Make your way to Rojo Gusano-Central in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin neighborhood on July 1 and 2 when free tacos will be offered to mark its arrival. The restaurant, a smaller outpost of chef Dudley Nieto’s original Rojo Gusano at 3830 W. Lawrence Ave., has 40 seats compared to the 80 seats at the Albany Park original.
The free tacos — one per person — will be offered from from 4 to 6 p.m. on both Friday, July 1 and Saturday, July 2.
Rojo Gusano, in the space that used to house Mayan Sol, is a taqueria with brick walls, unadorned tables and wood floors. The menu reads like a Mexican street-food assortment, including various tacos and cotija-dusted corn on the cob. What makes Rojo Gusano different is Nieto’s use of non-traditional, global ingredients. There’s a Thai green curry in one taco, kimchi in another and a vindaloo recipe defines a third. One of his favorites is a vegetarian taco made with charred butternut squash, black kale, queso fresco and a cascabel-tomatillo salsa. The shrimp-and-octopus ceviche gets its spark from leche de tigre (tiger’s milk) marinade, a Peruvian influence.
Rojo Gusano-Central, 3331 N. Central Ave.
