The latest restaurant to hit the Trinity Groves complex in West Dallas features Mexican food made by a father-son team. Called Beto & Son, it comes from Beto Rodarte and his son, Julian, and it's now open for business.
The menu does a novel twist on Mexican food with all your hot trends: roasted carnitas noodle bowl with avocado, roasted fideo pasta, and fried egg; beer-battered salmon tacos; Mexican poutine; and a margarita "mule."
"We decided to create the next generation of Mexican fare, taking the simple comfort food my father and I grew up with [and] modernizing it, based on what people my age are looking for when they dine out,” says Julian, in a release. He's a 23-year-old recent graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). The Rodartes hail from Durango in Central Mexico.
Beto and Trinity Groves founder Phil Romano go back 25 years, when Romano hired Beto to create Nacho Mama's in San Antonio. That concept was later acquired by Brinker International and rechristened Cozymel. Beto joined Brinker to manage the wildly successful chain, which taught many Americans about real Mexican food. Beto later served as Innovation Chef for the company, creating and testing new dishes for its outlets.
Romano has known Julian since he was a baby, so when he graduated from the CIA, encouraging father and son to create the latest incubator concept at Trinity Groves was a no-brainer. Beto’s wife and Julian’s mother, Beth Rodarte, is in the front of the house.
Sauces include salsas, aiolis, and chimichurris. Meats are butchered on site and roasted overnight. Tortillas are made fresh, and cocktails are made with fresh juices and prepared to order — no powders or bottled mixers.
We’re putting a chef-inspired gourmet spin on the simple Central Mexico foods that my mother and grandmother made,” says Beto.
