Texas Monthly Finds the Perfect Bite at Pitchfork Pretty

Texas Monthly’s Pat Sharpe was initially puzzled by the “folksy rubric” of Pitchfork Pretty’s style. After commenting, as others have done, on the undeniable beauty of the distinct A-frame decorated with jars of preserves, she grew to understand the sophisticated food.

In contrast to the Chronicle’s review, Sharpe enjoyed warm-and-cold crab dish and the beautiful plate of “airy” yuca dumplings with escabeche. She also praised the “lean, green, and springy” spaetzle that mixed well with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and broccolini. She especially enjoyed the extraordinary quail egg shooter:

My nomination for the best single bite of the year is the quail egg shooter at Pitchfork Pretty. Gently shimmering, the translucent white oval comes nested on a bed of golden fried leeks in its own little ergonomic pottery dish [... ] For something that costs $3 and vanishes in three seconds, a lot of effort has been expended.

However, Sharpe found her dessert somewhat lacking. The multilayered crepe cake in white chocolate mole sauce was felled by its own creativity, as the masa used for the crepes gave the dish a grainy texture. Still, she is already planning a return visit.

Austin Monthly’s Jolene Bouchon was similarly perplexed by what exactly Pitchfork Pretty meant by “Hill Country-inspired fare,” but found the results charming. To wit:

[...] a rustic hunk of buckwheat cornbread with an amazingly tender crumb accompanied by miso-honey butter pressed with little lantana flowers; the charred eggplant gazpacho punctuated with diced tomatoes, avocado, peppers, and fried corn that I could eat every day; or the silken olive oil–poached ruby trout accompanied by roasted fennel and tomatoes and served with a light but flavorful tomato water.

Bouchon offered substantial critiques too. She found the gluten-free coating did not stick to the fried chicken, though she called the meat some of the juiciest she’d ever had. She also didn’t love the entire dessert menu. While the almond pound cake was good, she though the chocolate marjoram ice cream didn’t work. She also chastised the restaurant for not paying proper homage to Texas wines.

Bouchon seemed more than willing to overlook the small missteps: “None of those things matter when you’re among company you adore.”

THE BLOGS — So Much Life craves Sa-Ten’s toasts and Atxeatsandtreats encounters strong cocktails at Upstairs at Caroline.

• Upscale Hill Country Cuisine at Pitchfork Pretty [Texas Monthly]
• Restaurant Review: Pitchfork Pretty [Austin Monthly]
• All Coverage of Pitchfork Pretty [EATX]