Virginia Chef Dishes Out Brood X Cicada Tacos

Hi, it's me again, back on the Brood X cicada beat! The buzz is still going strong. While some restaurants have preemptively shut down due to the gonzo amount of red-eyed bugs out there, Reuters reports that one chef in Virginia is actively embracing the swarm by preparing and serving tacos filled with our newest brood of cicada pals.

Chef Tobias Padovano at Cocina on Market in Leesburg, Virginia, has added cicada tacos as a limited-time special, which isn't a huge stretch, as he already serves grasshopper tacos on the menu. I can confirm that grasshoppers are in fact, delicious (think the crispiest parts of chicken skin with less grease). The experts say they taste like shrimp. I still don't have any personal experience with cicadas yet, but never say never.

Chef Padovano gets them straight from the tap, gathering them shortly after they get up to the trees. He boils them, bakes them, then removes their legs and wings for easier enjoyment. Then they're sauteed in onion and garlic and topped with serranos, avocado, and radish, all in a mole verde sauce, and served in flour tortillas.

One diner, Will Becker, 19, says "You can definitely feel a bit of the crunch. But you start to chew it, it kind of just melts in."

His mother, Michele Becker, 52, says she likes them too. "If you're an adventurous eater, the way I am, it's a great time, it really is," she said. Hey, adventure's all part of the dining out experience, I say. But I can understand some of you are still squeamish. Tacos don't sound good? Well, how about some cookies, then?