Green Iguana Bar & Grill

On Saturday I had occasion to meet some old friends passing through the area.  For the sake of argument we will call them Sir Ben, Lady Rachel & Princess Jess, aka the Cannoli family.  They had asked if I could meet them somewhere not too terribly far off of I-75 that would meet the following criteria:

• Easy access off and back on I-75
• Not too difficult for me to get to
• Good food
• Allows dogs

So with that in mind I checked out some dog friendly places in the Brandon area.  There were several places to their liking, but ultimately they chose the Green Iguana.  I had never been there before, but I found the food and atmosphere to be quite to my liking.  Plus, they allowed dogs on the patio.  As far as I am concerned dogs should be allowed at any restaurant that has outdoor seating.  They allow smoking out there and that is way more stinky and disgusting than any dog I have ever met. 

We were supposed to meet at 1:00 PM, but due to some traffic issues the Cannoli’s were running very late. By their best estimate they would be there by 3:00 PM.   I had some errands to run in Tampa so I figured I would do them first and then head off to the restaurant.  After my errands were complete Meagan (the GPS in my car) had me arriving at 3:04 PM.  Excellent I thought, until Ben called and told me they hit even more bad traffic and would arrive in another hour.  No problem I said.  I arrived at the restaurant and saw a Starbucks in the same complex within easy walking distance.   So I spent the next hour having some quality Kindle time and a vanilla iced coffee.  It was very relaxing.  There were also two incredibly gorgeous women in there that made it difficult at times to concentrate on my reading, but I can honestly say that I did not mind. 

Rachel called when they were about five minutes out and I waltzed over to get us a table.  I told the hostess four and a dog and she said anywhere on the patio was fine.  I chose a table as far away from the bar as possible to avoid the nasty ass smoke and as it turned out I was very successful.  Fortunately it was a rainy day and not many people wanted to be outside even though we were completely shielded by the rain.  Thus we avoid any smokers. 

After the Cannoli’s arrived we chatted for a while and I met Annie, the mixed breed rescue dog.  She was very cute and friendly and was a delight as she sat there while we enjoyed our now very late lunch/early dinner.  Eventually we ordered and since we had been told that they are well known for awesome burgers we all chose to have them. 

My burger of choice was The Mambo King.  It was a half a pound of perfectly seasoned ground beef with two strips of bacon, a

slice of cheddar, a slice of provolone and tangy Thousand Island dressing.  It was garnished with lettuce, tomato and onions and served with a dill pickle and Iggy Fries.  The burger itself was delicious.  The seasoning they used was wonderful and complimented the natural test of the beef.  The cheese was gooey and while the bacon was a little thinner of a cut than I would have preferred, it was still delicious.  The onions were sweet and they added a delicious dimension to the burger.  Overall I would have to give this burger high praise.  Sir Ben went with the Mushroom, Bacon Swiss Burger (self-explanatory) while Lady Rachel enjoyed the Zen Teriyaki, which was a Teriyaki glazed burger with Swiss cheese, honey Dijon mayo and pineapple.  Princess Jess also chose The Mambo King.  They all said that they thoroughly enjoyed their burgers.

While the burger was excellent, I cannot say the same for the Iggy Fries.  With a name like that I was expecting some sort of seasoned fries or, at the very least, something unique.  What I got was a simple and rather plain order of crinkle cut fries.  The mark of a great French fry is to not need any condiment whatsoever and allow the true potato flavor to come through.  These were a little on the bland side, although they were helped immensely by the addition of salt and some of the cheese drippings.  When I return I will try the onion rings as a replacement for the Iggy Fries.

We were all too stuffed for a dessert, but they had very little to offer in that area anyway.  The only two choices were a deep fried Key Lime Pie and a deep fried Dulce de Leche cheesecake.  Neither option sounded all that appealing.

I’d also like to add that our server was Katie and she was very good and very friendly.  Annie the rescue dog seemed to really like her.  Annie was quite a hit as many of the waitresses and managers came by to say hello to her.  The Green Iguana Bar & Grill appears to be as dog friendly a restaurant as you will find.  So if you are looking for a place to take little Fido or great big Marmaduke then you can’t go wrong with the Green Iguana.  The burgers are excellent, just skip the fries.