When Loro opens in East Dallas on July 5, 2021, this Austin Asian smokehouse will be one of the most exciting restaurant openings of the year in North Texas.
Much of Loro’s fascination lies in his talent: it was created by Pitmaster Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Chef Tyson Cole of Uchi in Austin (and now Dallas, Denver, Miami and Houston).
But serious anticipation also certainly contributed to its attractiveness: the restaurant was added to our list of the most exciting new restaurants and bars twice, in 2020 and again in 2021 after the restaurant did not open during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been almost two years since this supergroup announced plans to open Loro in Dallas. The original location opened in Austin in 2018.
Their style of eating – Franklin’s Central Texas-style barbecue with Cole’s Japanese ingredients – is not yet widespread in Texas. But ask Franklin and Cole that their food obviously fits. The greasiness and saltiness of Franklin’s smoked meat calls for acid, and Cole gets away with kimchi, chilli vinaigrette, and lime.
“We’re going to grill, and we’re going to make it a little lighter and fresher,” says Cole.
Chef Tyson Cole (right) and Aaron Franklin are opening a Loro in East Dallas in the summer of 2021. Construction setbacks and the coronavirus pandemic have significantly delayed the opening of the restaurant.(Logan Krabbel)
Some of the most popular dishes are smoked breast served with chili gastrique and Thai herbs; Corn fritters with sriracha aioli; and smoked prime bavette and shishito salsa verde. The cheeseburger – which is only served at happy hour because everyone loves a get-it-till-its-gone special – is also a best seller. Topped off with red onion brisket jam and slimy Munster cheese, Franklin calls it “one of those big, dense burger intestinal bombs”.
The head chef in Dallas is Mike Perez, who has traveled across the country working in kitchens: at Scarpetta in Los Angeles, Ten01 in Portland, Trattoria Lucca in Charleston and more.
Some of the dishes at Loro that are specific to Dallas include fried fish served with salty and vinegar beet chips and brisket coconut rice with Thai chilies. A new French onion breast melt will only be available for $ 8 during happy hour.
The menu in East Dallas will otherwise be similar to the original Austin restaurant.
Customers order at the counter, and the restaurant is also said to have a casual Austin feel to it, where Dallasites can “wear their cutoffs and flip-flops,” as Franklin puts it. It was designed by the Michael Hsu Austin Office of Architecture, the group that also designed the dining rooms at Lada in Far North Dallas; Merit Coffee in Deep Ellum; and the now closed Gung Ho on Greenville Avenue.
Cole and Franklin are two of the most famous chefs in Texas and have both won a James Beard Award. Cole won the Best Chef: Southwest award in 2011, and Franklin won the same award in 2015. We pile up here, but Cole is also a five-time James Beard Award semi-finalist, each for his talent in the Original Uchi in Austin.
Loro should always be reproducible, says Cole in an interview in the parking lot of the soon-to-be-opened restaurant across the street from the Tex Mex e-bar on Haskell Avenue in Dallas. After the opening of Dallas, a location in Houston will follow.
Cole first opened the door to Dallas by opening Uchi in Uptown in 2015. Loro will be Franklin’s first restaurant here.
They are understandably confident: “Loro did better than any of us thought,” says Franklin.
Loro is at 1812 N. Haskell Ave., Dallas.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter @sblaskovich.
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