Red Iguana 2

A second Red Iguana Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake City still doesn't seem like enough.

By Ted Scheffler, Salt Lake Weekly, February 3, 2010

"The opening of Red Iguana 2 seems to have awakened dormant Red Iguana lovers, like myself, who too-rarely visited the restaurant because of those aforementioned wait times. At 11:45 a.m. on a recent Friday, there was a half-hour wait to be seated for lunch at the new Red Iguana 2. On a Monday and a Wednesday, there were 45-minute delays for dinner seating. I’m convinced that if the Cardenas family—owners of the Red Iguanas — built a half-dozen additional Red Iguana restaurants, they’d still be mobbed. And indeed, there is a third Red Iguana slated to open in the City Creek Center food court in March. So I ask, what is it about Red Iguana that makes it so damned popular?"

MORE...

---

NEW!: The Wolf and the Iguana: A Love Story: Los Lobos’ Louie Perez recalls the band’s experiences at the Red Iguana.

Salt Lake City Weekly, by Randy Harward
Posted 01/22/2009

Every Red Iguana patron has seen the jaunty cholo script on the restaurant’s Wall of Fame that reads "Los Lobos." Maybe you’re one such diner, and a fan of the band? If so, you might have zoned out over your food and imagined the band members, themselves high on the Iguana’s killer mole dishes (¡y cervezas, órale!), whipping out Sharpies and making their mark, which has become the cool nucleus of the green Red Iguana wall.

It must be analogous to Zorro carving his trademark Z, a monument to some mythic moment in time. Alas, Los Lobos aren’t swordsmen or banditos or even mariachis. In fact, the way Louie Perez tells it, they were just another band from East Los Angeles, rolling through town when their hunger led them to the restaurant that has become Utah’s home for "Killer Mexican Food."

"Oh yeah!" says Perez while noting that the Santa Ana winds have cleared the skies to reveal the mountains near his California home. "We’ve got a lot of history [at the Red Iguana]."

Although the story is simple, it is not without a semi-biblical tone. Los Lobos, not yet famous for their now-landmark albums How Will the Wolf Survive? and Kiko or their lone hit, a cover of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba,” were to play Salt Lake City’s long-gone venue The Rainbow. “We were lookin’ around for someplace to eat,” says Perez, “and we kinda just stumbled upon this place. And it was good.”

As for the story behind signing the Wall, Perez says he remembers only one detail: “I used my right hand.” Los Lobos’ meeting with the late Ramon Cardenas Jr.—the Red Iguana’s founder and “Chef Chingón,” and a Paul Bunyan-esque local legend—is of course more epic. “As we started to come [to Salt Lake City] more often, we’d frequent the restaurant. And ultimately, we got to know Ramon and became really good friends. He’d always be pushin’ all these different moles that he had … and I saw those walls transform.”

Today, those walls feature a plethora of famosos including Dick Dale, Alejandro Escovedo, ZZ Top and Elvira (Mistress of the Dark)—a scant representation of the celebrities who, from past experience or passionate word-of-mouth, make a point to hit the restaurant when they pass through. Perez says that Cardenas, who dies in 2004, became the host for rock & roll in the city, “because you look on the wall and you see The Blasters, The Paladins … all these artists would come there and he would pretty much hand them the key to the city. Except the key was wrapped in a tortilla [laughs].”

What Los Lobos found at the Red Iguana wasn’t just good food or a new buddy. In Cardenas, they found a kindred spirit whose epicurean ethos was like their musical approach. “He was phenomenal in the kitchen,” Perez recalls. “The combination of the eclectic and the traditional met in a very cool way. That’s what he did, like Los Lobos have combined many musical genres to create this other sound.” Cardenas would come to the show and effusively enjoy the music, then bring the band back to the restaurant for after-hours reciprocation. And once, Los Lobos played in the restaurant’s parking lot.

“I don’t think he doted on us particularly,” says Perez, a vegetarian for whom Ramon would create special dishes. “I think he just loved music so much.” And, appropriately, Chef Chingón “had incredible taste. Whenever a cool band would come to town, they were at the Red Iguana. “He became a very cool, cool friend for many years. Our connection with them—it’s still going. We miss him, but we still stop by to see what’s going on.”

Last time Los Lobos played Salt Lake City, it was an in-and-out affair, part of a tour with Los Lonely Boys. “We just got to the gig, then back in the bus [to travel] overnight. So we didn’t get to make it.” But “hopefully,” Perez and his bandmates can take time out for a visit when Los Lobos plays a special acoustic show this Thursday at Kingsbury Hall. When they reunite with the Cardenas family, it will be a new chapter, as opposed to a poignant postscript, in the Los Lobos-Red Iguana story. 

---

 

Celebrating 20 Years!

