Where's Monroe? Night of the Iguana opens sans iconic chef

When Hampton Roads’ iconic chef Monroe Duncan announced late last year that he and a partner were opening a restaurant in Norfolk, mouths started watering.

Legions of Monroe’s fans, craving dishes from the restaurants he has operated over the past three decades, anxiously awaited the opening. The chef, now 71, deemed it his “last hurrah.”

Duncan and business partner Annette Stone opened Night of the Iguana a few weeks back, but Duncan is not on the premises. Health issues have sidelined him temporarily.

Located at 37th Street and Hampton Boulevard, the restaurant features a menu studded with dishes from Duncan’s culinary past, including Suddenly Last Summer, the Ocean View eatery that Duncan opened in 1979 and is widely credited with changing the local restaurant scene.

No date has been set, but “I am planning to return,” Duncan said in an e-mail dispatch this morning, adding that his health “is getting better with each day.”

“My intent is to cook up my last hurrah,” he said.

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