A few years back, a bunch of us were jamming out to the last few songs of a show at House of Blues and weren’t ready to head home.

The “Night’s still young!” cliche might have been thrown out there.

We made our way to Fiesta Mexicana not too far south because we were told karaoke was big there, and in our minds, you know, karaoke and chips and queso seemed like a perfect idea. Mistakes might have been made, ok? Tequila, man.

So while I can neither confirm nor deny that flashbacks happened at my latest visit to Fiesta Mexicana, let’s just say the Father’s Day trip with three kids in tow was a little different.

Yes, there were still chips and queso. Probably too much.

But this time, I traded out what might have been a poorly timed post-midnight margarita or three for a much healthier option – the pre-noon veggie fajitas. Stone-cold sober (seriously – it was Father’s Day, y’all) I gotta tell you that every bite started to let me forget about the pictures that may or may not have been taken last time around.

For a whopping $15, I had a slew of flour tortillas, cheese and guac lining the tray. But the best part was sizzling on the cast iron.

Peppers? Yep.

Mushrooms? Check.

Zucchini? You betcha.

Squash? Oh, yeah.

Broccoli? Maybe not what I normally think of, but OK.

Cactus… Cactus??? Wait, what?

I repeat, these things had cactus in them. (They removed the quills and everything!) It tied the proverbial room together, each item’s flavor seemingly bouncing off another.

Maybe I crushed four glasses of water during the entire thing. But that’s neither here nor there. Because as many Mexican joints as I’ve been to in Myrtle Beach, I can’t remember cactus ever being on the list of ingredients.

These things were awesome.

My crew bounced around the menu, from quesadillas to burritos to nachos.

One item nobody touched but I wanted to point out here is the “Golfer’s Special”. Sorta funny. It’s a margarita accompanied by a beef or chicken chimichanga plated with rice, beans and a fiesta salad.

And if you dig tequila, I can tell you from flashback-central that the Jalapeñorita is a sound choice, as is the Cadillac or the Artisan. These cats know how to make a drink.

For as much as Fiesta Mexicana is about the food, it clearly doubles as a party during the evenings. While keeping it’s kid-friendly motif alive into the late hours, there’s music and events most nights during tourist season and on the weekends year round.

It all comes together nicely, with what’s on the plate complimenting the atmosphere and vice versa.

After all, the night’s always still young.

(Photos for this feature from Fiesta Mexicana’s Facebook Page)

Fiesta Mexicana, On The Quick
Location: 410 70th Ave. North, Myrtle Beach
Phone: 843.497.2781
On the web: fiestamexicanacantina.com