Chilangos Tacos opening at Venetian on Las Vegas Strip

The Strip is going Chilango.

Chilangos Tacos, the Dallas-born taqueria where branding flex meets cultural connection meets Mexico City street food, will debut Oct. 30 on the Las Vegas Strip in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian. The taqueria will occupy a 2,500-square-foot, neon-spattered, music-driven space “designed to transport guests straight to a late-night taco stand in CDMX with loud cumbias, open-kitchen theater and all,” as a recent announcement puts it.

CDMX is the Spanish acronym for Mexico City. Chilangos takes its name from the Spanish term for natives of the capital; taqueria co-founder Jonatan Garay is a native of the city.

“Vegas was always part of the plan. This is the city where Mexicans come to celebrate big moments — weddings, quinceañeras, bachelor parties. We needed to be here,” Garay said in the announcement.

“Chilangos isn’t just opening another location; we’re planting our flag where our comunidad already shows up … this isn’t just about us. It’s for our comunidad — to share our heritage, our flavor and our love for tacos with the world.”

Tortillas call on tradition

The taqueria describes its menu as “CDMX technique turned up to full volume.” Notably, given its Dallas roots, Chilangos serves Mexican food, not Tex-Mex.

Tacos proceed from nixtamalized tortillas, made by cooking and soaking corn in alkaline solution according to the ancient method. The tacos are stuffed with, say, grilled chicken enrobed in a gentle char, or chorizo with a hum of heat, or pastor sliced from a spinning trompo, an upright rotisserie. In Vegas only, a sirloin trompo provides shavings. Onions and a gust of cilantro top the tacos.

Birria richly dripping

Ribeye birria tacos — regular versions or a quesataco trio griddled with cheese — drip with jus after dunking in a sidecar of rich consommé. La Costra (“crust”), a house specialty that became popular in Mexico City in the early 2000s, features a taco shell fashioned from cheese cooked directly on the flat top. The shell is piled with proteins, then served in a flour tortilla.

A side of elote street corn arrives in a 12-ounce cup with mayonnaise, sour cream, house hot sauce and a flurry of queso fresco. Churros are filled with cajeta caramel and dusted with cinnamon sugar. A Chingónrita, a signature mango and chamoy margarita; a Michelada bar; and “scratch salsas that range from bright to face-melting” help round out the menu.

$1.50 tacos on opening day

Besides its Dallas flagship and the new Strip location, Chilangos has two other Texas taquerias and one in Nashville, Tennessee.

On Oct. 30, Chilangos will serve $1.50 tacos all day. Besides pollo, chorizo, pastor and sirloin, taco fillings run to barbacoa braised beef cheek; suadero (called rose meat in English), a thin cut from the middle of the cow; a campechano combo of chorizo and suadero; and hongos caramelized mushrooms.

Hours will be 10 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Visit chilangostacos.com — and keep watch for crew members in LED backpacks handing out Chilangos merch on the Strip.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.