Pinthouse Pizza -- South Lamar

As with many things, the adage "if you build it, they will come" holds truth. The new Pinthouse Pizza on South Lamar in the Brodie Oaks shopping center is certainly no exception. It's sister location on Burnet Road has always been well-liked by friends, but I have never made it there myself. This brew pub/pizza joint opened in South Austin in late October, and when I went the beginning of December, it was packed.

Five of us decided to meet there on the first Thursday in December. I was the last to arrive at just after 6 pm, and I walked into a buzzing hive. Fortunately, my friends already had a table (or, a spot within the bank of picnic tables), AND one of them had been there before, so she knew how it worked. And thus, here lies my rub with Pinthouse: there's no host/hostess, so it's up to you to stumble in and figure it out for yourself. There are two separate lines you will have to get in, one for beer and one for food. Or maybe you only want one, and not the other, which will save you time. My friends had already ordered this flight of beers when I arrived; I liked the holder and the chalkboard for names.

We were ogling our neighbors nacho tray, and they gave it high marks, so we started with that. Very tasty queso and nice thick tortilla chips, and I think a decent quantity for just under $8.

The wedge salad was a disappointment, as the blue cheese vinaigrette was very weak in flavor, as it really lacked the promised blue cheese. It just tasted like an oil and vinegar dressing. But it was very fresh iceberg lettuce.

We got three 10" pizzas so we could try a variety. So they're not quite Neapolitan-style pizzas, but they are a thicker, doughier crust. They come in 10", 14", and 16" sizes. Three small pizzas plus the nachos and salad were perfect for five people.

The pepperoni and basil turned out to be my favorite; the meat was sliced really thin, so it was a bit crispy around the edges and not at all greasy, plus there wasn't too much tomato sauce (I am not a fan of heavy tomato sauce on a pizza).

The Armadillo pizza with sausage, poblano, ricotta, and cilantro. I love a white pie, but this didn't do it for me. In my book, it really really needs a drizzle of a balsamic reduction or some other acidity on it to really make it stand out. Fresh and good quality ingredients? Yes. Great tasting pizza? No.

And this other white pizza, with mushrooms and arugula; I think this was a build your own option, I can't remember and someone else did the ordering. This too suffered from lack of acid, whether it's balsamic or tomato sauce or fig jam. Overall is their pizza good? Yes, but just not as good as it could be to my discerning palate.

But hands down, the best thing we had was the chocolate fudge brownie with Amy's ice cream. So rich! And smooth, and really chocolaty. And when split five ways, even better!

I was real glad to have a "veteran" with us, who knew how the system worked, as walking into a new place for the first time can be a tad overwhelming when the place is packed. And a beer and pizza joint with ample parking is sorely needed in this area. They are really good about updating their Facebook page regularly, and I see that a house-brewed "Hefewhyzen" will be tapped later this month (one of my favorite beer varieties). Plus the January pizza of the month is a Thai peanut chicken, which I know won't appeal to everyone, but it does to me! Now I feel that I can enter Pinthouse with confidence, as I at least know how the system works. If my one weeknight experience is any indication, they have no trouble attracting business.

The Peached Tortilla

What started out as a single food trailer has become a mini empire. The Peached Tortilla now has two roving trucks and graduated to a brick and mortar establishment in December 2014 at 5520 Burnet Road, in the heart of the ever-changing Allendale neighborhood. We arrived around 5:30 pm, and headed to the eight-seat bar for the social hour menu.

My friend had been a few times before, and remembered affable and highly skilled barman Kevin. It was a treat to watch him throughout the evening, as he was adroitly mixing drinks directly in front of us, while chatting with us and training a newer bartender. I had the Kentucky Mule, a twist on a Moscow Mule, using bourbon instead of vodka. Kevin also gave us a taste of just the plain ginger beer (that he makes!) which was pungent and refreshing on its own.

From the social hour menu, we got three items to snack on, starting with the chicken karaage which were nice and crisp. Great texture and not at all greasy. The menu says it's a gochujang dipping sauce; this one had more of a soy flavor than a pronounced chile/spicy taste but it was well rounded and perfect with the chicken.

 

Kimchi arancini balls with two different aiolis, sriracha and wasabi. The sriracha was definitely the winner of the sauces; I am not the biggest wasabi fan, but had a hard time really detecting any wasabi flavor. The rice balls were also breaded and fried well, and were nice a savory on their own.

What's called Mom's Toast on the menu is a shrimp toast also with a gochujang sauce. I LOVED these! Super crisp and tasty. The sauce here seemed a bit sweet, but was a good foil to the salty fried goodness. I am now craving these. All the time.

After the appetizers, neither of us were exactly starving, but didn't feel that we should miss the opportunity to order off the regular menu for dinner.  My friend had previously had the Thai Chop Chop Salad, and I thought it would be a good choice after the fried foods. It's got Napa cabbage, fried tofu and shallots, green apple, fresno peppers, watermelon radishes, puffed rice, Thai vinaigrette and fish sauce caramel in it. I really enjoyed the medley of texture and flavors, though I didn't really find much apple or peanuts in it. I ate about a third of it and took the rest home for lunch the next day. Unfortunately, with the puffed rice, this salad did not hold up well overnight, so I would not recommend taking it as leftovers.

Here's my friend's dish; I can see how the Lush Pork Belly Bowl got its name! The pork was SO good! Nice thick meaty pieces that were cooked well. I've had a couple people tell me that's their favorite dish there, and I can see why. You can't really tell from the picture, but that's a 45 minute soft-boiled egg in the middle of the bowl, and there's rice underneath.  I don't regret the chop salad, but this would be real hard to pass up in the future.

Overall, a really good first experience at the Peached Tortilla! If you can get there for social hour (5 - 7 pm), I can definitely recommend sitting at the bar and enjoying some food there. By the time we left around 7:30ish, the place was packed, and there were a few people waiting for tables. They do have a small patio area outside, but when it's 100 degrees outside (and the patio is on the Burnet Road side), not sure that's much of an option! But if you like Asian fusion, are into different flavors and textures, and are up for creative cocktails, go get Peached!