Green Iguana Lunch; Shane's Rib Shack Dinner

One thing nice about working from home is being able to take a leisurely lunch in the neighborhood when time permits. Me and a buddy walked over to the Green Iguana Westshore, the first and original Green Iguana(there are now 5 throughout Tampa Bay area), for some lunch. I visit this place often, live music 7 nights, great food and drinks, interesting people, and best of all only a block from my house.
What a difference 20 years makes, from what was once a dive, laid back , tiny hole int he wall bar, with all the remodeling complete over the past few years, it is now a very lively, open entertainment and dining space. Huge outdoor Tiki area, the pool and darts area in the back is twice as big, bathrooms have been remodeled and larger, and the kitchen in the back is brand new and twice the size. The menu has been revamped, and now offers great dinner options.
For lunch we sat outside to enjoy the great weather, there are many business people here for lunch as well. The Baja Burger and Fish Tacos were on order for us. The burger was cooked perfectly medium and about a 1/2 pound of juicy flavorful beef, topped with cooked onion, avacado, and Caribbean spices, on a very soft fresh baked bun, and came with very fresh and hot crinkle cut fries. The two fish tacos was fried grouper rolled in fresh tortillas with a salsa and lettuce/tomato/onion, and served with fresh Mexican chips and salsa. Service was fast and friendly, the cook delivered the meals. A great experience, and with the new menu, I may be doing lunch and/or dinner here weekly....
After checking out the new Will Ferrel movie, Semi-Pro, later this evening, we all went over to Shane's Rib Shack, which recently opened in South Tampa on Neptune Street. It reminded me alot of the places you order at the counter, take a number, and then they deliver to your table(called Fast Casual Restaurants). Very fresh and large portions of Shredded BBQ pork, with sides that included Fried Okra, very lightly breaded and fried chunks of okra, collard greens which lacked some flavor but were good, and macaroni and cheese which was pretty standard. A good place for good BBQ.