The best tacos in town are free

Ryan Hall is a Chicago native. While living there, he was spoiled on the readily available Mexican cuisine, eating tacos three or four times a week.

“I lived in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood,” Hall says. “There was a bar I used to hang out at, and they would serve up tacos on Sundays during the Bears games. There were taquerias everywhere.”

When Hall moved to Baton Rouge three years ago, he noticed a severe lack of taco shops.

“Baton Rouge and Louisiana have got good food,” he says. “But one thing it’s light on is good tacos.”

When Red Star reopened earlier this year, Hall, a former doorman for the downtown bar and current LSU graduate student, mentioned his idea to throw down some tacos to owners Gabe Daigle and Jeff Kaufman.

Hall got his wish just a month and a half ago, bringing the flavors he lived on up north to the customers inside the Baton Rouge bar on Sundays for free.

It’s no surprise that Hall has been getting positive feedback. Who is going to pass up a free taco after a night of drinking? However, these aren’t the typical ground meat and hard-shell tacos you can get anywhere.

“This is the stuff I ate all the time,” he says. “I do carnitas [and] some skirt steak tacos. I don’t fancy it up. I let the ingredients speak for themselves. I don’t try to hide behind any thick sauces and cheeses.”

Hall does have a secret weapon that makes his tacos even better—a green sauce made of tomatillos, onion, avocado, salt, cilantro, garlic, a little lime juice, olive oil and Serrano chilies. The recipe comes from a taqueria he frequented in Chicago.

“That bar I hung out at had this sauce, and it was bugging me because I couldn’t figure out how to make it,” he says. “I found out one of the guys’ parents owned a taqueria, so I went there and asked his parents. They gave me the recipe. It took me two years to make and perfect that stuff.”

Hall enjoys cooking and he’s done stuff like this for his friends, so he doesn’t mind preparing the treats for free. He’s not sure if he wants to take the idea and make it his own business, but he’s hoping the tacos become more popular.

“I like doing this for free,” he says. “People seem to enjoy the tacos. I’m glad. We’ll see what happens. I’m still letting it grow.”

Hall will serve up tacos Sunday at 3 p.m. Red Star Bar is located at 222 Laurel St.(Map it!) —Matthew Sigur