13 September 19 - 25, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Veterans’ Affair Takes Off Rayo Bar & Lounge becomes an instant neighborhood hit. BY DESIREE GUTIERREZ C all it destiny. Call it love at first sip. Whatever you call it, just know that Rayo Bar & Lounge and Exposition Park are a match meant to be. Rayo Bar & Lounge opened on Aug. 23 in the former Pizza Lounge at the corner of Exposition and Parry avenues. With only three weeks under its belt, Rayo Bar and Lounge is a passion project turned instant neighborhood attraction. Rayo comes to Dallas by way of Portland- ers Ryan Victor and Lauren Wahlstrom. For the last two years the bartending duo have been working diligently behind the scenes to create a self-funded neighborhood cock- tail bar. The Observer announced their ef- forts on July 23. Victor and Wahlstrom imagined an invit- ing sanctuary where they’d take their com- bined experience from Parliament, Las Palmas, The Braca Room and Las Almas Ro- tas (their new neighbor). They teamed up with Birdie’s Joshua Harmon. “Killer cock- tails,” enhanced comfort foods and an au- thentic inviting atmosphere was the game plan to achieve their dreams. In less than a month, that dream is reality. The bar is moody and Art Deco-inspired. There are plenty of booths, bar seating and a patio. Groups congregated outdoors and in- doors like they’d been visiting the bar for years. Directions are clear: Order at the bar and seat yourself. The patio is prime real estate for Dallas’ flash of fall weather. We took advantage of an umbrella-covered high-top table. The fall breeze kept us cool as a top-tier playlist enlivened Rayo’s corner nook. Hits from Dusty Springfield’s “Spooky”, Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” and Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’” set the tone for the laid-back atmosphere. Despite signage, the bartender had quickly dropped off a round of water and of- fered to take our order. The no-frills paper menu floored us. In a world of shake fees, caviar-garninised mar- tinis and cocktails that require a whole pro- duction, we were ecstatic to see craft cocktails at an approachable price. House cocktails ranged from $10 to $13. Quality and presentation weren’t spared. Part Time Lover ($13), with rum, amaro and rose- mary, is an aromatic hard hitter. Full Time Crush ($13), with gin, blackberry, mint, lemon and soda, is refreshing. The Rise & Fall ($10), a mezcal sour with reposado te- quila, chicha morada, lime, honey and car- damom, is picturesque. For food, we ordered half the menu. Spoiler: We’ll be back for the other half. Harmon outdid himself. Everything on Rayo’s menu is nostalgic and comforting with an added pizzazz. The house potato chips and dip ($9) is served with a roasted onion dip and fish roe and pimento cheese topped with chili honey crisp. The dips were accompanied by freshly cut potato chips and fried Ritz crackers. The table next to us stopped by to rave about the Fish Stix ($13), miso-marinated cod and nuoc cham tartar sauce served with Rayo’s pickles and kimchi. For dinner, we ordered a Caesar Salad ($11) and french fries ($8). We upgraded our Caesar salad by adding chicken ($6). Petite romaine, burnt seaweed, charred lemon wedges, fried garlic crumbs and crisp fried chicken assured us we made a semi-healthy dinner decision. Then we gobbled down a hearty serving of Hondashi- and furikake- topped fries. A second round of cocktails included a sugary watermelon paloma slushie ($9). The elderflower frozé wasn’t available. In its place was a Frankenstein of a drink, a one- off buzz-inducing whiskey and coke slushie made with leftover apple and mango li- queurs. Palm-sized sliders are a must order. The Filet O’ Fish ($6.50) is McDonald’s Filet-O- Fish all grown up. The fried panko-breaded cod is crispy with a tangy caviar tartar sauce. The “government cheese” keeps the slider grounded. The Royale ($6.50), Texas wagyu patty with caramelized shallots, Rayo pick- les, swiss and a quail egg, is prime bar food. The Trojan Horse ($8), a ground lamb patty with whipped barrel-aged feta and pickled onion, added variety to the mix. As we checked out, Rayo’s team began converting part of the patio into a Yakitori station. Fridays and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to late, Rayo runs a special late-night menu consisting of skewers, grilled Caesar salad, double bake potatoes and shishito peppers. We’ll be back for the octopus skewer ($10). With pricing, elevated bar food and craft cocktails like this, Rayo will make all of Dal- las a regular in no time. Rayo Bar & Lounge. 841 Exposition Ave. Tuesday – Saturday, 4 p.m. – late. ▼ CANNABIS BOTTLE CAPS DAN PATRICK WANTS TO REGULATE THC DRINKS. NORTH TEXAS BUSINESSES ARE ALREADY ON IT. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY L ast week, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued another round of interim legis- lative charges, which is a list of issues he wants the Senate to consider ahead of the next legislative session. Nestled in bold text among issues like noncitizen voting and homelessness is the phrase, “beverages with THC.” In the statement, Patrick urges the State Affairs Committee to “evaluate Texas laws and regulations concerning THC beverage manufacturing and delivery” and “report on the current regulations and safeguards Texas may or may not have in place for drinks with any amount of THC.” This isn’t Patrick’s first rodeo when it comes to taking on hemp products. His last round of interim charges recommended fur- ther regulations on delta-8 and delta-9. The distinct mention of beverages, however, ze- roes in on a budding industry in North Texas with no specifics given as to what they mean by “regulations.” Kevin Carr’s brewery, Community Beer Co., has a line of THC-infused soft drinks called CannaBliss. As someone with some stake in this game, Carr is surprisingly opti- mistic about the prospect of more regulations. Or regulations at all, we should say. Ac- cording to Carr, there are basically none at this time. “There’s some best practices that are be- ing established,” Carr says. “The only re- quirement currently is that any hemp product producer, not just beverages, has to file with the state of Texas. There’s a regis- tration just to let them know what you’re do- ing. But outside of that, there’s nothing.” In addition to registering with Health and Human Services, prospective sellers also have to undergo a background check, pay a $258 fee and prove that the product is safe for consumption. The barrier of entry is signifi- cantly lower than that of selling liquor, per TABC standards. Colton Power, who owns the indoor hemp farm Power Biopharms and launched the delta-9 infused Power House seltzer earlier this year, claims that this is because the hemp- based product industry is growing Desiree Gutieerez | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish >> p16 Cocktails at Rayo range from $10 to $13. 1713 N Market St. - Dallas - TX 214. 468. 4729 Reserve a Table at TheLiamsSteakhouse.com in Dallas’ NOW OPEN
