First Look: Loro -- The Offspring of Two Austin Legends

What happens when Tyson Cole of Uchi and Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue (both James Beard award-winning chefs) come together? Loro, the Asian/smoked meats eatery that is currently in soft opening stages. Trust me, it's going to be HUUUGE!

Located at 2115 South Lamar Boulevard at Oltorf Street, Loro is a new build-out, just south of the Office Depot. Plenty of parking onsite, and with a huge covered outdoor area, the Michael Hsu designed building is gorgeous inside and out. Starting April 4th, they will operate seven days a week for lunch and dinner. No reservations taken.

I got to attend a soft opening last Friday. You go inside and order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. Local beers on tap, a few cocktails and wines offered too. Here's the rundown of what we sampled (food was 50% off, so we figured we should try a lot!).

Corn fritters

Garlic rice noodles with pineapple, currants + cashews

Chicken karaage with jalapeno aioli *

Green papaya salad

Oak smoked salmon in a cucumber yuzu broth

Smoked brisket with sweet chili sauce and Thai herbs *

Char siew pork shoulder bowl

Aaron + Tyson 

 * = favorites on the evening. We also had the wonton chips with Thai green salsa and a sambal peanut dip that were also outstanding.

Throughout the evening, we saw both Aaron and Tyson running food, chatting with people, and in general looking relaxed. You would have thought they were just regular guys working a shift, as any "big chef egos" were clearly checked at the door. This unique mashup of food styles is sure to be a hit, and I believe Loro will be popular for a very long time.

L'oca D'oro Dinner

L'oca D'oro (the Golden Goose) is a private dining service that holds "Dinners to Rock," where each event is themed around a different musician, and the foods inspired by specific songs. They've covered a wide range of musical history, from Prince to the Clash to Radiohead. I attended this past week's Nina Simone event, held at Franklin BBQ, where L'oca D'oro Chef Fiore Tedesco works during the week.

We started with a lovely cocktail with rye and absinthe on Franklin's porch as they finalized things inside.

You wouldn't have known you were in a BBQ restaurant, with the lovely table settings and wine options. Nary a smoked brisket in sight!

The first course, a nest of delicately fried potatoes with zucchini, peach, basil, and dressed with a peach mostarda and a perfect egg on top. The contrast of flavors and textures was wonderful, and this may have been my favorite course. 

After which, came bread with three different types of butter -- with peaches, Double Devon Cream, and garlic. I love the Double Devon, having purchased it in the past (at Central Market); it's just a fabulous, fresh-tasting butter that's lightly salted. Great for good bread or your breakfast muffin; this is not butter to cook with, as you'd loose its nuances!

The second course, cuttlefish ink risotto, with charred cuttlefish, fresh porcini mushrooms, baby kale, golden beets, tomatoes, and topped with shaved truffle. The risotto was divine, and played nicely with the other ingredients, though I will say the truffle really didn't have much flavor, which was surprising.

The third course was a smoked pork tenderloin with fried green tomatoes, wheat berries and pickled blueberries. The pork was beautifully cooked, and while the breading on the tomatoes was a bit heavy on the salt (and I like my salt!), the tenderness of the pork, the crispness of the tomatoes, the squish of blueberries, and the softness of the lettuce really all complemented each other.

Dessert was a jasmine torte, poppy seed pudding, and a jasmine rice-smoked whipped cream. Unfortunately, this was the one course that wasn't quite on equal footing as the others. The cake was too dense, almost like cornbread, and the pudding had what seemed like a lot of stabilizer (agar, tapioca?) in it. 

I wished I had paid a little more attention to the music during the evening, but on the flip side, I enjoyed my dinner companions and conversations! Here's the menu, so you can see what songs inspired what dishes.

