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Blue Iguana, Fair Lakes - Chef Jim Cernak's Creole-Fuision Menu at 12727 Shoppes Lane


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I haven't seen anything written on Blue Iguana. I lunch there often, and I know it comes across as a happy hour haunt with a funky name. Surprisingly, the food is pretty good and it's not a chain, so I recommend it.

I work in the Fair Oaks area, so Blue Iguana is a credible option for lunch. All of the salads are fresh and tasty, and at about $11, they're reasonable too. I love the Cobb Salad. Last time I had lunch there, I had the catfish tacos. They were in the "really good" category.

Next Monday night, Aug. 18th, is a special $69 per person tasting menu with Georges Duboeuf wines. I'll be there and will report diligently. But the menu is indicative of a kitchen that is more than a casual lunch spot. This dinner is created and prepared by Executive Chef Eric Robinson, and I think he means business!

Pre-First course (reception) -- Crab and lobster cakes, lemongrass chicken croquettes, smoked mussel canapes with tomato mousse, baked brie with almond and pear, all served with Georges Duboeuf Sauvignon Blanc.

First course -- Hamachi "sashimi style", Beluga lentils, shaved fennel, pickled red onions and key lime vinaigrette, served with Georges Duboeuf Pouilly-Fuisse.

Second course -- Pecan crusted pork tenderloin, grilled plums, wilted mustard greens, sour cherry chevre and red wine reduction, served with Georges Duboeuf Morgon Jean Descombes Beaujolais..

Entree -- Herb-roasted beef short loin, wild mushroom and potato ragout, smoked tomato demi-glace and caramelized shallot and chive butter, served with Georges Duboeuf Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Dessert -- Strawberry "napoleon", marinated strawberries, mascarpone mousse, filo crisps, strawberry puree, served with Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages.

My mouth is watering even if my waistline is begging for mercy. When I booked my reservations last week, they were up to 60 already. I doubt they can take more than 80 or so.....

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I have lived in that area for a long time and the Blue Iguana has been pretty good to me over the years. They need to do some remodeling on the inside, it looks pretty weathered, but it is a good go-to place for lunch or brunch, especially when the weather is nice and you want to sit outside. It is best to stay basic with sandwiches and salads, but a place like this is nice to have considering everything else surrounding it are chains.

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I have lived in that area for a long time and the Blue Iguana has been pretty good to me over the years. They need to do some remodeling on the inside, it looks pretty weathered, but it is a good go-to place for lunch or brunch, especially when the weather is nice and you want to sit outside. It is best to stay basic with sandwiches and salads, but a place like this is nice to have considering everything else surrounding it are chains.

So you think the wine dinner menu is going to be a bit of a stretch?

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I have lived in that area for a long time and the Blue Iguana has been pretty good to me over the years. They need to do some remodeling on the inside, it looks pretty weathered, but it is a good go-to place for lunch or brunch, especially when the weather is nice and you want to sit outside.
They must be doing something right. I lived in that area back when there was nothing out there Pre-Walmart shopping center days about fifteen or twenty years ago and remember Blue Iguana opening. The name always stuck in my mind (Always thought it sounded like a strip club).
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They must be doing something right. I lived in that area back when there was nothing out there Pre-Walmart shopping center days about fifteen or twenty years ago and remember Blue Iguana opening. The name always stuck in my mind (Always thought it sounded like a strip club).

We have enjoyed Blue Iguana over the years but at our last meal there, Thanksgiving '07, it just seemed really tired. The apple cobbler was nothing but canned apple pie filling with some sort of crumbs strewn about. :lol:

I would hope the place has turned it around, because it's a nice change from all the chains out our way.

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So you think the wine dinner menu is going to be a bit of a stretch?

If I was going to be around and had nothing to do that night, I would give the wine dinner a chance. It does seem like a stretch for them, but you will never know unless you try it. Personally, I have no idea if the chef can pull that type of menu off, but maybe the menu is basic because that is what people will eat in that area as opposed to the chef not being able to put out food like that. If the wine dinner is successful, and they see that people like those more creative dishes, it could really help out the menu.

