The Pinyon

Service was a little off bit they admitted to it and comped us our drinks. Bit at the end of the day, the food was fantastic. The fried chicken was incredible. The pasta was sublime. As was the baloney. Yes baloney.

I’ve been to The Pinyon five times now; 4 dinners and a brunch. The food is always interesting. The flavor combinations and uncommon presentations of familiar foods are something to look forward to.
The very few disappointments I have had were the inconsistency of the farmer’s cheese; twice creamy and spreadable, once dry and bland. For a special occasion, we ordered the Gruet Rose, which came as a split, but wasn’t stated on the menu.
For brunch, The potato pancake w soft scrambled eggs and smoked trout was a wonderful plate. My favorite dinner has been the four hour meatball w fresh pasta.
If you haven’t tried The Pinyon yet, you are in for a real treat!

Eating at The Pinyon was one of my best Boulder dining experiences so far. I’ve been missing the food of NYC pretty badly but there were a few things here that definitely brought me back to the good old days.
First, I loved the fried brussel sprout appetizer. It was spicy, crunchy, sticky and overall a fantastic way to begin the meal. It reminded a lot of the Momofuku brussels, which I love. The house-​made mozzarella was fantastic and again, it’s so hard to find truly fresh mozzarella here, so this was definitely a little taste of home. Maybe I’ll have to find out how to make mozzarella at home… business idea, perhaps? Joking.
Anyway, my date and I shared the trout special, which was like a deconstructed hash, complete with fried trout, fried egg, a wonderful slab of meaty bacon and some delicately braised greens. Fantastic! The 72-​hour brisket was our other main and it was so incredibly tender. It again was somewhat deconstructed — our waitress said it was supposed to emulate an upscale Bic Mac, with a hearty dollop of special sauce (liberally sassed with fresh horseradish!) and a braised romaine heart. Again, I loved it.
I would go back here in a second. The cocktail menu is innovative and fun and I love the open kitchen atmosphere. Truly a fun, tasty experience.

Pinyon was by far the best meal we have had in Boulder in some time. My wife and I had decided we needed to expand upon on our old haunts and try something new. From the moment we entered their was a nice vibe. It felt comfortable. We chose to sit at the bar and watch all of the great craft drinks being made and found the staff engaging a very personable. The food was very good. I had the friend chicken and my wife had the fish of the day, both were well prepared.
The Pinyon is now our new favorite stop in Boulder to the point I have never posted on Unilocal before but feel it is necessary on this occasion.

I moved away from Boulder and I am STILL thinking about this place. It’s funny, too — because I actually worked there and I’m returning to write a glowing review. (Come on? How often does that happen?)
I know this place inside and out and can honestly say that it’s an amazing restaurant. Chef Theo Adley is a crazy genius (culinary and otherwise). At first, I wasn’t sure if Boulder was ready for his creativity. There are a lot of resistant self proclaimed «foodies» in that town, after all.
I know, I know… Everyone raves about the fried chicken. And it’s pretty much to die for. I would, however, encourage the real «foodie» to try just about anything else on the menu other than the fried chicken.
Examples of food I will miss the most:
the house-​made farmer cheese
the best wings I’ve ever had in my life
the fresh house-​made maltagliata pasta dish
the shrimp and grits
the flank steak
AND Dan Mirsky’s famous cocktails.
They also have what I’ll remember to be one of the best brunches I’ve ever eaten and served. Do you know what a circulated egg is??? OMFG.
And if you do take me for my word on here and appreciate quality service with a smile, I’d recommend Alicia or Carson. (I’d say TBO, too, but I heard he’s leaving the restaurant business).
And it’s always entertaining to sit at the food bar because Theo is hilarious. His brother, Jonah, is also a phenomenal dude. The Pinyon is a family business. It’s funny for me to say this because I’ve worked in restaurants for over 15 years and they’re always TRYING to make the staff into a «family» at most restaurants. In my opinion, The Pinyon actually succeeded in that feat.
Anyway — go to the Pinyon and say hi for me. I miss those fools.

