Exclusive Look at Loro, Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole’s New Eatery

Smoked meats are not the only story at Loro. Grilled protein, like this bavette steak, a.k.a. flank steak, are equally important. Aaron Franklin, for one, is excited by the prospect. He told Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn that Loro will give him freedom to explore other flavors, and combine meat with “super bright and acidic flavors,” not just potato salad and slaw.

Photograph by John Davidson

Wanting to branch out, Tyson Cole, now 47, started thinking about a smoked-meat concept some seven years ago. The idea of a partnership came up a year ago when he shared his idea with Aaron Franklin, 40. Franklin turned out to be more than a little interested.

Photograph by John Davidson

All dishes at Loro will be small plates—no standard entrées, no typical barbecue combos, no meat by the pound. In charge of corralling all the flavors will be chef de cuisine James Dumapit.

Photograph by John Davidson

Ain’t nobody don’t like corn fritters. Perkedel Jagung is the name for the delicacy in Indonesia. Sometimes referred to as corn candy, the fried corn patties are expected to fly off the shelf—or out of the fryer—at Loro.

Photograph by John Davidson

The meat will be not be done the old-fashioned way, in closely watched pits, but in two top-of-the-line Oyler and Ole Hickory commercial smokers. The former can hold 32 briskets; the latter will be dedicated to turkeys and cold-smoked meats like salmon. Bram Tripp, who started the Pit Room in Houston (recently featured in Texas Monthly’s list of the state's top 50 barbecue joints), is Loro’s on-site pitmaster.

Photograph by John Davidson

Starting April 4, Loro will open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. except for Fridays and Saturdays, when hours extend to 11 p.m. Sayings on the pegboard wall behind the bar will change periodically.

Photograph by John Davidson

The drink guru is Chris Melton (not shown), who oversees the beverage program at Uchi’s parent company, Hai Hospitality. He says it’s a lot harder than you’d think to coax an alcoholic beverage to stay in a just-frozen state: “You have to keep messing with it, adding tonic, adding sugar, fiddling with the lime juice; otherwise, it ends up soupy.”

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Char siew, the sweet and spicy roasted pork ubiquitous throughout Asia, will be on the menu. Hai Hospitality corporate chef Jack Yoss, who spent five years in Indonesia, says to expect the unexpected at Loro. “We’ll have Indonesian, Malaysian, and Thai influences for sure, but taken in a Japanese direction—or maybe I should say an Uchi direction.”

Photograph by John Davidson

Dishes will be ordered at five stations along a solid oak bar inside. Customers queue up and pay. They then take an electronic pager to wherever they'd like to sit—inside or out— so that food runners can find them and deliver their order, hopefully not too long after they sit down.

Photograph by John Davidson