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I'm back with my report. The meal was beyond outstanding. Eric Robinson may not be well known, but last night he was worthy of 2941 or Eve.

It was the Summer Wine tasting Dinner, arranged jointly by Blue Iguana and a guy named John who works for the importer who handles Duboeuf and many others. I believe he mentioned Deutsch as the importer. John sat next to me and was bouncing ideas off of me for the Fall Wine Tasting, and I think he's leaning towards a Bordeaux set of pairings. Stay tuned -- Oct. 6th or 13th.

Each of the five courses were home runs. The Hamachi was melt-in-your-mouth, the pork tenderloin was one of the better morsels of pork I've had in a long time, the beef short loin actually tasted like beef and the strawberry napoleon was a very pleasant surprise.

The Duboeuf wines actually paired well with the courses. I wasn't as impressed with the Morgon as John thought I would be, but overall, the wine flowed freely and was enjoyable.

Mind you, this wasn't a standard off-the-menu Blue Iguana meal. But at $69 per person with all the wine you can drink and some really impressive calisthenics by the chef, it can't be beat. I will definitely be there for the October event.

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Not sure what area is the wasteland, but based on these recommendations there is a very good (vegetarian) Indian place called Saravana Palace that is near the Wegman's.

As for the wine-pairing dinners at Blue Iguana, are the wines better than what is on their current web site list?

Yes, they are, usually arranged while working in conjunction with the fine little wine shop next door. An expert from a selected winery, or region, selects the theme and the wines and works with Eric, who builds the five courses. At usually $69 per person, it's one of the best wine-pairing tasting menu values in our area. Oh, and sometimes, it's a beer-pairing menu instead.

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I've got a gift certificate there. What would you recommend from the regular menu?

Can you use it for lunch or happy hour? It's not that anything I've had here is bad, it's just that it's largely uninspiring for the price point. Even with a gift certificate. Shortly after the place opened, it was fantastic. Now it's a nice value at lunch, but I wouldn't pay dinner prices.

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You can get on their email list and get the news on weekend specials. There is usually a meat dish and a fish dish for a reasonable price and good quality. During the week -- Sunday through Thursday -- they offer a 3-course menu for $19.95. I've had the corn chowder, grilled bistro steak with sweet potato risotto and creme brulee combination, which for $19.95 was pretty doggone good.

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Not to belabor the point, but I just received the following email from Blue Iguana. Having eaten there about dozen times, I wouldn't hesitate to order either of these dishes.

Specials for October 23rd & 24th

Char-grilled New York Strip Steak

Cracked black peppercorn sauce

Smoked cheddar potato gratin

Baby broccoli

$23

Pan-roasted Mahi Mahi

Wild rice pilaf

French green beans

Toasted almonds

Yuzu butter

$20

Thank you for being a Blue Iguana email Customer!!

Present this email on Sunday, October 25th, and receive a pitcher of Mimosa for only $5.00 with the purchase of a Sunday Brunch Buffet. Limit one pitcher for each buffet purchase. 10AM to 2PM only.

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Now it's a nice value at lunch, but I wouldn't pay dinner prices.

The three-course $9.95 lunch is a really good deal. I'm not sure of many better lunch values in Fairfax. I fully expected to leave hungry for that price. Sure, my steak was really tiny (probably for the best; I eat too much red meat), but added to the mash potatoes, corn and andouille sausage hushpuppies, and banana moouse and it was more than enough food. And only $10!

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The three-course $9.95 lunch is a really good deal. I'm not sure of many better lunch values in Fairfax. I fully expected to leave hungry for that price. Sure, my steak was really tiny (probably for the best; I eat too much red meat), but added to the mash potatoes, corn and andouille sausage hushpuppies, and banana moouse and it was more than enough food. And only $10!

Hear hear! This place needs more love in the Dining Guide. For $9.95 today, I had a cup of zesty tomato-asparagus-tortellini soup, the salmon -- small but cooked perfectly -- a goodly scoop of mushroom rissoti, and a pile of mixed greens. More than enough food, and plenty of good taste....

