The Cactus Club–popular Mexican restaurant, Boylston bar crawl anchor and Back Bay staple–has closed. Announced earlier this week on Twitter and reported by Boston Restaurant Talk, the restaurant reportedly couldn’t justify paying increasing rent, but it’s not definitively known if there are plans to reopen or if it’s closed forever.

So. many. questions.

Will the ginormous buffalo just be discarded on Boylston, Allston Christmas style?  Where else am I going to find bowls on bowls of margs over which I can re-proclaim my high romantic standards to my friends?  I’ve always heard the Cactus Club was Boston’s #1 date spot (not from experience). Now, will I ever know?

I could wax poetic on all, but let us mourn the one true loss: the Ensalada De La Casa.

This was the grilled veggie salad to end ALL grilled veggie salads.

Because let’s face it … among the zillions of Mexican restos that have popped up in Beantown over the past couple years, you still have some options to fulfill your unlimited chips, salsa and enchilada cravings du jour. (This could also be part of the problem, but I digress.)

A good salad at a Mexican restaurant? Entirely unexpected, if not frowned upon (like ordering chicken at seafood shack). This salad was perfect, let me tell you. High veggie-to-lettuce ratio, with all artfully arranged on a bed of romaine. Only the greens were tossed in a light lime vinegarette, rather than all the things drenched in dressing. Asparagus grilled crisp, never wilted (the worst). Pita-esque crisps on the side (still don’t know what they’re called) that maintained their form, unlike the typical soggy tortilla bowls of Tex-Mex fair. Jicama for a lil’ unexpected crunch. There was even pineapple for some fruit flair. Throw in the radishes, and this salad had it all going on. It played to the senses in such as smooth, complementary way that you could even call it sexy. Not to mention, it met the holy grail of all modern-day nutritional trends–gluten free.

So here’s to hoping the Cactus Club’s closing is only temporary, because I can’t make salads like this on my own.

For the rest of you, I’ll leave it to you to find a new marg worthy of Boston’s best.