The Brisket Jam Cheeseburger At Loro Is the Best Jam of All Jams

Loro Dallas was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in North Texas this year. The original opening date went by the wayside because of the pandemic, making us wait about two years after the news first broke.

At last, the spacious outdoor patio and smart dining room with the large L-shaped bar are hopping with diners anxious to try barbecue master Aaron Franklin's brisket along with chef Tyson Cole's Asian fare. It's a lovely thing to have cuisine from two of Texas' most prized chefs, skipping along down Haskell Avenue, hand-in-hand.

Loro is specifically an Asian Smokehouse. The mascot of their menu might be the bavette; a tender smoked prime steak served with a shishito salsa verde, cilantro and pickled onion. Smoked brisket is only available after 4 p.m. every day (they weren't interested in manning smokers overnight). The menu also includes smoked salmon, smoked turkey, and Malaysian chicken bo ssam served with a yellow curry-yuzu vinaigrette and Thai basil. It's a kaleidoscope of flavors with a fat brisket swirling in the middle.

But while peeking at the menu before a visit, the humble cheeseburger curtseyed and said, "Hi there." You can get a burger anywhere, this is a special place, right? When in Rome get the brisket! But, the mere ubiquitousness of the burger was provocative. Also, it's topped with Muenster cheese and a red onion-brisket jam.

Brisket. Jam.
First, the brisket jam is 90% brisket and 20% jam. So, for those of you asking the servers to 86 the jam, stop that nonsense. Just like 'Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry" in 1984, this jam is your jam.

What Loro's cheeseburger really amounts to is a smash burger; a ground beef patty, seared on the outside, Sunday pink in the middle, topped with a mound of Aaron Franklin's chopped brisket.

Sometimes, food reviewers like to point out if a bun is strong enough to hold a sandwich together. Let that go. Let this burger live its life and out-muscle the bun. About halfway through eating the burger, the bun starts to dissolve into all the beefy sweat and fat. At some point, a point at which you'll have to determine based on your own abilities, just stuff what's left into your face. Then breathe in through your nose and think about what a wonderful time it is to be alive.

The Loro cheeseburger will set you back $12.50 between 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., which is the only time it's available. In fortuitous happy hour news, it's only $8.75 on weekdays, 2 to 5 p.m., at which time a cold Sapporo is just $3.

If your burger needs a side hustle, get the curried brisket rice ($6.50), which is an aromatic concoction of yellow curry rice married with brisket burnt ends topped with a roasted peanut-chili jam (more jam!) and currants. The top of the rice box is a pure delight as you pick through the culinary confetti. The middle part of the box, is well, like middle kids, solid but muddled between the superstar and a surprisingly brash bookend. The most amazing part of this paper container is the curry rice swimming in the brisket fat that has oozed to the bottom.

Order these two food items and don't make eye contact with anyone who tries to sway you to do otherwise.

Loro Dallas, 1812 N Haskell Ave. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday - Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.