Apart from the dessert, my only other real issue with the event was the timing of the dishes; there was a lot of lag time (we were there a total of 3.5 hours). Otherwise, the plating of each dish was exquisite, the flavors were unusual combinations, and the service was spot on. It's $60/person, the first cocktail and gratuity included; they also offer the meal with wine pairings for $90, though other wines were available by the bottle or glass. Check their website or Facebook page for upcoming events, and see the flip side of Franklin BBQ. L'oca D'oro is sure to gain a steady following.

Franklin BBQ

You'd think that a Thursday at 11:30 am would be a good time to meet friends for lunch. Get in, get out, without getting too caught up in the lunch crowd. In essence, that's a good plan, unless you are going to Franklin BBQ for that lunch. This was the line when I arrived at 11:30 am.....

 ...snaking around the front of the building. (And I know, you can hardly tell from this picture how the line was, but TRUST ME, it was a line.) Fortunately, there's shade most of the way, until the last brutal 10 minutes as we waited to get the last 10 feet into the building.  All told, it took a little over an hour from when we got in line to when we sat down with our plates.

Was it worth the wait? Yes. Though I'd say some meats were better than others. Upon arriving at 11:45, two other friends decided not to stick around, so it was just two of us, me and my trusty eating buddy, M.  She had the bright idea that we each get a two-meat plate, and that way, we'd cover all four of the meats on the menu.

My plate had the brisket and the pork ribs, along with potato salad and beans.

Hers had pulled pork and sausage, with potato salad and cole slaw.

The ribs were incredible. The meat fell off the bone instantly, and was even easy to extract from the cartilage bits. They had a very thin crust on the outer portion, and a little bit of a pinkish smoke ring, after being smoked for 6 hours. A touch greasy, but full of porky goodness flavor.

The brisket was extremely good too. These are smoked on oak for 18 hours, and they do ask you if you want lean or fatty when you order (we went fatty!). Great char on the outside, but not as crispy as it could have been. What's the name for those crispy, burnt ends of brisket? When I had previously visited their now-defunct trailer about a year and a half ago, they gave me a bite of that crispy goodness. Franklin's brisket is considered by many some of the finest in the region.

The sausage was a nice medium grind, and had good snap to the casing, and a bit of black pepper flavor, but could have benefited from some jalapeno peppers.

The pulled pork was kind of lacking in flavor, sad to say. Very tender, but this particular pig didn't have a whole lot going on. Franklin makes 3 different BBQ sauces which are in glass bottles on the tables, and the pulled pork definitely needed something to help it along.

Of the sides, I think the cole slaw had the best flavor. The red cabbage was very crisp, with a light mayo-vinegar dressing. Clean and bright. The potato salad I thought needed a bit of salt; I looked around for some at the condiment area and didn't see any, so it's a good thing I carry a bit in my purse! The beans were fairly bland too; they may not be using any pork in them.

I will say, as we waited outside in line, a guy kept coming out, checking on people, asking if they needed water or other drink while they waited. And of course, he was gauging the line to know how much more food they could serve out. But it was a nice customer service touch on a hot day. This is the sign we faced as we approached the door...

...but customers were still arriving at 1:15 pm with the sign still up, and only having to wait about ten minutes. So you can get there early (apparently people start lining up at 10:30am) and wait, or get there later and chance it that Franklin will still have food. I would certainly go back, and have heard their smoked turkey is fantastic; they were out when we got to the counter, or else we would have gotten a small piece to try. However, I think I'd be inclined to get meat only, no sides. And a beer would be good.

Oh, and make note that they still haven't updated their website to reflect their brick and mortar location; it's 900 E. 11th Street. The web has their old, now defunct trailer address, but clearly, the lack of proper info isn't hurting their business any.

Tasty Up Trailer Tour

Food trailer tour that is.

The first ever (formal) Tasty Up Trailer Tour was organized by the Statesman's food writer Addie Broyles and local Tasty Touring blogger Jodi Bart. They assembled a collection of local food trailers, most of them new to the food scene, and spread the good word via Facebook about the tour; many trailers offered specials or reduced prices on their food stuffs.