[by the way, we probably need a separate thread on the best-of-the-best servers in our area, the true legends of the front room, the ones who hold together the service and keep things running smoothly, and over time, become your friends and family. They keep you coming back because the dining experience is just more special with them serving you and keeping you company. Helmut at Blue Iguana is one of them. He is retiring in July at age 80, after more than 60 years in the food service industry and about a dozen straight years at Blue Iguana.]

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For what it's worth, Blue Iguana was sold, effective by the end of June. The new owner is not a chain (or so I'm told) and intends to keep the name and most of the staff. The patio area will undergo an upgrade, as will some other aspects of the appearance and menu. Certain staff members mentioned to me that they will take a wait-and-see approach about staying with the restaurant.

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Not remembering that this restaurant had been sold (and it probably would have made no difference to me anyway), I stopped in for lunch today and sat on the patio on a beautiful day.  I had in mind one of the lunchtime specials the place used to have.  No dice.  When the waiter, who was standing not three feet from me, finally finished his chat with the diners at the next table (which went on for over five minutes after I sat down) and found me a menu, he told me the place was doing a "soft opening" and they didn't have any specials nor did they know whether there would be any specials in the future.

I had a lobster roll with a side of onion straws ($11.00).  The lobster roll was quite small, but I think it had some lobster in it.  At least the onion straws were good.

Right now I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

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I heard about the change in ownership and the downturn in quality....not having been there in a while, I gave it a try for lunch today.

The menu is very Cajun/Creole now, and the kitchen knows a thing or two about this cuisine. The "cup" of gumbo I ordered as a starter came out as a "bowl" and was extremely good. It was up there with Acadiana's version, maybe even a notch better, with distinct chunks of Tasso Ham and Andouille Sausage, followed by a very pleasant afterburn. My main was an Oyster Po Boy, and I was surprised by how good it was. It may have been a bit on the smallish side, but the bun was nice and the oysters were fried to a nice crucnh on the outside and soft creaminess on the inside. I was not expecting a meal of this quality, and I will return to sample my way across this menu a bit more.

If I had to compare this new version of Blue Iguana to any other restuarant around here, it would be RT's in Alexandria. Not great, but good. Actually quite good.

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Blue Iguana is Open 7 Days until 2AM which puts it on our Late Night Restaurants list in the Dining Guide, but I don't know what time the kitchen closes.

Even if the kitchen closes *at* 2am...I don't know a cook or prep staff living that wouldn't feel the pang of temptation to mess with the food of someone who ambles in at the last few minutes before closing.  So ~caveat cenator~.

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I'm figuring out the reboot of the Blue Iguana. Clifton and Nargiza Wilcox sold it to former longtime employees Ian Purcell and Michael Leutbecker about a year ago. Those two in turn brought in Chef Jim Cernak, who was the long time chef at RT's in Alexandria. Hence the Cajun/Creole menu at Blue Iguana.

It works. Consider Blue Iguana a slightly fresher version of RT's, with some of Washington's best Cajun/Creole interpretations right now. The Popcorn Crawfish is an appetizer that reminds me of New Orleans Emporium in Adams Morgan about 25 years ago. The Oysters Nezpique main dish is one of the best main dishes I've had in northern Virginia ever. Solid chunks of sweet crab in a spicy and delicious topping over luscious fried oysters added up to a perfect dish. Lady KN's Jambalaya, which was large enough for me to scoop into at will, was excellent. Portions are generous, so plan to share or bring home a midnight snack.

I'm liking the new Blue Iguana a lot. Right now, it's one of our area's better tributes to the cuisine of Louisiana.

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I remember the New Orleans Emporium in Adams Morgan, like you say, 25 years ago.  My wife and I took my mother (now 91 years old) down there, and we had a great time/meal!  We went a couple of other times, as well.  I will prioritize going to Blue Iguana, since we are out in the western 'burbs, and would love to have a good jambalaya or gumbo, especially in this "chilly" weather!

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