Smoke and Fire event to offer first taste of new Pearl concept ‘Rosso’

The anticipation grows: A new concept inside a historic Pearl landmark. Three renowned chefs at one Italian steakhouse. A kitchen with a Michelin-starred culinarian. The Pearl structure that once housed Cured has been gutted to make way for Rosso , which won’t open until early 2027. But diners can get their first taste of Rosso’s cuisine on Saturday at Pullman Market’s Smoke and Fire BBQ Celebration. The five-hour event, which begins at 4 p.m., features an all-star lineup of local chefs and pitmasters, including two from Rosso: Rico Torres, co-founder of Michelin-starred Mixtli , and Larkin Kuny-Romero, former chef de cuisine at Cured. “This will be the first Rosso event for the public,” Kuny-Romero said. “I’m super excited to see how the public feels about us and hear their input. It gives us a great chance to put ourselves out there within Pearl itself. This is going to be our home.” What will Rosso be cooking? Ribeye al fuoco, or in Italian, “ribeye on the fire.” Specifically, it is steak served over polenta and topped with San Marzano pomodoro and caper salsa verde. Torres will grill it, Kuny-Romero will plate it. “We chose this because it represents what you would be served at Rosso,” Kuny-Romero said. “I am excited to serve this because I think it is different from what everyone else is providing.” Expect variations of traditional barbecue with surprise offerings from pitmasters representing 13 venues. Ian Corral and Max Muñoz from Mezquite will serve grilled barbacoa burritos covered in salsa Colorado with queso fresco. Enoch Montoya and Laura Loomis from Two Bros BBQ Market will offer a coffee rubbed smoked beef cheek tostada with avocado mousse, pickled white onion and salsa macha. Kareem El-Ghayesh from KG BBQ in Austin will smoke lamb chops with chimichurri sauce. Ian Lanphear and Cameron Hawk from Michelin-starred Isidore will prepare barbecued oysters with buttermilk chowder, onion and bacon jam and dots of thyme oil. “A lot of times barbecue is meats and chicken and beef but we thought, ‘Why don’t we change the narrative and put a little bit of seafood on the menu,’” Hawk said. “We already have it on our (Isidore) menu right now. It’s such a fan favorite. We have many customers who come just to sit at the bar and have the oysters.” Other live-fire participants include Alex and Brenda Sarmiento from El Pastor es mi Señor , Sean Wen from Curry Boys BBQ and Arnie Segovia, a YouTube barbecue star . Like the first Smoke and Fire celebration in 2025, this year’s event will include craft beverages and live music. General admission is $105.96. Children 12 and under are admitted for $25.09. VIP admission is $175.26. Tickets may be purchased through Eventbrite . Smoke and Fire represents a full-circle occasion for Kuny-Romero. She spent eight years at Cured under Steven McHugh, a six-time James Beard nominee, first as a line cook, then as sous chef and, finally, as chef de cuisine. After Cured closed in January, Kuny-Romero worked with local hospitality group Empty Stomach and ran one of its restaurants, Hot Joy . She reached out to Torres after learning of his plans to launch Rosso with Austin chef Gabe Erales, winner of Top Chef season 18, and André Natera, founder of the popular podcast, Chef’s PSA . Soon, Kuny-Romero will be moving back into a renovated structure that once held Cured. “I feel super fortunate to work with all three chefs,” she said. “They bring so much to the table, so much knowledge, so much experience. It’s kind of like a dream.” READ MORE Smoke and Fire event to offer first taste of new Pearl concept ‘Rosso’ by Ken Rodriguez This pair logs 25k steps daily to deliver thousands of Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving dinners for seniors by Ken Rodriguez More from San Antonio Report Smoke and Fire event to offer first taste of new Pearl concept ‘Rosso’ by Ken Rodriguez After tax hike, 5 San Antonio council members seek greater budget oversight by Diego Medel Luminaria returns to downtown San Antonio with expanded arts festival along Houston Street by Kory Cook, TPR