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Latin restaurant transports Dallas and Frisco to corn cake heaven

It's corn cakes every day at Arepa TX.

Photo courtesy of Arepa TX

A cool Latin American restaurant specializing in Venezuelan-style corn cakes is opening two locations in North Texas, one in Dallas and one in Frisco. The restaurant is called Arepa TX, and stars a chef who is also a popular online personality.

Executive chef is Mary Ann Allen, also known as the Frugal Chef, who has a website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel where she offers tips and humor on budget-friendly, healthful eating. She grew up in Bolivia and created the menu for Arepa TX based on her travels and culinary experience.

She's opened Arepa TX with her family, including her son and daughter-in-law, Susana Arce.

The Dallas branch will open in late summer at 5940 Royal Ln., at the corner of Preston Road. But if you must try their arepas right now, as well you should, the Frisco branch opened at the beginning of April, at the bustling Shops at Starwood at 6959 Lebanon Rd.

Arepas are the satisfying corn cakes with a pocket inside, which you can stuff with fillings such as meat, cheese, avocado, and eggs; they've been described as corn meal English muffins. Dallas has a couple of places that serve them, such as La Duni and Zaguan Latin Cafe.

Arepa TX takes a gourmet approach, stuffing them with a mix of meats, cheeses, and sauces that represent various countries and regions. The menu is a fusion delight, featuring arepas stuffed with smoked brisket, pulled pork, fried chicken and maple, avocado BLT, and banh mi chicken.

They also cover that all-important vegetarian and vegan category with options such as Brie cheese and chutney; rajas, zucchini, and corn; and the vegan favorite, barbecued jackfruit, whose texture is miraculously meaty.

In addition to arepas, the restaurant's other specialty is artisanal frozen custard gourmet pops, which they make in versions with cream and without.

They serve soups, salads such as greens with avocado, and Latin American dishes such as jicama with chili and lime, and fried yucca served with chimichurri sauce. Their drinks selection includes a cute "bubbly bar" of cocktails made with sparkling wine, such as the French 75, containin sparkling wine, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon bitters.

Arce is a former wine buyer who was based in New York. She and her husband moved to Texas when he got a job in Dallas. They persuaded Allen to join them and launch this venture. The Frisco location is a new building; in Dallas, they're going into the space previously occupied by Natalie's.

"We all love arepas and feel like we are doing something that you can't find anywhere else," Arce says.

openings

Burger News

Family-owned Patty Lou's Smashburgers will open in old downtown Plano

Photo by Sara Aurora Cimminiello on Unsplash

Smashburger

A new restaurant starring a buzzy burger is coming to old downtown Plano: Called Patty Lou's Smashburgers, it will feature the namesake smashburger, and will open at 1004 E. 14th St. #105, in a historic location that was most recently home to a Starbucks.

Patty Lou's is a new concept from Urban Family Concepts, the hospitality company whose other restaurants include Urban Seafood Co., Urban Rio Cantina & Grill, and Italian restaurant Urban Crust, all located in the downtown Plano area.

Patty Lou's is their burger entry, a quick-service spot serving smashburgers, the flattened version of a burger with crisp edges that's been a hot trend for the past year.

According to Urban Family Concepts partner and spokesperson Dana Blaugrund, the restaurant will open in late spring.

Patty Lou's is also a sweet homage to a family member — named for Patty Lou Peters, of "Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts" fame, an all-female country & Western / Western swing group founded in the '40s, when female groups were a rarity.

Patty Lou was the mother of Bonnie Shea, who co-founded Urban Family Concepts with her husband Nathan Shea. Infusing the personal touch into everything they do is part of the company DNA, says Urban partner Michael Lee.

"Urban is generally driven by what we like," Lee says. "Urban Rio, our Mexican concept, came about because Bonnie loved that cuisine, and Urban Seafood Company, Nate loves seafood. Burgers are a favorite of their son-in-laws."

Their version of the smashburger will feature American cheese and onions that melt into the meat, Lee says. They'll be served on potato buns, and there'll be some toppings — but they won't go too crazy.

"It'll have onions, lettuce, and pickle, but we're going to stay minimal, with additional toppings on the side," he says. "Going overboard with ingredients can get complicated. Our goal is, very simple burgers that taste very good, at a value price, so that everyone can enjoy coming back and getting a burger."

The menu will also feature smashed chicken burgers, hand-cut French fries skin on, lightly battered onion rings, and milkshakes. They'll also serve alcohol, including bottled beers, wine by the glass, and a signature frozen cocktail. Eventually, they'll add specials like a burger of the month.

The location was originally home to the Ice House, built in 1917, an institution that provided ice products to Plano residents and businesses, says Urban partner Payton Hickey.

"You could pull up and get a block of ice from workers with tongs," Hickey says. "During remodeling, we could still see the raised floor where the freezer was, where they kept the ice."

They operated a licensed location of Starbucks in that space until 2024, when Starbucks opened a store nearby with a drive-thru in the former longtime Jack in the Box at 15th Street and US-75.

Decor at Patty Lou's will embrace a diner feel with counter seating, while incorporating elements from Patty Lou Peter's life, Blaugrund says. (It's a nice coincidence that her name syncs up with "hamburger patty.")

"We'll have her original guitar and some memorabilia in the restaurant — a cool mixture of country music and burger restaurant," Blaugrund says.

burgers openings