Chronicle Fawns Over Fare at Pitchfork Pretty

Chronicle reviewer Melody Fury visited the undeniably gorgeous Pitchfork Pretty, and found the food worthy of the decor. While the restaurant is described as “Hill Country cuisine,” Fury noted that the label “understates the layers of whimsy, complexity, and attention to detail that the experience entails” from chef Max Snyder including the deft incorporation of ingredients like sambal and miso.

Fury particularly enjoyed the appetizers, like the buckwheat cornbread with honey butter, a “smoky velouté-like” gazpacho, and the pickled options:

A translucent slow-poached quail egg, pickled in champagne vinegar, rests on a tiny nest. The one-biter amuses the bouche with acidic sharpness, mellowed out by the crispy leeks. Following the pickle theme, the unremarkable-sounding beer-pickled cucumbers & mushrooms delights as an attractive and surprisingly cohesive combination of crunchy cucumber, sliced pickles, charred shiitake and beech mushrooms, accented with serrano oil.

The “gorgeously marbled” beef rib served with “warm yeasty rolls” also received particular acclaim. Fury also visited in the morning. In between house-made bagels and lox, she found a new contender for best breakfast on the East Side, like with the steak ‘n eggs:

A hearty slab of chuck roast is cooked sous vide until medium rare, then seared. It's served with a deeply rendered veal jus, herbs from the garden, and home fries for good measure.

While she did have minor complaints about dense dumplings and plate temperatures, she still ends with high praise for the restaurant, noting that it raised the New American bar.

On the beverage end of things, Moira Muldoon at Austin Monthly visited closet-turned-bar Techo. Mi Madri’s rooftop mezcaleria is small, but still feels “dark and cool.” One trip with a friend led to a too smoky cocktail, and she wandered to the bar to request a replacement:

The bartender mentioned a mezcal with a hint of mint at the finish, and I nodded assent. He poured three-quarters of an ounce into a shallow ceramic cup and placed it on a cutting board with two slices of orange dipped in ancho-guajillo powder. The mezcal was lovely, and the oranges even more so.

Muldoon enjoyed her “sturdy” house margarita. She sadly missed the worm and grasshopper salts, and considers this an excuse to happily return to the mezcal bar.

THE BLOGS — The pork ribs at Ah Sing Den converted a vegetarian at The Austinot, and AustinTXFood got addicted to the avocado popsicle at Steel City Pops.

• Restaurant Review: Pitchfork Pretty [Chronicle]
• A Girl Walks Into a Bar: Techo [Austin Monthly]
• All Coverage of Pitchfork Pretty [EATX]