After moving into my new dorm on Church Street, I noticed a small Mexican restaurant right down the block. There are a few Mexican places in Middletown (La Boca and Salsas 3 come to mind), but I decided to check out Iguanas Ranas Taqueria, persuaded by its proximity. Needless to say, my first visit left me coming back for more. I’ve since become a regular patron of the establishment, even bringing my mother when she visited me on parent’s weekend.

Although Iguanas Ranas originally opened in 2008, it was closed during the pandemic and only recently re-opened. The restaurant is run by Julio Cesar Martinez, along with his wife and the rest of their family. Iguanas Ranas was started by Martinez’s parents, who are from different regions in Mexico and met in Mexico City before moving to the United States and opening the restaurant. They were initially located on Main Street but have since reopened a new location at 129 Church St., just a few blocks away from College Row.

Although Martinez spearheads the operation, the family works together to run the restaurant. While his parents still help, his wife and sister are instrumental in daily operations. The family strives to do everything themselves; they avoid large distributing companies and purchase local vegetables and foods. However, running the restaurant is also a huge commitment.

“On a good day, I will be here 14–15 hours,” Martinez said.

This enormous time commitment is part of Martinez’s mixed feelings toward his eight-year-old son’s love of cooking. Martinez’s son often comes into the restaurant to help clean tables for a few bucks. He’s also a little chef and enjoys making his own tacos and soup in the kitchen. 

“It’s fun to see him start to love the business,” Martinez said. “I don’t know if I would be a big fan of him [running the business] since it is a lot of work, and you sacrifice a lot.”

The food at Iguanas Ranas is inspired by Martinez’s parents’ home states of Oaxaca and Guanajuato, as well as Mexico City. Martinez explained that Mexico City is a melting pot of different regional Mexican cultures, garnering influence from all over the country. The current menu culminates 15 years of practicing and perfecting their family recipes.

However, influences are certainly not limited to Mexico; Martinez will gladly include anything he enjoys eating in the menu, authentic Mexican cuisine or not. The Tex-Mex spin on some dishes was incorporated into the menu per a customer’s suggestion. Martinez remarked on how customer feedback and his personal culinary experiences help keep the menu fresh and updated. 

“We tell them [customers], if you don’t like it, let us know,” Martinez said. “We want you to come here and be happy.”

The restaurant is also known for its large portions: The burritos, in particular, are enormous. Martinez told me that this mostly comes from his upbringing. He was always fed large meals when visiting any family member, so the big portions remind him of growing up. Plus, it’s great when customers take food with them. Eating is very important to the Martinez family, so leftovers let customers take the happiness they get at the restaurant and bring it home.

“If I’m going to feed you, I want to feed you good!” Martinez said.

In terms of popularity, customers frequently order the burritos. The different burritos available reflect the various influences Iguanas Ranas incorporates into its cooking. Brave customers can try the Suicide Burrito, a massive dish served with chipotle mayo, ranchera sauce, and other spicy sauces. There’s also the California Burrito, inspired by Martinez’s previous conversation with two customers in California. This burrito is served with chicken, cheese, fries, and spicy tomatillo sauce. If you’re not craving a burrito, you can order something more unorthodox like the Birriaramen, a soup dish served with birria and ramen noodles. 

Another popular dish (and my personal favorite) is the Birria Tacos. These three tacos come topped with cheese, cilantro, onions, and a side of consommé. The meat melts in your mouth, and the entire dish is perfectly seasoned. Martinez told me how amid the Birria social media craze, he tried the dish at other restaurants but found it underwhelming. So, the next time he was in Mexico, he visited the state where it originated and brought back a recipe with him. At Iguanas Ranas, the meat simmers in a broth made with five different types of peppers and various spices for over eight hours, rendering it perfectly tender. 

“It’s one of those things you have to have patience with,” Martinez said. “You can’t really rush it. [You] don’t want it too watery or too greasy.”

When I asked him whether he had a favorite menu item to either cook or eat, Martinez told me he had no major preferences. He likes making everything on the menu and doesn’t like preparing any dishes he personally doesn’t enjoy eating. As he puts it, he’s always delighted to take a bite of anything he serves his customers. 

Since reopening, the restaurant has amassed a large clientele consisting of many regular customers from Middletown and frequently caters for Wesleyan events and for Middlesex Hospital. However, Martinez remarked that the restaurant has still been going through growing pains since reopening, primarily because of the rise of delivery apps during the pandemic. Many of their orders are takeout from Grubhub and Uber Eats, companies that the Martinez family had to learn to deal with: They sometimes have to accommodate five to six orders at a time to meet the demand.

“Everything is through the computers, through the apps,” Martinez said. “You don’t really get all that people-to-people anymore. It’s harder to get things right because you don’t talk to people anymore.”

As of right now, the Martinez family doesn’t have any major plans to expand geographically. They previously had another location in Hartford, yet ultimately closed it to focus 100% of their time and effort on the Middletown location. However, Martinez hopes to expand the current restaurant and work on outreach with the nearby community, namely more Wesleyan catering events and people from nearby towns. He is also considering opening up for breakfast to serve early-morning commuters on busy Church Street. 

The biggest thing that struck me in my interview with Martinez was how meaningful personal connections from Iguanas Ranas are to him and the family. Food is incredibly important to the Martinez family, and the restaurant allows them to connect with others over a shared love of delicious cuisine. While it is now easier than ever to have tacos and burritos delivered right to your bedroom while working on that essay you procrastinated for weeks, there is something wonderful about sharing a meal with people you care about. Iguanas Ranas Taqueria and the Martinez Family provide just that: a homey atmosphere to enjoy each other’s company and an excuse to stuff your face with exquisitely made Mexican fare.

Blake Klein can be reached at bklein@wesleyan.edu.