Red Iguana

Warning: Terrible Pun. Holy Mole!

www.rediguana.com

736 W North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
(801) 322-1489

Price: $$

I’m ashamed to admit that as a native Utahn, I have never been to the Red Iguana in Salt Lake. I was born (grew up) just down the street on 4th south and have driven down North Temple hundreds of times but this dive has escaped me. Each time I’ve passed this local eating landmark, particularly during lunch hours, I see hordes of people crowding through the sticker-laden front door.  I was somewhat nervous when I visited the place last week. I was however in for a very unique culinary surprise.

One of the great things about visiting these restaurants in Utah is that many of them have an established history. We’ve seen that with Ruth’s diner as well as other yet to be visited stops such as the Blue Plate Diner, Little World,  Lion House Pantry,  Etc. Red Iguana is no different.  It was founded in 1985 by Ramon and Maria Cardenas and has a rich history by way of their owners. It has since been favorited by many visitors both famous and everyday. Even the famous  Chicano Rock Band Los Lobos  (of La Bamba Film Fame)  has been a patron. You can read about this on their web site.

When I first walked in, I must admit I was somewhat overtaken by the “ornateness” of the decorations. There are awards from Zagat, Salt Lake City Magazine, City Weekly, and many other places which line every wall. It was definitely a testament to their long standing tradition of Mexican food and culture.   In fact, if you peruse through their wall of fame, you can see stories about famous people having visited the restaurant or see articles featured in national magazines. If so many people love Red Iguana, can it do any wrong? The answer in this case (not always the case) is no.

Red Iguana has a huge menu of traditional Mexican food but they are most famous for their Mole (MOH-Lay). As their menu shares: “Mole is a sauce made of dried and fresh chiles, nuts, spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables.” In fact, some Mole can contain over 20 different ingredients. Wowsers! I have had Mole sparingly in the past but not enough to be as familiar with the flavor you would expect from this Mexican dish. They put great effort and care into constructing each dish. For this first visit I chose at the recommendation of my kind waitress, Mole Amarillo, “the spiciest of the Moles'”

From their menu:

The dish:  ” Golden raisins, yellow tomatoes, yellow zucchini, chile guajillo and dried seasonal yellow chiles,
makes this mole a fiery favorite—tossed with chicken.”

Mole Amarillo

Now for those imagining a chunky dish of these ingredients, please keep in mind that the MOLE is pureed to a sauce that in this case is then tossed with a meat. I chose chicken but they do offer turkey.

Bueno!

The MOLE was a real treat. It reminded me of a balance between India curry with the indulgent use of spices and Southeast Asian curry which focuses on an amalgamated taste, usually involving coconut milk.  Even though this Mole didn’t have the same ingredients the familiarity for me really helped to connect a dish I would have otherwise not enjoyed as much.  What I found most pleasing was the level of spice. The waitress said this was for spice lovers and she was not kidding. Being a pepper gourmand my heat buds have been proverbially burned. But this dish had the right burn. Each bite seemed to increase my desire to let the flavors sink even deeper in the back of my mouth and later in the back of my throat.  It was compounded with Arroz (rice) cooked just right and salted perfectly with the side of frijoles. Placing the chicken and Mole with a bit of rice and beans in my flour tortilla, this dish was very filling.  The plate seemed small and the portions balanced but in the end, I had  a full box of takeout. You can tell a lot about the quality of a meal by how good it taste the day after. For myself, leftovers was later that evening with a side of jasmine rice. Marvelous.

Good with a glass of Horchata

I finished my meal with rice pudding and as anyone who knows me know, rice in any form that is pudding, breaded or sweetened is blasphemy.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy rice desserts but not typically fully cooked rice.  Arroz con Leche is typically a simple dish with milk, sugar, sometimes vanilla and salt with rice. Some recipes add fruit, such as raisins or dates into the pudding. The warm rice pudding was sweet, but didn’t over power me as some other chicano desserts such as flan usually do. I enjoyed the pudding and would recommend it for anyone with a sweet tooth following their meal at Red Iguana. It’s also price very inexpensive.

Overall, Red Iguana was a winner with the dish I had. The price is fairly moderate when you consider that there are some taco stands and more run-down hole in the wall Mexican restaurants where you can buy similar traditional items for a much lower price. However, you can order with confidence in both the quality and preparation put into food at this local fave.

For more info on Mole:

http://www.mexonline.com/molepoblano.htm

Check out this profile by my favorite show “Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives”