The day is almost here for one of the most hyped restaurants to open in Dallas this year: Loro, the Asian Smokehouse and Bar, from Austin celebri-foodies Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole, has an opening date for its Dallas location: July 5.

The restaurant is opening in old East Dallas at 1812 N. Haskell Ave., at the corner of Munger, where its menu will balance Southeast Asian flavors with traditional Texas BBQ — one that reflects the unique culinary partnership between Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue, and Cole, owner of the Uchi chain.

Dallas is the second Loro; the original opened in Austin in April 2018. A third location is opening in Houston later this year.

The time seems right for a quote from the chefs.

"Opening Loro in Dallas is an exciting milestone for us," says Tyson Cole. "It's not only the first Loro outside of our hometown, but Dallas marks the first city to be home to all four of our concepts. We're fired up to be a part of the Old East Dallas community."

"We’ve got some new tricks up our sleeve and we hope Dallas digs it!" says Aaron Franklin. He brings exclamation points.

The Dallas restaurant will be led by Chef de Cuisine Mike Perez, a graduate of Johnson & Wales who brings both kitchen and smoker experience. Before joining Hai Hospitality, he worked at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon, Scarpetta in L.A., Tabla Bistro in Portland, the Deep Creek Fishing Club in Alaska, Trattoria Lucca in Charleston, and Ten 01 in Portland.

Menu
The menu will feature several Dallas-only menu items such as:

• Fish & Chips ($7), a Coney Island-meets-classic British pub Happy Hour item with marinated cod fried in a tempura batter of curry, turmeric, and Royal Scandal, an English Pale Ale from Dallas' Peticolas Brewing Company, and served with salt & vinegar beet chips
• French Onion Brisket Melt ($8), also a Happy Hour item, inspired by the brisket jam found on the popular burger on Loro's Austin menu. Meant to be eaten like a French dip, it's a patty melt served on toasted rye with Swiss cheese, brisket jam, and sweet & sour onions caramelized with sugar and sherry vinegar, served with jus made from rendered brisket juice, with a yuzu thousand island
• Brisket Coconut Rice ($6.50), Loro's interpretation of Malaysia’s ceremonial coconut-scented rice with chopped brisket, peanuts, currants, and Thai chilis, added to rice flavored with curry oil, leading to a spicy, sweet, crunchy flavor bomb
• Snap Pea & Toasted Coconut Salad ($10.75), with protein optional, including green beans, pea tendrils, grilled pineapple, Thai basil, toasted coconut chips, and a pineapple fish sauce vinaigrette

Dishes from the original Austin menu include:

• Candied Kettle Corn ($4.75) with a burnt brisket ends topping
• Corn Fritters ($7.75) with Thai herbs, celery, nam jim jaew, galangal powder, Thai chili, lime juice and fish sauce
• Kale & Asian Pear Salad ($10.50) with hazelnut, cabbage, dashi, and mint
• Chicken Karaage ($9.75) accompanied by chili aioli, Szechuan salt, Thai herbs

Items from the Meat Menu include

• Malaysian Chicken Bo Ssam ($14.50) with yellow curry-yuzu vinaigrette and Thai basil
• Char Siew Pork Belly ($12.75) with hoisin sauce and celery
• Smoked Prime Bavette ($18.75) with shishito salsa verde, cilantro, and pickled onion
• Oak Smoked Salmon ($18.00) with cucumber-yuzu broth, parsley and lemon
• Smoked Turkey Breast ($14) with apricot chutney and crispy chicken skin

Sandwiches include

• Oak Smoked Beef Brisket ($13) with papaya salad, peanuts, chili aioli and Thai herbs
• Smoked Turkey Breast ($12) on a pretzel baguette with giardiniera and provolone
• Crispy Smoked Chicken ($10) with citrus-cabbage slaw, pickles, honey and hot sauce
• Cheeseburger ($11) with house made red onion-brisket jam, muenster cheese and lettuce

Loro will offer a variety of Rice Bowl options ($13.75), to which guests can add Crispy Szechuan Tofu ($11.75), Malaysian Curry Chicken, Char Siew Pork Belly, Smoked Prime Bavette, or Oak Smoked Salmon to their coconut rice, seasonal pickles and Thai herbs.

The bar program features rotating batch cocktails such as Ginger Old Fashioned, and Mandarin Margarita; boozy slushees such as Frozen Gin & Tonic, Mango Sake Slushee, Frozen Mojito, and Vietnamese Coffee; wine and sake on tap; and bottled and draft beer.

Loro Dallas will be open daily for lunch and dinner, with a happy hour on weekdays from 2-5 pm.