Omar Cadena didn’t want to make ropa vieja, much less quesa’ropa, at Omarcito’s, his debut restaurant in Chicago (@omarcitos_chicago). “My sous chef and I were watching all these kids everywhere doing all these quesabirria things,” Cadena said. The chef and owner opened his restaurant over the summer in the Logan Square neighborhood.⁠ ⁠ “And he had actually worked at a birria place over by Belmont Cragin. So one day, he said, ’Man, why don’t we use your ropa vieja to make these quesadillas like everybody else is doing.’”⁠ ⁠ The chef is Cuban on his mother’s side, Ecuadorian on his father’s side. Now, the ropa vieja, the Cuban-style shredded beef stew from a revered family recipe, and the Mexican-inspired quesa’ropa, have kind of overtaken everything at the restaurant. And then there’s the green mayo garlic sauce.⁠ ⁠ “I had no idea it was going to take off the way that it did,” Cadena said. “I actually first made it for a homeboy of mine like a year and a half back when I took a COVID care package to him. He was like, ‘Bro, this thing right here is fire.’ ”⁠ ⁠ What’s truly fiery is the creamy green hot sauce that looks nearly exactly the same as the garlic sauce. You will mix them up if you’re not careful, when it feels like you can’t get enough of the wonderfully delicious mess that’s a smothered cousin to the quesabirria (A tacos dorados special just replaced the quesa’ropa on the menu, but you can still order it if you ask.).⁠ ⁠ “It’s a beautiful mess of family, fighting, loving and like another level of flavor,” the chef said. “What I wanted to do is punch you and hug you at the same time.”⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read the full review by the Tribune’s Louisa Chu. ? Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / @briancassella

Omar Cadena didn’t want to make ropa vieja, much less quesa’ropa, at Omarcito’s, his debut restaurant in Chicago (@omarcitos_chicago). “My sous chef and I were watching all these kids everywhere doing all these quesabirria things,” Cadena said. The chef and owner opened his restaurant over the summer in the Logan Square neighborhood.⁠
⁠
“And he had actually worked at a birria place over by Belmont Cragin. So one day, he said, ’Man, why don’t we use your ropa vieja to make these quesadillas like everybody else is doing.’”⁠
⁠
The chef is Cuban on his mother’s side, Ecuadorian on his father’s side. Now, the ropa vieja, the Cuban-style shredded beef stew from a revered family recipe, and the Mexican-inspired quesa’ropa, have kind of overtaken everything at the restaurant. And then there’s the green mayo garlic sauce.⁠
⁠
“I had no idea it was going to take off the way that it did,” Cadena said. “I actually first made it for a homeboy of mine like a year and a half back when I took a COVID care package to him. He was like, ‘Bro, this thing right here is fire.’ ”⁠
⁠
What’s truly fiery is the creamy green hot sauce that looks nearly exactly the same as the garlic sauce. You will mix them up if you’re not careful, when it feels like you can’t get enough of the wonderfully delicious mess that’s a smothered cousin to the quesabirria (A tacos dorados special just replaced the quesa’ropa on the menu, but you can still order it if you ask.).⁠
⁠
“It’s a beautiful mess of family, fighting, loving and like another level of flavor,” the chef said. “What I wanted to do is punch you and hug you at the same time.”⁠
⁠
Tap the link in our bio to read the full review by the Tribune’s Louisa Chu. ? Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / @briancassella