by Ed U. on When I go to New York, I never say to myself, "Oh boy, now I can get me some great Mexican food!" First of all, I don't refer to myself as concurrently the subject and object in a sentence. Second, I live in San Francisco where we have the Mission and all the great Mexican food I could possibly want in one big neighborhood. But the theater awaits, and dining options are minimal near Times Square, at least ones that don't make you belch and fart during the first act. Iguana is tucked away on 54th Street but turns out to be quite cavernous once you're inside. The Latino touches are laid on thick with hacienda-style furniture and Moorish pendant lights, but I have to say this place isn't really bad, food-wise. Granted nothing I had tasted very authentic, but there were some surprising touches that made this a better solitary dining experience than I expected. First up was a cone of rainbow chips with salsa (see photo). Nothing special but a needed munch given the lengthy wait for my order. I ordered an $8 Caesar Salad that came with wedges they called Baked Cojita Croutons (see photo). It was a small serving, but I kinda liked it. Had I known about the tortilla wedges, I would have reconsidered my $10 order of the Iguana Nachos, a hefty pile of corn tortilla chips layered with chili con queso, chicken ranchero, pico de gallo and sour cream (see photo). It was good, but man, I had a lot of chips before the show. Kudos to the omnipresent wait staff that got me in and out of there in less than 40 minutes to get me to the theater in plenty of time. FOOD - 3 stars...pretty good and not that pricey but hardly homestyle cooking AMBIANCE - 2.5 stars...on the predictable side for the tourists SERVICE - 3.5 stars...pretty attentive considering this is a Times Square eatery TOTAL - 3 stars...Mexican food in NY is an anomaly, but if you must...
