Red Iguana
Warning: Terrible Pun. Holy Mole!
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”
Faustina
A superb surprise in the suburbs of the Salt Lake Avenues
454 E 300 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 746-4441
Price: $$$
I’ve heard about Faustina’s for quite sometime. If you drive down 3rd south it’s easy to miss since it’s somewhat hidden behind the trees. (This is ignoring the fact that they have a huge sign). I was a little worried at first when I arrived (parking can be found a plenty in the rear). I went during their Lounge hours of 2:30-5pm. They provide an alacarte menu in addition to their main course items. Usually, you can select from the dinner menu which makes up a three course menu with salad, main dish, and dessert. I was given the discounted course with no dessert up front. Somehow though I managed to spend more than the 25$ advertised when I ordered dessert regardless.
Now to the meal. Impressive and very fresh tasting. I ordered the Linguini Diavalo featuring house-made linguini tossed in a spicy tomato sauce with parsley leaves and asiago cheese. I had them also add chicken.
The course actually began with an incredible house salad. It had butter lettuce and mixed greens, tossed in a roasted onion and sherry vinaigrette, topped with beet crisps. The beet crisps was my favorite part of this salad. It managed to balance the vinegary flavor with a slightly salty/sweet crisp. I could have eaten these little morsels in a bag of regular chips watching Monday Night Football.
The Beet chips were incredible!
I’m often very hesitant to order pasta when eating out mostly because many chains overcook and often use prepackaged cisco pasta. This was not the case with the home made linguini. It was incredible. It had a fresh and natural taste when often some linguini is very tough and has the taste of plastic. The noodles reminded me of fresh Chinese noodles (ramen, if you will) that isn’t straight but wavy. The chicken was accentuated great and juiciness absorbed the flavors of the Diavolo sauce. The sauce had a mild flavor that was never overwhelming and the melted Parmesan added a creaminess to the sauce . The spice was just perfect for this Italian dish.
Freshly made linguini adds to the robust flavor
The meal was so impressive I decided to try out the dessert. My dessert was the Blueberry Souffle with a honey lavender sauce. The dessert was very light and fluffy as Souffles should be but what stood out was the balance of egg/custard flavor. The lavender honey sauce was a surprise as my waiter stabbed a hole in the Souffle and drizzled the subtle sauce down the center. As I cut down the center of this airy delight a warm pool of the sauce and Souffle has coalesced at the bottom of the dish. I scooped this sauce up and drizzled it on the top and enjoyed the great warm flavors. I was surprised that lavender could be used so subtly.
Five minutes later, this was gone.
Overall, Faustina was a great experience. It’s nestled in an area of Salt Lake that is half comfort of the neighborhood but posh enough to be a place where you can take a date for a semi-formal meal. The restaurant was very serene and had a great jazz feel with the background music they had playing. I was there just at the end of the day when dusk had hit. They had a great patio and tea lights and I imagine a night time meal would have been a great setting.
A must visit
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Peng's Palate 