Proof Is in the Pudding

Plano's Sweet Arleen's has a secret weapon behind those rows of cupcakes

Cupcakes have become so old they're almost new again, but there's more than cupcakes going on at Sweet Arleen's, a bakery that opened recently in Plano at the southwest corner of Park and Preston roads.

Specifically, there is bread pudding, and that's what drew owner Tiffany Jordan to open the first Texas franchise of this tiny California chain. Sweet Arleen's was founded in 2008 by Arleen Scavone, a former banker who'd always dabbled in baking. It was Scavone's sophisticated recipes for bread pudding and cupcakes that drew Jordan to request a franchise.

"I saw Sweet Arleen's when it was featured on Unique Sweets, a show on the Cooking Channel where they were highlighting her bread pudding," Jordan says. "I knew that would be a good thing for Texas and realized that was what I wanted to do. It was only after I got onto their website that I realized their main product is cupcakes, which has won contests on shows like Food Network's Cupcake Wars."

Jordan felt a twinge of hesitation about stepping into the oversaturated world of cupcakes.

"Cupcakes are a lot more competitive and more difficult, but Arleen's cupcakes are very good," she says. "They're fairly complicated. We use Swiss meringue butter cream, and that's unusual. They're good because they're not too sweet. The cake is a little denser. But they're temperamental. We have to have staffers who are trained. We're not just whipping together cream and powdered sugar."

Out of approximately 20 flavor options, they do about 14 a day, such as mocha truffle, a vanilla cupcake with chocolate fudge filling and espresso buttercream; banana cupcake with butterscotch filling and banana caramel buttercream icing; and chocolate marshmallow, a devil's food cake with a marshmallow center and a glossy chocolate icing on top, not unlike the familiar Ding Dong. They come in a regular size for about $3.50 per cupcake, as well as a mini version for $1.50 to $1.75 each.

The bread puddings come in muffin-size single servings, $5.50 for regular or $1.75 for mini; they come in flavors too. "We don't actually have a plain bread pudding," Jordan says. "We do unique twists like French toast, maple bacon, white chocolate blueberry, dulce de leche."

They do monthly and seasonal flavors as well, such as the recent pumpkin bread pudding with the soft texture of pumpkin pie that Jordan says was a hot seller through November and December. For January, the flavor of the month for both cupcakes and bread pudding is red velvet.

"We're using our red velvet cupcakes to make croutons for the bread pudding," she says. "I feel like our bread puddings could be the star."

Cupcakes are on the menu at Sweet Arleen's, which opened recently in Plano.

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Teppanyaki News

Japanese restaurant chain with sizzling hot plates to debut in Frisco

Pepper Lunch

Pepper Lunch is coming to Frisco.

A distinctive Asian restaurant concept with sizzling hot plates is coming to the Dallas area: Called Pepper Lunch, it's an international chain from Japan that does a fast-casual version of teppanyaki, and it's opening in Frisco at 9180 Warren Pkwy. #150, in a busy shopping center anchored by 99 Ranch, in the former Gen Korean BBQ space.

Frisco will be the very first Pepper Lunch in Texas. According to co-owner Phil Guo, it'll open in mid-March.

Pepper Lunch was founded in Tokyo in 1994 by chef Kunio Ichinose and features teppanyaki, a Japanese cooking style where chefs cook on a hot griddle (teppan) in front of diners, creating an interactive and entertaining meal.

But Pepper Lunch takes it a step further with do-it-yourself teppanyaki, with meals served on 500-degree Fahrenheit hot plates, which are patented to stay hot for more than 20 minutes — allowing diners to cook their own food at the table.

All that sizzle has made Pepper Lunch an internet sensation. Cooking your own food at your table is a trend, and Pepper Lunch also has price and convenience on its side: Most of its menu items come in under $20 and can be complete in 20 minutes, making it a desirable option for workers and others with a limited lunch hour.

The signature dish is their Pepper Rice, which comes in about a dozen options, including the best-selling Beef Pepper Rice, featuring sliced beef, white rice, corn, and spring onion, with freshly-cracked black pepper, which is also a signature. ("We crack it fresh every morning," Guo says.)

Salmon terifyaki at Pepper Lunch Frisco.Pepper Lunch

Other varieties of Pepper Rice include Salmon Pepper Rice, Chicken Pepper Rice, Shrimp Pepper Rice, and Tofu & Veggie Pepper Rice.

You can get your meat, rice, and veggies in a teriyaki option or with curry sauce. They also have pastas with cream sauce and your choice of protein. Sides include American classics such as fries, onion rings, or sweet potato wedges, and they offer Kirin beer.

Dallas is part of Pepper Lunch's broader expansion across the U.S. They currently have more than 500 locations across 17 countries.

Guo is a veteran restaurateur who, along with partner Ken Cheng, operates three locations of Jinya Ramen Bar, a completely different kind of dining experience.

"Jinya is a full-service restaurant with a nice bar and intimate atmosphere, and the food is more complex," he says. "Pepper Lunch is fast-casual, more family-oriented, with a faster pace. If you need to, you can be in and out in 20 minutes. But there's heat nothing like it when they bring your plate to your table, and you get to cook rice or steak right in front of your face — it sizzles and pops."

He loves to recall the first time he encountered Pepper Lunch, decades ago, on a family trip to Hong Kong.

"We waited in line for two hours, and I will always remember sitting down and experiencing that sizzling smell," he says.

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