Tilth Brunch Do Us Part

Tilth Organic Cuisine: true Pacific Northwest cookin’, right down to the refurbished home its housed in right in the heart of Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. It first opened in September 2006 and has been all the rage ever since (even the NYT said so almost two years ago, when it ranked Tilth 9th out of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in 2008 … although Frank Bruni seemed to find that the servers took too assertive an approach when it came to their table’s preferences). The second restaurant in the U.S. of A. to receive organic certification from Oregon Tilth, this place of course targets as close to all-organic as possible  (complete with local suppliers and sources) in order to create its “New American” cuisine.

Maria Hines – chef and owner of Wallingford’s Tilth – is an impressive 2009 James Beard Award winner and a 2005 “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine Magazine. Chef de Cuisine Larkin Young and Sous Chef Jason Brzozowy work by Maria’s side to keep things fresh, interesting, and always organic.

As for Tilth’s brunch menu, it’s creative-yet-simple, elegant-yet-down-to-earth (literally) … and, overall, delightful. A couple of tasting-note-highlights below:

Cardamom French Toast ($12): complete with crème de menthe mousse, mint syrup, and orange bread, this spicy little number is the perfect, sweet lil’ afternoon delight … without the inevitable (and non-enviable) pain of a sugar overload.

Mini Duck Burgers ($18): “Burgers for brunch – seriously?” Sure, why not – for it’s lunch time/dinner time somewhere, dear hedonists. Complete with in-house, home made fingerling chips, house made ketchup, and hot mustard, this rich ‘n’ savory dish will hit the spot … thrice (one for each mini burger).

(P.S. – There’s also a vegan menu, for you not-so-hedonistic types who probably don’t visit this site much, anyway. Harrumph!)

As for your Hedonista, every once in awhile I like to play the submissive role, so I don’t mind the servers taking the culinary reins from time to time, as it were. Sometimes I even learn something. That said, I found the staff to be polite, courteous, and knowledgeable; just like your typical PNWerner is stereotyped to be.

Until brunch do us part, dear hedonists: happy hedonism.

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.