you had me at "bacon"

 

• restaurant: Tilth
• location: 1411 North 45th Street, Seattle
• dinner: Sunday - Thursday 5-10 pm; Friday - Saturday 5-10:30 pm
• brunch: Saturday & Sunday - 10 am - 2 pm

When we were planning our trip down to Seattle for my Dad’s birthday, I really wanted to find somewhere special to go for brunch.  So I put it out to the twitterverse to see if anyone had a suggestion.  Fortunately I got a reply that I should try out a place called Tilth. (thanks to @SeattleMaven) After reading their online menus and philosophy I knew we had to go there.

Getting off the highway before hitting Seattle, just north in the Lake Union-ish area, we drove down a street full of colourful and quirky shops.  There were at least 5 restaurants that caught our eye, but we had a purpose... Cheddar Biscuits with Smoked Pulled Chicken Gravy.  Or at least, that was what my Dad was excited for.  After not allowing anyone to eat before the 2 hour drive to our brunch, my stomach growled at the sight of the little green painted house.

Right after we took our first steps through the door I knew we had made a wise choice.  The warm buttery yellow interior, the sweet smiling staff and the wafting of bacon through the air.  It was like being in food heaven.  At first we thought we might have been under-dressed for such a nice place.  Once we stepped through the foyer into the dining room though, we saw that everyone else was just like us... here for the food.

The cute dining room table sets came complete with mini dishes of pink salt & cane sugar with tiny spoons.  The serving staff were never without gorgeous glass water carafes.  The kitchen was open so you could see right in, and they had a whole board listing their current cheeses.  The mood was set, and I was ready to be romanced by their organic cuisine.

It took us about 10 minutes at least to decide what to order.  My mother was firm in her decision of the strawberry almond scone with strawberry coulis.  My Dad who had been so set on the biscuits & gravy found himself torn between that and everything else on the menu.  Eventually deciding on his original choice, only to change his mind when the waitress came to the dungeness crab frittata.

For myself, I had never taken so long to decide on breakfast.  Generally breakfast is my least favorite meal to eat out because I don’t eat eggs.  Fortunately this was not a “2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 sausage & hashbrowns” kind of a place.  They actually had healthy food on their menu, something that I could eat!  I wavered between the fruit plate, the homemade granola & the peaches and cream oatmeal.  My big dilemma was that I often eat instant oatmeal at home, not because I particularly like it, but because I know it’s healthy.  So I was worried that were I to order the oatmeal and not like it, the food would be a waste.

And then it happened.  A waitress sashayed by carrying a plate of some sort of sinful food art.  I guess she must have noticed my jaw drop open because when she walked past us again she said in a low voice “bourbon vanilla french toast”.  The chef was clearly trying to seduce me with their talent.  As much as I wanted to dive head first into a plate of their french toast, I decided that I would stick to my healthy ways and go with the oatmeal.  My reasoning was that anyone who could turn french toast into food porn, wouldn’t put “oatmeal” on the menu if it wasn’t amazing.

I also ordered coffee, which to be honest I didn’t expect much of.  Most breakfast places have pretty lousy coffee.  Not only was it great, but I could not believe how quick the service was.  The second my cup was empty (not half-empty, but actually done) the waitress was back with a hot carafe of coffee which she proceeded to leave at our table.  It was at that moment that I knew I was in love.

It didn’t take very long to get our food, and I would have been happy to laze away the morning sitting at that table.  If not for the fact that the people eating next to us got bacon (which I had also ordered)... and the smell of it was so amazing that it was all I could do not to reach over and eat it.

When the food arrived we were all delighted.  I’m sure to anyone listening we would have sounded nuts exclaiming about how fresh jam was served on a wonton soup spoon, and how nice the butter looked.  In fact, let’s hope that no one was listening.  My father raved about his frittata, and mom equally about her scone (“short and buttery”).  For me, I couldn’t believe that I was eating oatmeal that’s how good it tasted.  

But the bacon*.... the bacon was the cherry on top.  Thick-sliced maple cured bacon, done to perfection, and so beautiful that I couldn’t eat it with my fingers, I used a fork & knife.  As my friend Emily would say, it was a porkgasm.

The best part was that I didn’t even have to feel guilty afterwards!  Tilth uses seasonal, local ingredients and are the 2nd restaurant in the country to receive the Oregon Tilth organic certification.  You can tell that they really care about the food they’re serving you, and as decadent as it sounds most everything was pretty healthy.

If you’re going to Seattle check this place out.  But you might want to make reservations, as suggested on their website.  You wouldn’t want to miss out on this experience.

*bacon not pictured as I was too busy eating it and going "mmmm... yum... oooh" to think of my camera.

Comments

[emvandee]

OMG, I've BEEN there and that French toast is AMAZING.