Brunch at Tilth

I'm not a big breakfast fan but do appreciate a good brunch. It means a later wake up time (I love my sleep), choosing foods from multiple meal times and mimosas (I like my bubbles almost as much as my sleep). It feels special given most places only role out the brunch menu on weekends and, for me, seems less rushed than breakfast.

So kicking Valentine's Day off with brunch at Tilth a few weeks back felt like a treat. I've been to Tilth once before for dinner and liked it. Loved it for brunch. The restaurant is in a small house with an adorable awning (that's a bit Chez Panisse like, come to think of it) in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. The morning was nice, and the sun made the dining room's walls feel even warmer than their pale yellow paint. It wasn't crowded, but the tables were full. There were smiling couples and families at nearly all of them and a light but lively buzz filled the room. The place was Spring a month and a half early. It felt happy.

And that happy feeling was before we ate. Content multiplied by about ten after. We had the baby lettuce salad with crispy shallots, bacon bits and their take on Thousand Island dressing. The crispy shallots were like baby onion rings and pretty perfect. We also had the Cardamom French Toast with a creme de menthe mousse, mint syrup and orange bread (the photo above). I wasn't all that psyched about that dish when we ordered it. Seemed like too much mint. And while I didn't love the syrup on its own (too strong), it of course worked with the bread and mousse.

Our main dish was a salmon hash with capers, house made cream cheese and a sous vide egg. It came with frisee and toast for soaking up the egg and cream cheese that melted together by the time you'd finished the rest of the dish. So rich, and so good.

A tall, sweet and sparkling mimosa of course washed it all down and put some pep in my step for the Pikes Place Market shopping that followed. An overall, most lovely mid-morning meal that made me fall hard for everything going on inside that little house.