Red Iguana 2 (4 out of 5 Taco Rating)

   Red Iguana has been a big hit in Salt Lake, to the point that they opened a second (near the first) location. If you've ever been to either Red Iguana for dinner, you are usually confronted with an hour+ wait time! They are known for their tasty Mexican dishes, and also known for their diverse and varied array of moles ("moll-ehs") with which they dress most of their food.
    As a Taco Tuesday group we have been meaning to come out to Red Iguana for a long time, but have not been able to make it... until now!




Dallin

Allan: Alright, I am here with Dallin tonight. What'd you get here dude?
Dallin: I got the 2 Carne Asada Burritos smothered with poblano mole sauce. 
Allan: Yummy, how was it?
Dallin: It was delicious. I've never had mole before, ever, so it's a good introduction to mole. Sweet but not too sweet, compliments the burrito really well, just awesome!

Allan: Anything else that stood out or is it pretty straightforward?
Dallin: It's pretty straightforward, I like that they put rice in the burritos. The steak was really good, it wasn't like cheap, shreded steak filler, it was all-around really good. 
Allan: Cool, what would you rate your food?
Dallin: I'm gonna give it 4 out of 5

Julia

Allan: Jules--who I am with here tonight--with Taco Tuesday Reviews, how are you Jules?
Julia: I am fabulous.
Allan: Cool, what'd you get here tonight?

Julia: I got the sour cream chicken enchiladas, I've never had them before--it's really good, it's not heavy. I did change them though, they're called Enchiladas Verdes on the menu, but it was supposed to have a mole verde sauce on it and I test tasted it--didn't love it, so I had them put on a traditional enchilada sauce instead. 

Allan: Okay, how'd it all work out?
Julia: Really good! I like it a lot. [I'd give it 4 tacos].

Jolene

Allan: Jolene, how are you doing tonight? What'd you get here tonight?

Jolene: So this is not on the menu, but I asked for a veggie burrito. They had a veggie chimichanga, so I figured they had a veggie burrito. [I had it] smothered in coloradito [mole]. It's very good, I haven't had this before, I've had the mole before, but not this combination. I think it's really good, but I have to say that I feel it needs some texture, because the veggies are all really soft. Like maybe even some rice--so it's like just a little texture--it's all a little mushy. Delicious, but mushy. I'm gonna give it a 4 and a half tacos.

Kevin

Curtis: Kevin, what'd you get tonight?
Kevin: Killer Nachos.
Curtis: Cool, how were they?

Kevin: Killer. 
Curtis: Sweet. What would you rate them?
Kevin: I'd give them a 4.

Curtis

Julia: Hi Curtis, how was your meal today? What'd you get?
Curtis: I got the same thing as Matt and Dallin, which is the 2 Carne Asada Burritos smothered in poblamo mole, it's really good. 
Julia: Good, good. Is there anything that stood out to you? 
Curtis: The whole thing was really good, I wish I would have tried the green [mole]--but next time!
Julia: Okay, and what would you rate your meal tonight Curtis?
Curtis: I would give it a 3 and a half.

Matt Baugh

Allan: I'm here with Matt on Taco Tuesday. Okay Matt, what are you doing here Matt, it looks like you haven't even touched your food.

Matt: I haven't touched it for a reason. This is my favorite thing in the world and I suggested [it] to Curtis and Dallin, and they will give you good reviews. So what I'm doing with this: I am taking this in a to go bag, and I'm taking it to Jolene's house--and what I'm going to do it take it home and fry an egg on it. Here's the thing, YouTube should know this. Listen world, listen Red Iguana 2, if you wanna make this better, I'll tell you how: you fry a couple of eggs and throw them on top of it and it will be instantly better. 
   So here's how. I like it over-medium, so you got a little bit of yoke. Unlike my father, I like a little burnt pieces with a little butter, salt. So that's what I'm doing with this. This is my favorite thing in the world. My birthday's coming up and I'm gonna come here, because I love Red Iguana. 

Allan: How would you rate your food?
Matt: Oh, 5 out of 5, absolutely.

Allan

Emily: Hi I'm here with Allan for Taco Tuesday Reviews, Allan what did you get?
Allan: I got the same thing that you did Emily, it was the Enchiladas Suizas.
Emily: Did you get the corn tortillas with it? Or did you switch them up?

Allan: I just got what the menu said, so... the corn tortillas. It had shredded chicken in it, guacamole, sour cream, and the smothered this poblano mole over the top of it. I went into this expecting a different flavor, which is a mistake. What you do is get rid of any expectations of what it's gonna taste like, take a bite and just let it sit and just think about it. After doing that, it was a really enjoyable experience. Very sweet taste with everything mixed together, it just came together very nicely. 

