Where to Drink

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 sweet happy hours for September

Snacks and drinks from At Fault.

Photo courtesy of At Fault

Wallet feeling a little empty after all that back-to-school shopping? Happy hour to the rescue. This edition of Where to Drink, our monthly roundup of the best bar specials, is here to provide you with five spots where your drinking dollars stretch a little further, especially during that magic time known as happy hour.

Here's where to drink in Dallas this month:

At Fault
Family-owned sports bar with indoor pickleball court has a serious food program overseen by chef John Franke (Sixty Vines, Whiskey Cake) to fuel players fresh off the court. Think loaded nachos, Philly cheesesteaks, and Wagyu dogs in a blanket. The bar, meanwhile, is mixing up 16 specialty cocktails, wines by the glass, plus draft and can beers. Even better: Most of these drinks are really cheap during happy hour. On Texas Thursdays, it's $4 off Texas beers and spirits; Smashburger Mondays pairs $4 drafts with $4 burgers; Wine & Dine Wednesday gets you half-off all bottles of wine; and regular ol' happy hour brings $4 draft beers and $5 house wines and wells.

Palma
Deep Ellum Tex-Asian restaurant and bar debuted in May alongside sister bar Ghost Donkey, which specializes in tequila and mezcal. On the menu for its generous happy hour are $5 select drafts, select wines for $8, prosecco for $7, a frozen margarita for $7, and a trio of cocktails in the $8-$9 range. The best part? Happy hour runs Monday-Friday from 11 am-7 pm, meaning anytime is the right time for an espresso martini.

Taco Ocho
Small local chain touting a "Latin Love" of tacos also loves cheap. During its happy hour, which you can indulge in Monday-Friday from 3-6 pm and all day on the weekends, you'll find $5 house margaritas, $4 Modelo and Dos Equis drafts, $4 wells, and $6 house wines (two white and two red). Tack on a $4 mimosa to your weekend chilaquiles if you're a brunch purist. Three locations include Flower Mound, Frisco, and McKinney.

Tasty Tails
Authentic New Orleans restaurant in Addison is the place to get your happy hour fix with a Cajun twist. On weekdays Monday-Friday from 3-7 pm, they serve both food and drink at hefty discounts: $3 bottled beers, including Abita Purple Haze and Shiner Bock; $6 well drinks and $6 frozen daiquiris; $7 mojitos; and $10 hurricanes. Bites are cheap too: $4 hushpuppies and French fries, $7 Cajun wings, $5 jamabalaya egg rolls and $5 for a half-pound of boiled shrimp.

Whiskey Cake
American restaurant is hosting a lineup of immersive experiences for bourbon lovers during September. Every Wednesday they're offering $7 neat pours and flights for $15 — featuring a rotating selection of barrel picks, including local whiskeys and cask-finished bourbons. On Friday-Saturday from 6-9 pm, they're doing tableside Old Fashioned carts during dinner in partnership with Clyde May’s Alabama-style whiskey. Guests can choose from Straight Rye Whiskey, Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Original Alabama Style Whiskey or Straight Bourbon Special Reserve — served neat, on a Big Rock, or smoked. Select cocktails will also be made tableside.

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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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