When I’ve taken the train to the airport, I’ve noticed this hole-in-the-wall-looking place with a huge crowd waiting outside. So my dad and I checked it out, making sure to catch a 2 p.m. Guardians of the Galaxy showing (the first time I’ve seen a movie in a theater in Salt Lake City!) so that we could get to the restaurant by 4:30. We got a table instantly, but by 5:00 the restaurant’s dining room was at capacity, and people started to fill benches in a line out the door. Since we’d never been to the restaurant before, our server explained that the Red Iguana is known for its mole sauces. He suggested that we try all the moles on a sampler plate and let him know which were our favorites so that he could make recommendations. (And he even had suggestions for vegetarian/vegan options.)
The chips and salsa appeared almost as soon as we were seated.
We both liked the mole Coloradito (pine nuts, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, dried ancho and guajillo chiles, fresh chile poblano, and Mexican chocolate), so I had it over enmoladas (three corn tortillas folded into triangles and filled with refried beans, topped with pickled red onions and avocado). It was so good that I actually ate some of the onions instead of picking them out. (The last time I ate the onions was in 2010 at Mama’s Fish House in Maui.)
Dinner mints! The test of a truly great restaurant.