I was rather excited to eat at The Pinyon. I had heard great reviews from friends in the culinary industry about how this was the best fried chicken in Boulder, and I was ready for it. I read some mixed reviews on Unilocal prior to our Pinyon excursion, so I definitely was a bit tentative, but my expectations were neither too high or too low.
Upon arriving, I was pleasantly surprised with the ambiance, décor, and overall feeling of the place. Some of the reviews said that the décor was painfully bland, but I enjoyed it. Simply put together with lots of wood and steel accents — somewhat reminiscent of The Kitchen. The host and waitstaff were extremely nice and attentive, seating me immediately — on a Friday night, with a packed house, and no reservation — and provided me with water, menus, and an option for drinks promptly. It was a great start.
Now onto the food. I ordered the fried chicken with maple syrup and scallion pancake, and Scott ordered the eggplant parm (of which there was apparently only one left) as well as a side of duck fat fries. The wait for the food was a little on the long side, but I was completely content since we were celebrating a special occasion and in no hurry whatsoever. When the food came I was excited, surprised, and confused all at the same time.
I’ll start with the eggplant parm. My first thought was– wow, that is a small portion! It was in a tiny cast iron skillet — the smallest size that I personally have at home. It was a rather small size for a rather large price, but I have to say, it did taste good. My only complaint was the price/​size of this dish. The eggplant came from Abbondanza Farms, and they have had a bounty of eggplant in recent weeks. So I find it hard to believe that this eggplant parm was really worth the 18 dollars. But it didn’t taste bad, so I’ll give it that much.
Onto the fried chicken. I was extremely excited for this, as I heard it was one of the best in Boulder (which isn’t saying much). Well, I was extremely disappointed. The inside actual meat of the chicken was very moist and very tender, I’ll give them that, but the breading was just meh. Very bland, not much to it. I can say that I have made better fried chicken, and for a lot less money. It was a huge disappointment for a huge fried chicken fan. Not to mention the «duck fat fries» — really? These tasted like gross, regular fries that came out of a frozen bag and are served at the movie theatre next to the butter loaded popcorn. Horrible! I don’t understand how they thinking serving food like that at such a high price is OK… Oh right, it’s Boulder.
Overall, very unimpressed. I liked the ambiance, the vibe, and the service. But I’m here for the food, not the vibe. I sadly will not be back.

Pinyon stands tall on east Pearl street. Planted in the middle of some of Boulder’s more famous, and admittedly pretentious, eateries, Pinyon serves up unencombered comfort food, to perfection.
As we sat and watched Chef Theo prepare charcuterie platters, fried chicken, shrimp and heirloom tomatoes, spare ribs, and hamburgers right before our eyes, it was obvious his focus is on food and flavor vs. food aesthetics and excessive engineering. Pinyon prepares «straightforward» food at the highest levels. The fried chicken was perfectly moist and crispy, while the spare ribs and shrimp & heirloom plates were full of flavor.
Pinyon is simply awesome.

Small uninformative menu
They need to let people know what has spice and does not. We ordered the meatball and it was super spicy. Also their «cheese grits» had red chili flakes in them… they weren’t bad, but I think it is important let your customers know what to expect.
The atmosphere was bistro chic, but some of the tables were too close together. The wait staff was friendly and attentive.
Not worth $ 88 for two.

