Plano, apparently, is the place to be these days. With several hotter-than-hot restaurants opening their second locations above 635 (Lockhart Smokehouse and East Hampton Sandwich Co. included), it looks like happy suburb life isn’t just the stuff of dreams anymore.
Mexican Sugar, described as a Mexican hacienda-meets-tequila lab, is a feels-like-it-should-be-in-Dallas restaurant opening inside The Shops at Legacy the beginning of next week. It’s brought to you by the same guys, Fork It Over Restaurants, who did Velvet Taco and Whiskey Cake.
“This is a good area,” says Fork It Over Restaurants’ Alex Urranaga. “I know [The Shops at Legacy] isn’t part of central Dallas, but it’s an important part of Plano. When we first created Mexican Sugar, we wanted to acknowledge people in their 30s moving up north. They still want to feel cool.”
Royce Ring, his partner at Plan B Group, finishes out the thought. “It’ll be significantly different from anything that’s around. But we like the idea of doing something else.”
Inside of this Latin-inspired space are design elements that trademark Plan B Group’s style. There’s the patio/courtyard area, several different types of seating arrangements, and the use of carbon filament (Edison) bulbs. Hanging above the main entrance is the real head of a Mexican fighting bull.
Executive chef Eric Justice, a longtime friend of Fork It Over Restaurants, has grand plans for the kitchen. Besides a menu of tacos and tortas (see below), he already has a tap cocktail system installed. He says it’s something that no one else in Texas is doing.
Essentially, it’s the same technology used to make beers on tap, but changed to fit cocktails. Cocktails are pre-made in the back and vacuumed into a bag, “so quality stays super fresh,” says Justice. Carbonation is added into the cocktails. “Instead of 20 beers up there, we have four beers on tap and 16 unique cocktails.”
This means that Mexican Sugar’s mojito is mint leaf-free and nobody has to worry about getting green chunks stuck in their teeth.
There are nine types of ice, syrups are made in-house, and there’s always a margarita of the month.
Pretty soon, everybody in Plano will be crowding this hacienda. The fun starts next week.