In preparation, my friend and I stocked up on $1 bills, bottles of water, some Pepto (just in case!), fresh camera batteries, and a healthy appetite for what presumably would be a day of tasty, but not necessarily healthy food. There were two official "starting points," where we could get nametags identifying us as members of the tour. We picked La Boite, on South Lamar, a coffee & pastry shop to begin our day of eating. This little European gem is fashioned out of an old shipping container, and prides themselves on featuring local ingredients in an environmentally friendly setting. After several days of rain here, we fortunately had a completely cloudless day for our day of outdoor eating. The only downside to that was it occasionally interfered with picture taking; so for better pics of their converted container, see their website. They graciously offered complimentary cups of coffee to tour participants, and very smartly made smaller sized versions of their pastries, as they realized people would be eating throughout the day. I got an almond croissant, chocolate croissant, and salted caramel macaroon. All I can say is YUM! This was a great start to the day. The macaroons were an airy sandwich cookie with a fantastic salty caramel in between, and the croissants nice and flaky. It occurs to me now.... I assume they bake their own pastries, but I am not 100% certain, and their website doesn't say specifically either. Regardless, they are delicious!


So on the same large patch of (muddy) grass as La Boite, is Texas Cuban; I have been intensely curious about this spot, as I have always enjoyed the food at Havana. As we ate our pastries, we could see a long line forming at Texas Cuban, and finally walked 50 feet downhill to join it. Things were a bit slow...once we ordered, it took a good 30 - 40 minutes for our order, and during that time, it became evident they were woefully under-prepared for the crowds. They ran out of propane (really, on a weekend? especially a special event weekend?), so half their menu became obsolete, and they had to refund people. For the tour, they offered a small Cuban sandwich, papa rellenos & croquettas; other menu items available, but these were their featured items. We ended up with the sandwich (grilled pork tenderloin, ham, swiss & provolone in a pressed sandwich) which was good, but I don't know that it was anything to write home about. I will go back another time, and attempt to have a "real" meal there. My friend had gone to check on the status of our order, and while they were friendly and explaining the situation, she overheard them say they only expected about 20 people. Well, there were easily 50 milling around while we were there...


The upside to not eating as much at Texas Cuban, was it left room for other foods! We decided to bypass Gourdough's Big Fat Donuts (we've both been before), Brevita Coffee, & Odd Duck Trailer (have heard great things about this place, but I want to go on a night when I can really enjoy the full experience), and as we drove past on Lamar, there was a large crowd there. We decided to go to the northernmost option, Sushi A-Go-Go, at 40th & Medical Parkway. It's really cute (though in a gas station parking lot)! And it wasn't crowded! We ordered one of the day's specials, a Texas Surf & Turf roll, with ribeye, shrimp tempura, candied jalapenos, avocado, and a green sauce on top, along with shrimp shu mai dumplings. We sat & chatted with the one other tour participant who was there (see her blog, Epicuriosities), as we messily ate our roll! It was very good, but it was large pieces that sort of fell apart because you couldn't eat them in one bite. Very fresh, nice texture contrasts with the tempura. The shu mai didn't terribly excite me, but they weren't bad either. As my friend commented later, it seemed sort of odd to be eating sushi outdoors; it wasn't the most refined of settings. Although one of the points their website makes is sushi is considered a "fancy" food, and with their trailer, they hope more people will try different types of sushi rolls. The people running it were extremely nice!


Next up, BBQ. Barely a hair east of IH-35 at Concordia (just south of 38th St) is Franklin BBQ, just behind Owl Tree Coffee Roasters. They've got a couple little trailers, several tables, and some nice kitchsy yard art in the way of flamingos and gnomes. And an extensive BBQ menu. Fortunately, they were offering sample plates. And even more fortunately for us, as we got in line, we were greeted by tour organizer Addie Broyles, who asked if we wanted to split a sampler plate. As she chatted with owner Aaron, he pulled what he said was their last brisket of the day out; they smoke them for about 18 hours. He gave us little bites of the nice charred exterior to whet our palates as he assembled the carnage. Mmmmm.

