The purpose of this burger search was to be a tie-breaker. Each poll for best burger led to a deadlock, so, as editor, it seemed reasonable that I should try several of the local favorites and serve as a tie-breaker. I have, and I’m going with the Green Iguana burger.

There is, however, a slight caveat. While the best burger I had in Tampa was at a Green Iguana, I tried several and learned that they’re not as consistent as some other places in their burger preparation. For consistency I’d recommend GrillSmith and Square 1.

What made the Green Iguana the best (when prepared as requested) was the ooziness. My favorite burgers are the ones that take multiple napkins to get through. In this category, the Iguana did not disappoint. It doesn’t have the perfect cookery of the Pane Rustica burger, but it also comes on a lightly toasted bun rather than focaccia, a necessity in my book.

But is Green Iguana a chain? This category is supposed to be for non-chains (5 Guys won the best chain category). My rule of thumb for chains was that multiple stores were fine as long as more than half were in the bay area. Green Iguana has five locations, four around Tampa and one in St. Pete, so it definitely fits in the local category.

The picture above is the burger I had on Saturday. If it had been the only one I tried Green Iguana would have fallen out of the elite and into the middle-tier of tasty, but not superb, burgers, like the ones I tried at Tank’s Tap House and Uncle Fat’s Pub. But, when they’re on their game they’re the best in town.


Here’s a link to their website (check your volume at work).

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