Pinyon, Pinyon! Why???
The first time I came, I gave you 5 stars. Because you delivered such a memorable, 5 star quality meal.
The second time I came, I had to downgrade to an unfortunate 2 star for your Valentine’s Day flop. But I remembered how fantastic that first time was, and I hoped that I could come back on a non-Valentine’s day menu to experience some of that 5 star awesomeness, and bump you up a few stars. Because I really believed in you.
So, I figured third time’s the charm, and I convinced my husband (still unimpressed from that V-​day dinner) and one of our best foodie friends to give it one last chance. Our foodie friend is very well-​eaten around Denver, has a quite a distinguished palate, and Unilocal extensively. I hoped Pinyon could impress the lot of us.
Figures third strike’s an out.
Our friend, in super-​excited foodie mode, researched Pinyon’s offerings before we went. He was super excited because Pinyon offered a great looking happy hour, starting at 4pm. So despite the crazy downpour outside, we ran through the rain and showed up soaked but excited at 4 to get us some happy food.
The place was empty. Chairs were still on the tables, and bawdy rap was blaring from the sound system. A few workers were wandering around, cleaning, and we were soundly ignored for 10 minutes. As we stood there waiting, a fellow (god forbid, but I think he was the owner due to his age and his dress) came up and asked us what we were doing. He asked if we were standing in his restaurant just to take shelter from the rain. We told him we were here for happy hour.
The fellow left us standing in the entrance and some time later, a waiter showed up to inform us that the Pinyon no longer offers happy hour. We would have to wait until dinner time at 5. We pointed out the obvious discrepancy online, where they list happy hour times AND a happy hour menu. The waiter wrung his hands and offered us drinks, but that was the end of that evening. We went back into the rain to figure out what to do, and the rest of the evening was spent muttering about Pinyon and its major Fail.
Ironically enough, just a few hours before our fated attempt, we had bumped into a gal that manages another fantastic restaurant on Pearl Street. When we mentioned we were headed to Pinyon, she shook her head and said the place was going up in smoke due to irresponsible management. We didn’t quite understand what she meant, but now we do. Third time’s not a charm at all.
Conclusion: Quite honestly, this was Pinyon’s last chance. I really wanted to bump it back to 5 stars, I really did. But alas, not only did Pinyon fail, my husband is more adamant than ever that the place sucks, and I was totally embarrassed at all the great things I said to convince our foodie friend to come try it out.
1 star. It would be 0 if Unilocal allowed.

It’s time for you to put The Pinyon, a newer entry on the East Pearl Street area, a notch higher on your list of good Boulder restaurants to try out.
We were looking last minute for a reservation for dinner over the 4^th of July weekend, and while many of the more well-​known restaurants here were booked until late, The Pinyon was available. Turns out, we very much enjoyed our first time to this restaurant.
The Pinyon has been renovated from the last restaurant (Bimbamboo) that occupied the space, with a nice bar area where you can watch the chefs preparing your food. We chose a seat along the windows to do a little Pearl Street watching. But just a word of warning here, if it’s early evening, beware of the sun and glare from the large windows. So far, the restaurant does not have any shades installed, and the setting sun in the summer comes directly in.
Nevertheless, the wait staff was very friendly, and even offered to move us if the sun was bothering us.
The Pinyon lists itself as contemporary American, focused on «small batch, craft driven food and drink.» You have choices of small plates, although we all chose items off the large plate menu, which range in the $ 18 to $ 24 price. Salads and some sides are extra.
I tried the grilled flank steak, tender and tasty, which came with delicious padron peppers, grilled spring onions and confit tomato. The arugula salad, with some fresh strawberries and tiny Oregon huckleberries, was a delicious starter.
Others with me tried two different hand-​made pasta dishes, one served with summer vegetables, another with shredded lamb. Both were mouth-​watering and worth sharing bites around the table.
It was a great summer weekend, so we started with a bottle Oregon Rose that was recommended, and it was perfect for the summer heat.
It wasn’t terribly busy for a holiday weekend Sunday evening, but that might just be part of Boulder getting to know The Pinyon a little better. Chef and owner Theo Adley was busy cooking and chatting to a few customers, but it might be nice to see him come out and mingle with guests a little if the pace is slow since he’s cooking right in the main room of the restaurant anyway.
It’s those small friendly touches that pay off big in the extremely competitive Boulder restaurant market.
I’ll definitely be back. The Pinyon does offer a happy hour with small plate specials, and that could be fun to try out if you’re not looking for a full dinner.

