anyone.
The only reason I have this 2 stars was for the woman who put my order together and for the food taste. I will not go back here because I believe this is not a very well run business. I don’t support those types of places.

AFTER THE FLAG WAS LOWERED ON PANCHO’S in the 1980s, this mallish store-​front was one of only three or four Tex Mex joints in the city for 20 years.
THEIR TACO SALAD IS THE CRAWFISH MONICA of Place St Charles’s Food Court. It’s simple, they do it well, and was the first of it’s kind in New Orleans («what’s dat ya eatin’ dere?»). But it’s always been a great price value too: over 2 LBS of quality fast-​food for just $ 7.75.

So glad to have Mexican in the building! I tried this yesterday, how great is it that they have taco salad in a wheat shell, you can get grilled veggies and vegetarian black beans on it. You can get just the salad with out the shell which is what I will probably do next time since I only eat a couple bites of it. But with out the sour cream and guac, and lite on the cheese and you got yourself a pretty healthy lunch. If course if your feeling like you need to just indulge you can get all the fat stuff instead, but I need to try to be good at lunch time. They also have tortilla soup and black bean soup every day which makes me very happy. They have huge Mexican combo plates with tacos, burritos, flautas, etc. but you can also get everything a la carte. I will express my happiness that they have a grilled veggie option again! It was a nice little medley of corn, peppers, squash, zucchini and onions, I think that’s pretty impressive for a fast food type Mexican joint! I will become a regular for sure.

Pretty typical cafeteria style Mexican food. About one step above a Taco Bell, but certainly edible. I usually get the taco salad, but they also offer tacos, burritos and other options. Nothing special, but a decent place if you are craving inexpensive Mexican food at lunch.
When you enter Place St. Charles, take the escalator upstairs and head toward the back right side of the food court.

I love this place! The burritos are the best I’ve had in New Orleans, with exception to maybe Juan’s, and are extremely cheap. If you work in the CBD definitely check this place out. I will warn you, if you’re looking for it, it might be hard to find.

If you’re a CBD’er you know this place even if you don’t know the name. The Purple Cactus is the Mexican place in the food court at Place St. Charles.
We all know that «good» Mexican food is one of the few foods that is hard to find in New Orleans. With that being said, The Purple Cactus does a pretty good job. By no means does it compete with the San Diego or Idaho Mexican of my childhood, but for here, it is great.
TPC is only open for lunch and caters to all of the business workers in the CBD. I’m not sure of the hours, but would imagine they are something like 11 – 2; seems pretty standard for the food court.
I generally order the beef and bean taco salad to go with everything on it and a couple of sides of ranch dressing. The salad comes in a crisp fried tortilla bowl (whole wheat is available too, but I’m not aiming for healthy in my Mexican food eating), and consists of shredded lettuce (I’m a sucker for shredding), olives, tomatoes, jalapenos, green onions, cheese on top of beef (or chicken or none) and re-​fried (or black) beans. It also comes topped with chips with a couple of sides of pico. And, as noted above, I get mine with ranch too.
Over time, I’ve developed a strategy for eating this salad. I head back to my office where I chop off the box lid with my scissors, then pour on the pico and ranch. Next I mix up the whole mess and break the bowl in a few places. This seems to ensure that I get the best mix of salad/​bowl.
Then, I devour, and generally spill a good lot on my shirt. All of this is of course done behind my closed office door, so you may need to go with another strategy.
Anyway, if you’re in the CBD at lunch time, and have a hankering for Mexican, head to the Purple Cactus.
Oh. The Purple Cactus is one of the only places in the food court that accepts cards. Yay!
Enjoy!

This place is a great spot for lunch only. Try the taco salad or the nachos, they are authentic and very taste. Stuff with all your favorites. Their friendly staff is top notch.