This Week in Gluttony

Big local beer celebrations top best food and drink events in Dallas

It’s a boozy week in gluttony, as Abacus puts on a wine dinner, Rahr & Sons celebrates turning 9 and Texas Brewvolution puts hundreds of Texas beers at your fingertips. Plus, Pappas Bros. reminds us we’re on the precipice of holiday season thanks to a holiday wine tasting.

If all that seems like too much for your liver, some local chefs, including Graham Dodds and Matt McCallister, are leading a fundraising dinner for the Texas Honeybee Guild. Think about it: You get great food and help out Texas bees. Philanthropy is delicious sometimes.

Tuesday, November 5

Darioush Wine Dinner at Abacus
Abacus hosts a four-course wine dinner paired with selections from Darioush Winery from Napa beginning at 6:30 pm. Pairings include hickory-smoked pheasant breast with cast iron "pot pie" and rainbow chard with a 2009 Capataz Malbec, and a lamb duo of wood-grilled chop and Cabernet-braised breast with glazed piquillo, roasted fingerlings and pimenton demi glace with a 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. Reservations are $175 plus tax and 20 percent gratuity and can be made at 214-520-0151 or annj@kentrathbun.com.

Friday, November 8

Pappas Bros. Holiday Wine Tasting
Pappas Bros. kicks off the holiday season with a wine tasting beginning at 6 pm. The tasting features 12 wines from around the world, including Champagne from France and dessert wines from Australia. Master Sommelier Barbara Werley leads guests on the journey. There are also complimentary bites to pair with the wines. Reservations are $55 plus gratuity and can be made at 214-366-2000.

Saturday, November 9

2013 Texas Brewvolution
Texas Brewvolution kicks off North Texas Beer Week at Centennial Hall at Fair Park beginning at 1 pm. The majority of breweries on hand are from Texas, with more than 100 booths offering several beers for visitors to sample. The event also features live music in the outdoor food and music pavilion, including Shotgun Friday, The Roomsounds and Hanna Barbarians. General admission is $35. VIP tickets are $60 and include a meet-and-greet pre-party the evening before at Craft and Growler, plus early entry and in-and-out access at the festival.

Rahr & Sons Ninth Anniversary Party
Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. celebrates its ninth anniversary with a party and the unveiling of its 9 Year Anniversary Ale. The brewery also has more than 30 of its beers on tap, including several limited editions. Guests receive a commemorative ninth anniversary glass and can enjoy food by Chadra Mezza & Grill and live music by Peace Tree and a surprise blues band. VIP ticket holders get in at 11 am; general admission starts at 12:30 pm, and the event runs to 4 pm. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $20 for VIP.

Sunday, November 10

More Than Honey Fundraising Dinner
Chefs Graham Dodds, Matt McCallister, Tim Bevins and John Mercer join forces for a fundraising dinner benefiting the Texas Honeybee Guild beginning at 4 pm at Casa Stellina. The chefs are creating seasonal dishes paired with beer from Deep Ellum Brewery and honey-infused cocktails created by mixologist Amber West of Central 214 with vodka, gin and bourbon spirits courtesy of Treaty Oak Distillery. The dinner includes a screening of Marcus Imhoof’s new film, More Than Honey. Seats are $45 and can be purchased online.

Exploration of the Pacific Northwest Dinner
Chef Brian Zenner will lead diners on a culinary journey inspired by the eight years he lived and worked in Portland, Oregon. Courses include Rivers Edge chevre, butternut squash, chanterelle and filbert; Manila clam with Serrano ham and napa cabbage; and gnocchi with Oregon black truffle, Sablefish with black trumpet mushroom. Tickets are $95 per person, plus $45 for wine pairings. Reservations are required; call 214-855-5551.

Rahr & Sons celebrates its ninth anniversary with a party on November 9.

Photo Dot's Hop House

Rahr & Sons celebrates its ninth anniversary with a party on November 9.

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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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