While I mourned the loss of BimBamBoo, I was looking forward to trying out it’s successor, Piñón. Sadly, my optimism was met with mediocrity and «artistic» temperament. The few times I was there the place was e.m.p.t.y. On a Friday at lunch. Here’s why:
The menu is VERY limited. ONE salad, NO real vegetarian/​vegan options, and a grand total of 14 items: 5 small plates, 5 sandwichs, and 4 big plates. And that one salad? Nothing but mixed greens and dressing. For $ 7. No tomatoes, no cucumber, no carrots or fruits or nuts. Lettuce and dressing for $ 7.
The food isn’t actually very good. At all. The chicken salad sandwich I had was tasteless and mushy, hubby’s steak was chewy and «forgettable», the pickled veggie sandwich was considered barely passable, and the soup-​du-​jour flavorless. The presentation was terrible with simply whatever you ordered slapped on a plate. And if you think you may get some kind of seasonal side with your big plate — think again. Our lunch party individually and unanimously concluded that we would never be returning.
No tinkering with the menu, however minor, was allowed «because the chefs are artists». Yeah, well they’ll be starving artists soon enough with no one eating here.
Despite being the only table occupied in the entire restaurant, and the waitstaff outnumbering the customers, the service was rather slow, inattentive and a bit rude.
I am already looking forward to dining at the NEXT restaurant to fill this choice location.

Went here for dinner on Saturday night. I thought it was good and the prices seemed about right. I’ll be returning!
Two of us shared the farmer’s cheese appetizer with black pepper honey and it was awesome. I think it might have been my favorite part of the meal. I couldn’t resist ordering the tomato soup… but to be honest I think I could’ve done without. It was good, but nothing that special.
Then I had the mussels which were great. The broth was slightly spicy from jalapenos and it had huge chunks of delicious bacon in it. I thought it was a unique approach to mussels from what I’ve had in the past, and it worked for me.
My boyfriend had the fried chicken, and it was awesome. I’m glad we found this place because there’s not a whole lot of options when it comes to fried chicken in Boulder. It comes with a pancake and some fantastic syrup.
Overall, we had a good time. The place was clean and our service was good. The food was good, too.
PS– After reading a few other reviews, I should mention that I did overhear a couple servers say that they were running out of dishes as the night went on. We got there at 6:30 and it wasn’t a problem, but by 7:30−8 we were starting to hear about it. I’m guessing they are still trying to figure out how much to stock up.

We went to Pinyon for our splurge dinner to celebrate our engagement while on vacation in Colorado.
It was great! We found it after searching for «fried chicken» here on Unilocal.Many reviews mentioned it being spectacular, so we tried it out!
Started with the Duck Prosciutto. It was pretty good. My fiancé really liked it but I think I’m just not much of a prosciutto fan to begin with. We had their special salad that was great. Snap peas, radishes and walnuts I believe.
The fried chicken was great! We split it and it was just enough. I am never a big fan of maple syrup but I actually enjoyed it with the chicken.
The only upsetting part was the dessert. My fiancé had the doughnut trio and I had the brownie sundae. My brownie was kind of stale and his doughnuts were a bit intense! But the coffee I had served with a small french press was great!
All in all we had a blast, and really enjoyed a great meal!

We were hugely disappointed:
— Our bruschetta appetizer was based on badly burned toast
— One of our fried chickens was pink and even a little bloody inside. When the plate came back from the kitchen, they just removed that piece are rearranged the others!
— The plating and presentation was miserable. Plates came out 1 – 2 minutes apart for the 4 of us. No garnish, no veges, just a big blog of entrée with no artistry
— My lamb special was a grey blob of unrecognizable meat on top of ~12 peas. The mint chutney was was just a splatted brown/​grey spoon of goop, with a few bits sprayed around the plate. It was so unappetizing I almost thought it was a joke.
— 2 of 4 chicken eaters had upset tummies later
— zero décor
A few good things:
— Great beer selection
— Friendly staff
Am I being picky? I think not. For what we paid, we could have had a far superior experience at Salt, Kitchen, L’Atelier, or Mateo.
Four of us, Friday night 3÷18÷11, not quite a full house.

Okay, been here twice now, once for happy hour and once for dinner, so I feel like I can do a full review.
First time here was for happy hour on a weeknight. I opted to sit at the bar so I could watch the kitchen guys do their thing. I went for the white wine; my friend had a Hops Not Tonic which was delicious and different. I started with their house cut chips, which were cut very thin and tasted wonderful. The head chef convinced me to try their burger which he said was «magical.» He wasn’t kidding. I opted for no bun and just had the patty with the pickled vegetables. Their burgers are made from brisket and short rib, how can this possibly be a bad thing? The meat was flavorful, not too greasy but very juicy and tender and cooked just right. I wanted to go for the donuts and coffee but decided to save that for another visit. My friend ordered bread and farmers cheese with was presented beautifully and the bread was absolutely delicious, especially with the char from the grill, but the cheese fell short in my opinion. It just had no flavor whatsoever. The texture was fine, but the bread outshined the cheese by far.
Fast forward to last night, Daylight Savings Time stole my evening and my husband and I were looking for a place to go for dinner after 8. So glad they stay open later, even on Sundays. The place had a few tables but was quiet overall, and the music was right up my alley (Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Zero 7). The waitress gave us enough time to browse the menu but also immediately gave us a list of what was 86’d which was helpful. I am amused though at how people don’t really get food allergies. She recited a salad special that immediately sucked us in: The bottom of a loaf of bread covered in goat cheese and berries, baked, and then served with greens on top. My husband inquired if the bread had any cow dairy. The response we go was «Well I know it isn’t gluten free.» I blame this entirely on our society’s love affair with food allergies and intolerances paired with a general lack of understanding. Whatever. We got the salad and it was AMAZING. Best thing I’ve even in a long time. I wish we’d gotten two, it was that good. The greens were frisee which was a tremendous choice: Peppery and nutty, they carried the charred flavor of the bread and complemented the goat cheese while the tart sweetness of the berries kept the whole dish grounded. WOW. I hope this becomes a permanent menu item one day. My husband then opted for the pork shoulder while I went for the fried chicken with scallion pancakes and syrup. My husband’s pork shoulder tasted almost like corned beef but with a tender pork texture and bits of fat hugging the bottom of several pieces to give it some buttery mouth feel. Nice touch with the lemon confit and escarole. Soooo good. The failing of this dish though was the total lack of a carbohydrate. My husband asked for a side of bread with some olive oil (also nice, very full tasting) and balsamic (almost drinkable on its own); to the restaurant’s credit they didn’t charge him for this. My own dish, the fried chicken, was as tremendous as everyone says. This place knows how to do it right. The batter was plentiful but not thick and bready, crispy and dark but not overdone, and the chicken itself was fresh and tender. The dark meat was moist without being overly greasy. Just all around delicious. The scallion pancake was an interesting addition, more pancake than scallion. The syrup that came with it had a heavy molasses flavor as opposed to maple. Very enjoyable and it really clung to the pancake pieces without dripping. For dessert we split their one dairy-​free treat which was an apple and butternut sorbet. It has never occurred to be to use butternut in a dessert and it was lovely. The nutty and spicy aroma complemented the apple perfectly.
Overall a great dinner. Both of us were duly impressed. Great service, as others have pointed out. My water glass was never empty and our plates were cleared promptly. The waitress made several trips back and forth to the kitchen to make sure my husband wasn’t eating anything with cow dairy. She was poised and did all the right things.
I can’t give it five stars yet, the lack of a carb and the fact that the dining room is painfully plain do bother me, but everything else was a home run.

SERVICE
*Great service, very attentive. Kept the water glasses full and cleared the plates frequently enough that our two-​top never felt overcrowded. Requests for lemons for water, salt, extra pickled celery, and the check were attended to promptly. Happy hour is reasonably priced for the portions.
FOOD
*Fried chicken with pancakes and syrup — TO DIE FOR. I may just have to eat this once a week. Appreciate that the server told me it would take 15 – 20 min. Well worth the wait!
*Buffalo wings with homemade blue cheese dressing — awesome! Perfect amount of spicy for me, that is, not very.
*Grits with cheddar — nothing special, perhaps a little underseasoned, but I’m a salt fiend.
*Marinated vegetables (celery, beets, cauliflower, carrots) — interesting, a little too much clove for my tastes. These veggies are actually part of the décor — jars of pickled what-​have-​you are lined up along the back wall.
*Braised greens (without raisins or nuts) — delicious! Good sized side dish. This was not on the HH menu, but on the dinner menu. They kindly accommodated the request, even though normally the dinner menu service doesn’t start until 6 pm.
*Hamburger — …med-​rare meat was tasty & presentation creative — the bun is more of a biscuit — but missing something… tomato? A sauce?
AMBIANCE
*Nothing annoying. If the restaurant were packed, the two-​top tables might be a little too close together.
All in all, psyched to go back to try other menu items and to have more of that chicken!

Overall not to impressed. The food is okay but the cooks don’t really have a understanding of what flavors and spices go together. Maybe they are trying to be creative but for me it doesn’t work.
The service, much like the food, was very slow to arrive… and it wasnt that busy.
I hope they can improve as time goes on but this place will have trouble competing with the great places boulder has to offer

Here’s the scoop– this place is just OK. You can have a good meal here, but you might end up thinking to yourself– I could have cooked this exact same meal for myself at home. The cocktail menu was not extensive or super inventive and I felt the same about the food. There was nothing I didn’t like necessarily– but in the same breath there was nothing very memorable.
I’ve had a number of their entrees and one thing I will say that I was excited to see had finally made it’s way to boulder was a «fried chicken and waffle-​ish» menu item. Not quite like back in DC– but it’s a good start!

This is some of the best food in Boulder, and truly pretty amazing, for such a new restaurant! So far, my opinion is the eats here can meet or exceed some of the best in Denver, NY, or LA.
Over 2 dinners, Chef Theo’s food has been delicious, well-​conceived and well-​executed. For Xmas eve special 5 course meal, we had terrific oysters, an amazing runny egg-​potato pancake-​roe starter, leading up to sharing a whole oven-​roasted honey-​glazed (?) duck that was so tasty and juicy. To finish they even made their own excellent Panettone.
On NYE, they had a duck fat fries special, w/​duck sausage gravy and black truffle, indulgent and satisfying. Off the regular menu, the salad with roasted mushroom, apple, house bacon, frisee, and mustard cider vinaigrette was surprising. The seemingly simple combo was just great, highlighted by the unusual rich smokiness of the house bacon (was there some molecular gastronomy trick?). The main of butternut and pumpkin dumplings was so well-​prepared and delicious, full of fresh tasty veggies and a flavorful broth; this is the best gnocchi that I’ve had in Boulder. To finish, tasty house-​made donut selection of chocolate, lemon cream, and bourbon glazed, which was jumbo-​sized, even for 2 to share. Even coffee was rich, smooth and way above par for Boulder.
Also, though I’m no expert, the selective choices of beer & wine + house conceived cocktails appear to be interesting and a good match for the fine grub served.
The chef and all the staff have been friendly hosts and are truly excited about their new venture, I can’t wait to go back!

We went for opening night, to celebrate my birthday with the first home-​made fried chicken in Boulder. And, everything else was yummy too.
This «Fried half chicken, cornmeal griddle cake, with house breakfast syrup.» is the first, hot, crispy, delicious, on-​the-​bone, real fried chicken in Boulder — And, my friends and I have been searching for years. All the others are frozen from a Sysco bag, boneless breasts, nuggets, and the like. It was awesome! It was hot, extremely juicy, intensely flavorful and very crisp. He uses a 24-​hour buttermilk marinade, an old family friend’s recipe that was handed down orally, and took hours of practice to get it right after talking to lots of southern chefs. On top of it all, it’s gluten free as it’s made with potato flour. That goes a long way in Boulder.
Theo Adley, chef and owner (Frasca, Flagstaff House, Radda, Little Nell, Pizarria Basta) helms the kitchen with highly qualified staff including a sous chef from a nationally-​known restaurant I can’t think of right now.
We also had «Whiskey-​cured chicken wings, with spicy apple mustard» «Selection of house-​made breads and jam, cultured Vermont butter», «Roasted brussel sprouts» (which I loved and I used to hate the things!), «Pickled Vegetables», «Butternut and pumpkin dumplings, roasted mushrooms, bourbon, brown butter, sage, frisse, gingersnap crumbs» and «crushed fingerling potatoes, green onion, chili oil». But most of us had the fried chicken for our main dish.
The atmosphere was comfortable and casual with an open kitchen.
I’d highly recommend it and can’t wait to try the vegetables he roasts over local pine boughs, the grilled pork chop and the whole trout.