NEW! Food Network Features the Red Iguana On
"Diners, Drive-ins and Dives"

 

---

Red Iguana

   Member Rating: ***** 4.7

Fodor's Review, November 2008:

"This lively Mexican restaurant is staffed with a warm and accommodating crew, serving the best house-made moles and chile verde in town. They pour premium margaritas and good Mexican beers, and always keep the salsa and chips coming. Expect a wait almost always. This is a great place to stop on your way to or from the airport if you don't want to take the freeway."

Credit Cards: AE, D, DC, MC, V

See Member Reviews & Ratings

---

SALT LAKE CITY WEEKLY - BEST MEXICAN 2008 Red Iguana The champions … again! It’s no surprise to see Red Iguana top the list of best local Mexican joints. Monday through Sunday, locals and tourists alike pack the modest-size west-side eatery for ample helpings of its famous moles, smothered burritos, fresh chips and salsa, veggie-friendly beans and stiff margaritas. Don’t mind the wait—it’s well worth it. If you’re lucky, Los Lobos, Imogen Heap or any number of performing artists will be there while they’re in town for their usual fix of home-cooking, Cardenas-style.

 

The Red Iguana - Cameron Davidson Photography

Just back from shooting in Salt Lake City this week. First day there, I wandered a bit - drove the truck out into the desert and along the edges of the lake. Shot personal pictures of the shoreline and walked around a bit in the 100 degree plus heat.

I've been shooting and traveling so much the past couple of months, that I try to enjoy the off time on location as much as possible. My assistant and I took an early direct flight to SLC to avoid possible delays due to late afternoon boomers in the east and midwest. I knew that if I planned it right, I could recharge the batteries a bit by clearing my head and getting out of the city.

One of the ways to try to balance life when on the road is to get away from the hotel and eat with the locals. The Red Iguana is a well-known Mexican (not Tex-Mex!) restaurant. The sign outside say's it all - "The Killer Mexican Food."

The front door is plastered with stickers from..well, everything and everywhere!

The wait for dinner was close to a half-hour and more than worth it. I ordered the "Lomo De Puerco En Mole De Almendras" - a pork loin stuffed with an delicious mix of dried fruits, chilies, spices and topped with an almond mole. Simply fantastic food!

While sitting next to a window, I glanced outside to see Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top with a point and shot camera, photographing the sign and sunset while his bodyguard/roadie kept watch over him.

Billy is known as a lover of Mexican culture and food. ZZ Top played in Salt Lake Wednesday evening. The Tribune reviewed the concert. I would have loved to attended. I've seen them several times since the seventies and always enjoyed the simplicity of Texas based blues. Plus, Billy is a killer guitarist. I've played guitar on and off for most of my life and I had the joy of purchasing my ESP "Jake E. Lee" Strat from the master collector himself, Houston's favorite guitarist, The Reverend Willy G.

If you get a chance to go to Salt Lake City, head out to the Red Iguna and eat some killer Mexican food!

736 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Cameron's Website

 

from Catalyst Magazine...

 

"Red Iguana Mole"

Mole is the richest, most sensuously satisfying Mexican specialty I have ever tasted. The complex sauce is traditionally made with dried chiles, nuts, seeds, vegetables, spices and chocolate (preferably ground, toasted cacao beans) but it varies from town to town and family to family. The Cardenas family, owners of Red Iguana, make some of the best mole you’ll find anywhere. My personal faves include mole negro, a rich, dark chocolate-like concoction, and the red pipian, a slightly tangy and spicy mole with chiles, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. I have only one caution: Please don’t overeat; a little goes a long way. I suggest ordering several moles at your table, and sharing with friends."

MARCH 2007

---

Red Iguana featured as one of Salt Lake City's
top attractions on Delta Siteseer

 

---

 

Best Mexican 2007

You just have to see the crowd waiting outside for a seat to know this perennial favorite doesn’t disappoint its legion of fans. Inside, the conversations are loud and the décor is bright, but it’s the food that’s the draw. Nachos, chili verde burritos and moles too numerous to mention are all stand-out menu items, as are the margaritas. When they’re in town, Tex-Mex band Los Lobos eats there. If that isn’t a recommendation, what is?

736 W. North Temple, 322-1489, RedIguana.com
Read More...

 

Best of Utah 2006!

---

USA TODAY REVIEWS THE RED IGUANA

Say mole, salivate and open your mouth to the tastiest Mexican fare in town. At Red Iguana (736 W. North Temple St.; 801-322-5418), bring your bumper sticker to add to the front door, dress down (or up if you’d really like) and join the vivacious diners at this hole-in-the-wall restaurant west of downtown. Inspired by their Aztec roots, founders Maria and Ramon Cardenas have relied on generations of carefully guarded family recipes to turn this lively authentic Mexican venue into a 40-year success story.

Choose from seven different mole sauces or the yummy chile verde and chile Colorado entrees. Huge meals can be had for about $10. No reservations necessary. Though only a mile from Temple Square, walking isn’t recommended. USA Today, March 2007