On the tray, we had a sausage link pulled pork, brisket, and little bites of their cole slaw & tater salad. They also make 4 different sauces -- hot, sweet, pork & espresso -- for your dining pleasure. The pulled pork (with the pork sauce of course) was my favorite. Moist, tender, and in general, just porkalicious. The brisket was a bit fatty, but very flavorful, and the espresso sauce, with it's deep, slightly bitter coffee tones went beautifully with it. The sausage and the sides didn't impress, I am sorry to say. Addie was the hostess with the mostest, making sure all participants had nametags, and in general, making us all feel welcome.


Continuing on the BBQ trail, we then hit Old School BBQ, housed in an old bus, which moves around town. They've only been open about 7 weeks, said the affable Danny, son of the pit master; they have a spot they like along MLK, but today we found them at Cesar Chavez & Pleasant Valley. I think the bus is a fantastic idea; they've got their smoker in back, and it will be great when UT football starts again for tailgating parties. He told us they've got plans for future expansion, with pizza & burgers on the horizon. We had heard their fries were good, and they were offering specials on a brisket sandwich & the fries, and we also went for the mac & cheese wedge. The brisket was nice, not as fatty as the previous, and apparently they smoke them for a minimum of 22 hours. Apparently dad gets up every 2 hours to check the meats. They had one sauce, which was sweet at first, and then had a touch of tartness & spice. I liked the sauces at Franklin better, but it's a toss up on the brisket! The Belgian-style fries were much to my liking too; russets with the skin-on. Some of the longer pieces could have been fried a little longer, but there was sufficient salt on them. Unfortunately, neither my friend nor I cared for the the mac & cheese (sorry!). Danny said they use fontina, asiago, white cheddar, and he thought there was something else. Maybe it was the fontina (I wonder if there was Swiss in it), but there was a rather astringent taste to it. Can you see the license plate of the bus? "BBQ BUS"


Reaching our limits, we decided on G'Raj Mahal (not much in the way of a website or Facebook page as of now), as our final stop in the newly trendy Rainey Street area. It's Indian food, and of the places we went, certainly the most restaurant-like, as they have a large covered carport with tables and ceiling fans. They invite you sit, and the host brings a menu, takes your order, and brings your food. It's a large lot, with the trailer, carport, and a few other small buildings sharing the space with recycled bicycles that make up the Austin Bike Zoo. Anyway, we both opted for chai tea, a cardamom kulfi (like ice cream) to split, and some items to go. The chai was nice, though a bit heavy on the black tea for my taste, and not enough of the spiciness -- ginger, cardamom, clove, etc, that I really like in my chai. The kulfi was like a vanilla ice milk, with ground cardamom powder sprinkled on top, with golden raisins and I think pistachios on it too. More cardamom please! To go, I got a samosa, and the spicy tomato soup, which was supposed to be served with the crispy papadams, but none got put into the bag with our order. Bummer. My friend got the chicken tikka masala, which I think was a half-portion sized special because of the tour. At this writing, I have had a bite of each the soup & tikka, and they seem to have a nice kick & depth. Haven't eaten the samosa or the rest of the soup as I am still too full. They've got a nice looking full menu, though the prices on the curries & other dishes would be about the equivalent at a full-service indoor restaurant.


Boy this has been a long post. Overall, we had a lot of fun checking places out, and thank god for good weather after a week of rain. All the proprietors we encountered were super friendly, and happy to chat about their food stuffs. There are a number of places on the tour we didn't get to, and a ton more that have popped up around town; Austin Food Carts is a great site to keep up with the trailers as they come & go. Many thanks to my traveling companion of the day, and fortunately, we didn't need the Pepto!