The Blue Iguana - Le Claire, IA

Our latest road trip took us over to eastern Iowa. We spent a couple of days in the lovely little town of Le Claire, IA, right on the Mississippi River. We'll highlight a couple of the good meals we had - starting with our lunch at The Blue Iguana. Located at 201 N. Cody Road (the main street through town), The Blue Iguana is a fresh taste on Mexican.

Of course, we were parched from the drive and started with one of their signature margaritas. They make their margaritas with top-shelf tequila and local fresh ingredients, so we ordered up a couple of Traditional Lime Margaritas - tart and tasty, they hit the spot.

The menu offers up some traditional Mexican favorites like burritos and tacos, fajitas and quesadillas. Plus, there are some more interesting selections like Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo (shrimp in secret garlic butter sauce) and Carne Ranchera (skirt steak with onions, poblanos and avocado).

They did bring fresh chips and two types of salsa to the table - a mild green salsa and a more spicy red salsa.

For lunch, I chose the Taco Dinner - hard to choose between chicken, steak, chorizo, lengua (beef tongue), pork, shrimp or fish - but since I love the spices they use for chicken in Mexico, I went with the pollo tacos. There was lots of juicy, spicy chicken under that lettuce and cheese. They were delicious. And the rice and beans were not your usual American Mexican variety - they were actually quite flavorful and tasty.

Grant decided on the Chile Rellenos. While a chile relleno is usually battered and deep fried, this poblano chile was roasted and then stuffed with cheese and covered with a creamy sauce. He really enjoyed it because you could really taste the pepper, which is tops in his book.

Everything was fresh and delicious - you can tell they really put some thought into their menu. They also have one of those food challenges that have popped up all over - the Wanna Iguana. The challenge is downing a six pound asada burrito with rice and beans and a 24 oz. draft beer within 30 minutes. A t-shirt and your picture on the hall of fame awaits if you succeed!

The dining room is cozy, but they also have tables on the sidewalk out front, and a few tables on a deck out back with a beautiful view of the river. Service was polite and efficient - we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at The Blue Iguana. So, should find yourself in Le Claire, Iowa, be sure to stop in at The Blue Iguana for some fresh and delicious Mexican food - let us know if you try it!

The Blue Iguana

201 N. Cody Road
Le Claire, IA  52753

563.729.1015

Hours

Sunday through Thursday

  Bar 11am - 2am
  Restaurant  11am - 10pm

Friday and Saturday

  Bar  11am - 2am
  Restaurant  11am - 11pm

Menus and more information at www.the-blueiguana.com

Comments

[Will @ Road Tips]

We've been to Blue Iguana a couple three times now and it seems to be consistently good. I've heard of people who had to wait quite a while for a table on the weekends and that their food wasn't that good. We've really only gone at times when it's slower - mid-day or at night thru the week. I suppose when the kitchen is rushed, the food could suffer.

[Amy]

Hey Will - I can certainly believe there would be quite the wait on a busy weekend - it's not a huge restaurant. Like you, we were there for lunch on a Wednesday and while the restaurant stayed busy, our food and service was great.