Emily: Good, what was your favorite part?
Allan: Eating it. I'd probably give this a 4 and half out of 5 tacos. 

   As you can see by the different dishes that were eaten here, the moles play a big part of each of the meals. If you haven't been here before (or even if you have) you can ask your waiter to give you a mole sample plate so you can see which ones you might like to try with your meal, this was a very good choice because it sold most of us on the moles that came with each of our respective meals. Of which, some of the best were:

-The 2 Carne Asada Burritos smothered in poblano mole (and in Matt's case, taken home to fry an egg or two on top).

-The Killer Nachos

-The Enchiladas Suizas

and

-The Veggie Burrito (which would have a better texture if rice were added to it). Bear in mind that this is not on the menu, but was a special request.

   If any of you noticed, the top meals were basically all the meals consumed this time, that's because Red Iguana does pretty good job of making good food! So if you want something a little different than the food you might get at La Luna, try Red Iguana and try the moles! One thing that Jules and Kevin got (and shared with everyone else) was this deep fried dough with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top, with whipped cream on the plate to spread on it. Don't remember what it was called, but when you're done with your meal GET IT. 

   This time our group's overall rating comes to 4 tacos out of 5.

Hoppers Grill And Brewing Co. (3.5 out of 5 Tacos)

   It seems that you can find some pretty good food in a few bars around Utah (probably to draw in the Mormon crowd, but hey, whatever works!) and Hoppers is one of the good places. They set you up with free mini loafs of a kind of sourdough bread and some kind of garlic(ish) butter spread to use with it, so be careful, or you'll fill up on the bread before getting to the actual meal! For those that love beer, they have a $2.50 a pint deal on Tuesday nights, otherwise Coke (or water) are your fare for the evening. But lets see how this eatery went this time, shall we?

Josh

Allan: So, Josh what'd you get today?

Josh: As you can see it is partly gone garlic fries and a hamburger.

Allan: How is it man?

Josh: It's really good, but I really don't want to eat these big chunks of garlic, but they look good. But the fries themselves are really good; and the burger is really tasty; the bun's really soft.

Allan: It looks like it's a homemade bun--almost.

Josh: It's probably a homemade bun. 

Allan: Anything else you wanted to add? Or did you want to rate it?

Josh: 4 out of 5 tacos

Kira

Allan: We are live with Taco Tuesday, what'd you get today?

Kira: I got theTurkey Dip.

Allan: The Turkey Dip, okay, how is it?

Kira: It's really good. So it's like a french dip, but instead of roast beef, it's turkey. So I like it, it's really good. 

Allan: Alright, is there anything else that stands out? Or do you wanna rate it?

Kira: Nothing crazy that stands out, but I'd probably give it a 4 out of 5. 

Curtis

Allan: Curtis here. Curtis, what'd you get?

Curtis: I got Fish and Chips.

Allan: How is everything?

Curtis: it's really good. She told me that the halibut gets restocked everyday so I was really excited about that. So I got that and the halibut was really good, it was really soft.

Allan: How would you rate your food?
Curtis: I'd probably give it 3 and a half.

Matt Baugh

Allan: Matt Baugh, here live with Taco Tuesday Reviews. What'd you get here today sir?

Matt: I got the Super Chicken Sandwich, and it really was great. It has turkey, ham on a chicken breast with cheddar cheese and monterey cheese. The sandwich was really good, I got the fried green beans instead of the fries, which I am regretting because they're not what I thought they were. This is usually not what they look like actually. 

Allan: What do they usually look like?

Matt: They're usually breaded and they're delicious and with tons of flavor. This is a bit more of the healthy option I think. They're not bad, they're not nearly as good as the fries that everyone is raving about. Because of that I'm gonna give this 3 out of 5 tacos. The sandwich was good.

Jolene

Allan:  Jolene! Taco Tuesday Reviews, what'd you get here today?

Jolene: So I got the Fish Tacos with the halibut, Curtis asked how fresh it was and they said they replace it daily, so I really like that. I also like that there was a salmon and cob option, normally you don't get a choice, so I liked that. But it was really good! The halibut is cooked really well, it's not dry, the seasoning they put on it is like a cajun seasoning. The sauce is good, it's fresh and yummy, and I just sampled a cheese fry and it was also awesome. 

Allan: Well, alright, what would you rate your experience here tonight?

Jolene: I'm gonna do a solid 4 tacos.

Marc

Allan: Okay, Marc here. What'd you get?

Marc: I got the same as Kira (-The Turkey Dip Sandwich-), but with parmesan garlic fries. 

Allan: How was it?

Marc: It was good. I wish it was beef instead of turkey, because [it came with] beef au jus and [the sandwich is turkey] which tasted a little weird, but it's still good. I give it 3 and a half.

