LUCK joined the fast-growing Trinity Groves restaurant sprawl last week. The restaurant, which focuses on locally sourced beer and fare and everything else, was created by chefs and owners Jeff Dietzman, Ned Steel and Daniel Pittman (executive chef).
Dietzman and Steele met at the Central Market cooking school, where they were both volunteering as cooking instructors. "Our wives sent us there to see if we really wanted to become chefs," Steele explains. The two hit it off and brought Dietzman's cousin, Daniel Pittman, who was formerly working as a chef at the Four Seasons Las Colinas, on board.
The group's concept started off as "The Local Dallas," and last year when Wim Bens, the man behind Lakewood Brewing Company, invited the guys out to the Lakewood Brewing Company Halloween party, they made shirts that said "The Local Dallas" and served up Lakewood Temptress ice cream. While the ice cream has made its way into the new concept, alas, "The Local" was nixed (as there's already a "Local" in town). After ample brainstorming, the three settled on LUCK, which stands for Local, Urban, Craft, Kitchen. "Those shirts are now collector's items," Steel jokes.
The three have created a menu that's literally soaked in local beer, which includes a beer-braised pot roast with seared brussels sprouts and skillet potato hash ($16), beer briased beef tongue with caramelized onions, cilantro and pickled red onions with roasted habanero pumpkin seed spread ($12) and the North Texas Hot Brown, an open faced sandwich with smoked turkey breast, bacon and grilled tomatoes topped with white cheddar beer sauce ($12). All drinks at LUCK are served on tap, from the wine, cold brewed coffee, kombucha and of course beer (which is $5 a glass). According the Steele, during the restaurant's first two days, pot roast was the most popular item on the menu, followed by shrimp and grits.
I stopped by and shot some photos last week, starting with the chocolate porter brownie with Lakewood Temptress ice cream, pictured above.
