What could be more traditional than a bean taco with Oaxacan cheese or a mole made from scratch? Well, maybe if it’s accompanied by mezcal, tequila, or a cocktail made with one of the two.
Ruins, located in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood, combines two key elements of Mexican cuisine, and Chef Humberto Lira adds creative twists that both remind him of his roots and look into the future.
“Here we try to make those who don’t know what authentic Mexican food is have a real approach,” Lira told The Dallas Morning News. “And for those who grew up with this food to be transported back to their childhood because of the flavors they remember.”
Some of his customers, he said, have had their eyes well up with tears when they try some of the dishes he has in his restaurant.
The shock to the senses is not just in the food and drink.
The restaurant’s personality oscillates between the concept of good and evil, between the figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the Santa Muerte.
Masks and handicrafts brought from Mexico meet with candles of saints and pictures of devils and angels.
Before opening six years ago, owners Peter Novotny and Dan Murry traveled to Mexico to scout locations and crafts for Ruins. They found a world of possibilities that now hang on the walls.
“In this place we want you to be transported, to come have a drink and spend time with your friends, and also eat something that is authentically ours,” Lira said.
For the past two years, Lira has been running the kitchens at Ruins, Armoury, and Manic, all in Deep Ellum and owned by Novotny and Murry.
His training as a chef began in his grandmother’s kitchen in Mexico City, where he was born.
In the Mexican capital, he lived in the Tacuba neighborhood, one of the city’s most historic. He and his family worked in everything and what he remembers most is when he went with his father to work in a public restroom selling toilet paper in the largest wholesale market in the world, Central de Abastos.
He emigrated to the United States at 16 and worked in several trades for years until his late 20s. After working in several restaurants, he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Dallas, where he graduated.
He then worked in the kitchens of some of the most important North Texas chefs, such as Stephan Pyles, Nick Badovinus or Anthony Bombacci, and was involved in the opening of Front Burner, Mexican Sugar and Sixty Vines.
At Ruins, Lira found the channel to showcase his culinary heritage and elevate the level of food that many enjoy in the streets and restaurants of Mexico City and other regions of the country.
With his manchamanteles, a kind of red mole, his Jalisco-style birria, his tacos al pastor or placeros, and his carnitas, all made from scratch and with handmade tortillas, Lira has given diners a culinary tour. All of this comes with a selection of more than 550 bottles of spirits that can be sipped straight or in cocktails.
“I don’t like to say, ‘I’m the chef to feel important.’ I think the chef is the one who knows how to do all the functions in a kitchen, and that can only be achieved thanks to the team. So, I consider myself more of an experienced cook who leads these efforts,” Lira said.
Ruins is located at 2653 Commerce St., in Dallas. ruinsdeepellum.com.