Anthony

Allan: Your live now with Taco Tuesday Reviews.

Anthony: I got the Garlic Burger, it was a on long bun, came with a side of fries, pickle. It tasted a little burnt.

Allan: The meat did? Or the bun did?

Anthony: The patty did.

Allan: Was there anything that stood out?

Anthony: It was really garlicky, part of my fear.

Allan: Is that a good thing?

Anthony: No. 

Allan: So if you like garlic, it's a great burger. How would you rate your meal tonight?

Anthony: I would do 2 and a half tacos. Other people would really love this burger, but it wasn't for me. 

Kevin

Allan: Oh, Kevin! How are you doing?

Kevin: Yes Allan?

Allan: What'd you get here tonight?

Kevin: I got the... I think it's called the Super Chicken Sandwich.

Allan: I think Matt got the same thing.

Kevin: What'd he say about it?

Allan: He said he really liked it a lot, but he was disappointed that he got the green beans instead of the fries.

Kevin: I'm a little bit disappointed I got the salad instead of the fries. The sandwich was really good--it didn't have mayo or anything on it so I put some ranch [on it]. I think mayo would have been better, so they should think about putting some sort of sauce on it ('cause it's a sandwich for heavens sakes). I'll give it 4 tacos. I would have given it more, but that salad was pretty awful. 

Julia

Allan: Hi, what'd you get here tonight?

Julia: I got the side salad and Clam Chowder.

Allan: Alright, how was your--I guess clam chowder since a side salad seems to be a generality [in restaurants]. 

Julia: Well I got the raspberry vinaigrette dressing, which was really good. But that might be a little bit different, I don't know a lot of places that do that. I haven't really had much of my clam chowder yet, so.... I'll tell you how it is at the end of the meal. 

Allan: Did you take a bite of it?

Julia: I did, but I needed to add more stuff to it.

Allan: Take a bite now.

Julia: Okay, but don't record me eating.

Allan: Just take a bite, we already started recording.

Julia: Oh man..... {takes a bite}. That was pretty good.

Allan: Are you just saying that?

Julia: No, it's pretty good. 

Allan: Okay, what would you rate it?

Julia: Um, like 3 and a half tacos...hmmmm, maybe 4

Allan: 4?

Julia: Yeah I like it. 

Miranda

Allan: Miranda is here with me for Taco Tuesday Reviews. Miranda, what'd you get?

Miranda: I got the Chicken and Chips meal, but smothered with buffalo [sauce]. And Fried Pickles as an appetizer. Fried Pickles were amazing--the bread was amazing and my food was amazing. 

Allan: Alright then, is there anything that stood out? Or you wanna just rate it?

Miranda: 4 [tacos].

Colby and Kayrene

Allan: Here with Kayrene and Colby tonight. Guys, what'd you both kind of devour? 

Kayrene: Chicken and Chips with barbecue sauce.

Allan: Alright, what'd you both think?

Kayrene: It was really good, and Colby was pigging out. 

Allan: Anything that stood out to you guys?

Colby: I liked to dip the fries in my clam chowder, but other than that, the fries were pretty good, they were Kayrene's. I also at some of her chicken, saving some of it for lunch because it was that good. It was decent, they couldn't really screw up anything with chicken and fries. I'll give it 3 and a half

Allan: Is that what Kayrene--

Kayrene: Yes. 

 

Allan

Curtis: Allan, what'd you get?

Allan: I got the Chicken Caprese Sandwich.

Curtis: How was it my man?

Allan: It was really good, like it has the Italian-ey, kind of herbs and bread taste to it. I tasted like it was an artisan bread that they used for it, A [Foccacia] bread--super delicious. Bread was a little harder than I thought it would be, but overall I thought it was pretty good, especially with these battered fries. 

Curtis: So what would you rate tonight's meal?

Allan: I'd probably give it a 4 taco rating.

Despite the few okayish reviews about the food tonight, it says something about a place if you can get quite a few 4 taco ratings of your food from 6 out of 13 people. Some of the highlight dishes were the:

-Chicken Caprese Sandwich.

-The Super Chicken Sandwich.

And

-The Clam Chowder.

   If anything, check out what our group thought of these dishes. One thing that wasn't recorded or rated were the cheese fries that Curtis and Matt Baugh ordered. It came with two sides of bacon bits (real bacon) and two sides of fry sauce and the plate was scraped clean. 

   Josh and Kira also got the Toasted Cheese Bruschetta for an appetizer, and it was an interesting twist on an Italian-like cheesy bread. The word on the street (or at least from Miranda and Anthony) is that Hoppers' battered fried pickles are the bomb-diggity, so it might be worth some time to investigate that as well. 

   This time around the group average for Hoppers comes to 3 and a half tacos: