Put gardening and cooking under one roof and you have Pitchforks and Tablespoons, Eastside Café's gardening and cooking retail store. This quaint little shop offers gardening books, tools, plants, and even instruction. We also sell cooking utensils, cookbooks, herbs, and spices.

Need a place to dash in and get a hot cup of soup or salad? Pitchforks and Tablespoons now offers Eastside Café soups, entrees, vegetables, salads, and desserts to go for those on the run. If you have more time enjoy your goodies, you'll be able to relax in our cozy garden picnic areas and eat your take-out under the shade of our trees while you ooh and ahh over the sight of all that's growing in our garden.

Come browse in Pitchforks and Tablespoons while you wait for your table or after your meal.

Call Pitchforks and Tablespoons to Order: (512) 494-1464

Sharing the Bounty
Our three Eastside Café cookbooks share with you the recipes that made us famous. Soup Yourself and Soup Someone Else each contain wonderful seasonal soup recipes. Eastside's Inside Secrets shows you how to cook your restaurant favorites at home. We hope you'll enjoy these cookbooks, which have received praise from the Austin American-Statesman, Restaurants and Institutions Magazine, and the Austin Chronicle.

Recipe of the Month
Each month we will feature a recipe from one of our cookbooks. We hope you will enjoy them. We hope you enjoy our website, and will come visit us in person.

From Soup Yourself, this Spicy Tomato Tortilla Soup is one of our Fall favorites.

Spicy Tomato Tortilla Soup

1/4 cup butter, margarine, or vegetable oil
2 cups onions, diced
2 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes
1 teaspoon fresh jalapenos, minced
1 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin, ground
2 14-1/2 ounce cans whole tomatoes
8 cups water
salt and pepper
garnish: grated cheese and fried tortilla strips

Heat butter, margarine, or vegetable oil in a large soup pot. Sauté onions and corn tortillas over low heat for 15 minutes, until brown. Add Rotel tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, cumin, tomatoes, and water. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Transfer tomato mixture to a blender or food processor, and purée until smooth. Return purée to soup pot and simmer until ready to serve. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with grated cheese and fried tortilla strips.