Special delivery
WHY MOMS-TO-BE ARE ORDERING FIERY TACOS FROM SOUTHIE EATERY
The oysters at Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar may be an aphrodisiac, but the tacos are fast gaining a reputation of their own — the go-to meal for Southie moms-to-be looking to induce labor.
“My husband went in and picked up Loco’s tacos for takeout — General Tso’s, those are my favorite, they have spicy red jalapenos on them — and before we even finished dinner we were packing our bags to go to the Brigham,” laughed Rebecca Greeley, whose son George was born last year.
Greeley was just the start of at least seven pregnant women who have chowed down on spicy food from the South Boston restaurant and bar and given birth just hours later.
And there’s no sign of a slowdown: Southie mom Brittany McGinnis just gave birth to her son Chase on May 1 after eating the Baja fish tacos the previous night on the advice of the restaurant’s bartender, who told her Loco’s grub was a surefire solution for an expectant mom already three days past her due date.
“A couple hours after leaving the restaurant, I started having contractions,” McGinnis said. “Now it’s not coincidence, it’s fact.”
Co-owner Mike Shaw said word of mouth is spreading the legend of his labor-inducing Mexican food.
“It’s bonkers,” Shaw said. “Word got out and now women are coming here to eat to help go into labor. One of our jokes is that now we’re going to have a dining room full of women who are nine months pregnant.”
Erica Gregorio gave birth after hitting up Loco for a Taco Tuesday in November. Shaw came to her table and said they made sure the tacos were extra spicy to bring her labor along. But she didn’t know she was helping to start a trend.
“I didn’t realize it was a phenomenon,” Gregorio told the Herald.
Shaw had been hearing reports of post-Loco births, but a chance meeting with Erin Holland drove the point home. Holland had eaten at Loco in October in hopes of kickstarting her delivery and gave birth to her son Connor the next day.
She joked with Shaw when she met him on the street last month.
“I said, ‘ What are you putting in the food? My son was born the day after I ate there, ha ha,’” Holland recalled. “And he said, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me! You’re the sixth woman to say this to me!’”
But while the new moms say the results speak for themselves, it’s unclear which magic ingredient is at work — various mothers have eaten different foods.
Chef Matt Drummond says the secret is his secret chip spice.
“It’s our chip seasoning that causes this. I don’t tell anyone the secret recipe but it’s what everyone snacks on here,” Drummond said. “The seasoning is made of seven spices and is definitely the culprit!”
South Boston resident Rebecca Aiello stuck with the General Tso’s taco when she went to the restaurant with her equally pregnant sister Alexandra Smith in March. Aiello is friends with Greeley and was following her advice.
Not only did Aiello give birth the next day, her sister did as well.
“We had joked about going in. … We decided to come in and within a couple of hours each of us were going into labor,” Aiello said. “It’s definitely crazy. What are the odds?”