Well, it’s happened again. Another fantastic restaurant has opened in Boulder. I thought a Tuesday night would be slow, but The Pinyon was packed when we arrived around 7:30. We got two seats at the beautiful, large, spacious, wooden bar and got to watch the busy, meticulous kitchen staff work hard while we enjoyed the fruits of their labor.
We started out with cocktails, of course.
I tried the Waldorf, which was Rye, Sweet Vermouth, and Absinthe. Brought me right back to New Orleans… love that rye.
To start, we split the House Made Farmer Cheese. You must try the house made farmer cheese. It it one of my new favorite small plates ever. The black pepper honey and grilled bread made me want to order an entire bowl of this cheese and a loaf of bread so I could stuff myself on perfection. But… we had other small plates to enjoy.
I don’t know what they do to their braised greens, but if I made greens taste this good, I’d actually eat them every day instead of blend them in a vitamix and drink them. The chefs at The Pinyon must know a secret because you could get little kids to enjoy these greens. The golden raisins and pine nuts are also a nice touch.
And the pickled vegetables! I had never considered pickled yam as a pickling possibility, but The Pinyon did and the pickled veggies are deliciously pickled, yet maintain some crunch. Celery, carrot, cauliflower, yam, turnip, and beets. By the time we finished our appetizers, I was convinced that I loved this place.
Now, let’s talk about fried chicken. I know The Pinyon offers more than fried chicken, but sitting there watching all of the plating taking place, you’d think it was a fried chicken joint. So many people ordered this perfectly battered and fried half chicken with corn cakes and house syrup, and we did too. The Pinyon’s fried chicken is comfort food with a new American, front-range twist. They are well on their way to being the place in town for fried chicken.
I took a chance on the Butternut and Pumpkin Dumplings, thinking they’d be like a Chinese dumpling stuffed with squash and pumpkin. Not at all! They’re so much better than that! They’re like plump gnocchi-like pillows of mouth-watering goodness in a brown-butter sage bourbon sauce that blends well with the gingersnap crumbs, mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes. The frisee works well with the dish and I had a hard time pacing myself. I kept eating and eating and eating…
And, of course we ordered the doughnuts for dessert and started eating them before I even thought to snap a photo. Three kinds of doughnuts rounded off our meal: chocolate, maple glazed, and bourbon glazed. Ahh… doughnuts. Who doesn’t honestly love doughnuts?
The service at The Pinyon was stellar. The food was absolutely delicious. It is officially one of my new favorite places in town.