Why There?
It had been awhile since I had me some quality Mexican food. Most of the places we end up at are good but nothing to talk about. The Blue Iguana was a place we had never tried before so when a nice Groupon fell on my lap we jumped on it.
Now the Review:
Unusual as it is we got a pretty good parking spot not far away. It was a perfect night for a little walk and we got to see a nice group on a horse drawn carriage ride.
What was interesting was we pretty much had to walk through a construction site to get there, it is tucked away but the sign is large enough to see. You walk down this interesting staircase enclosed in a tube which I assume is amazing in the wintertime. We got seated pretty much as we walked in.
I don’t think it had been two minutes before we were brought water, chips and salsa. What really impressed me was they left us the pitcher of water on the table, this was a huge plus in my book because my husband drinks probably about 5 glasses of water at dinner and everywhere else we go it’s a constant battle to keep his water full. The chips and salsa were good but honestly nothing to rant and rave about but still enjoyable.
Both of us got the Grande Margarita, we had to it is Mexican food! I am not a huge fan of margaritas but this one was pretty good actually. It is the largest one they have so it is a little pricier ($13) than the others but it provides a nice little dinner buzz. This one was made with Don Julio Tequila, Grand Mariner, Rose’s Lime and Blue Agave Nectar. I did not get another drink but I was pretty seriously eyeing down the Strawberry Margarita (Jose Cuervo, Triple Sec blended with Strawberry puree). They had a pretty decent beer selection with 8 Mexican beers and 4 domestic. If you really wanted wine they did have a Chardonnay and a Shiraz. For cocktails they only had 3 on the menu but they had 9 different types of Tequilas so I am sure you could ask them to make you something.
Our appetizer was the Mini Tacos. They are tiny hard shells with I think just beans inside with a large amount of very fresh guacamole to dip in. The tacos were good but not amazing but the guacamole was very tasty, nice large chunks of avocado in it just they way I like it. I could taste a little spice but my husband could not. Before we could finish our tacos our main dishes arrived. A little fast for our taste, we like to sit and enjoy each part of the meal, not feel rushed through it.
My main dish was the chicken chimichanga. What surprised me the most was they were able to make it so I could cut it with my fork but still make it crispy, perfection!! The chicken inside was not just plain chicken every other restaurant throws inside hoping the sides add flavor. This chicken had an amazing flavor to it, with each bite you got that extra burst of flavor along with all the others than I expected.
My husband’s main dish was the Mexicano Combinaciones that included a Small Chili Verde Burrito, tostada and a taco. He tasted ginger in the beef, which he loved. On the side was cabbage that he said was very fresh and refreshing. What shocked me was he said the Small Chili Verde Burrito was spicy, he NEVER says anything is spicy so he was very happy.
For desert we got the Fried Ice Cream. I am lactose intolerant so I only took a few bites. I was able to taste cinnamon in the fried shell, which was pretty thin. That was not a bad thing because I did not feel like it lacked in flavor but it made it easier to scoop into. The ice cream was served in a waffle cone that was very delicious.
The Verdict:
The food was the best Mexican food I have had in Utah so yes we will be returning to this restaurant. There were a few other items on the menu that looked tempting so I will have no go back and review those. The only issue we had was the food came too fast, everything sort of piled up on each other. The restaurant was not too busy so it was a little confusing to feel rushed, I am not sure if that was the intension though. Our waiter was great and since the desert menu was being redone he was able to tell us all the choices and knew how to explain them to us. That was nice because it could have turned into a big annoyance. Part of me wished we sat outside because it was such a beautiful night and the patio looked so inviting with the little lights.
I did hear a new word from the annoying table next to us that was filled with obnoxious 20 year olds, it was “instaworthy”. I can only assume it meant that whatever they were taking a picture of was going up on Instagram. I am all for the younger crowd going out and having fun but they need not try to make sure everyone in the building notices them!! I felt like our meal was pretty worth the price ($67). I did not feel like I could make any of the dishes better or have it be worth my time and that is exactly how I like to leave a restaurant, like I could not get that experience anywhere else.