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News & ArtsTuesday, May 5, 2009
Chow Props to Maria Hines of Tilth
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Tue, May 5, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Everybody hearts Maria Hines—she of the long black braid, shown here barbecuing ducks at last summer's Burning Beast (mark your calendar for this year's on July 11 12th!)—and now she's got a James Beard award for Tilth to prove it. Yay, Maria Hines!
Tom Douglas did not win Outstanding Restaurateur (Drew Nieporent of Myriad Restaurant Group did). The other award to a local went to Rebekah Denn, formerly of the P-I, now blogging here, for this article about the famous wooly pigs. Props to Rebekah Denn as well.
Best category: BEST NEW RESTAURANT PRESENTED BY LEXUS. Momofuku Ko in New York got that. See who got the other awards here.
Photo for The Stranger by Curt Doughty.
5
last night i was reading the menu for momofuku milk bar. godddd i want all of their food in my mouth right now. barvarian cream soft serve? YES PLEASE.
6
Has the service improved? I went there several months ago and had a very nice meal (felt a little expensive relative to a number of factors, but it was very good), and slightly aggressive service--not bad, but a bit pushy. Friends have related several experiences with very opinionated servers, and problems with getting orders to the table and the right stuff on the bill.
Was that a glitch? Isolated incidents? Common fare? I liked the place enough to go back, but the stories have been detailed and frequent enough that I'm reluctant.
Was that a glitch? Isolated incidents? Common fare? I liked the place enough to go back, but the stories have been detailed and frequent enough that I'm reluctant.
7
"Maria Hines of Tilth" sounds like European nobility:
Her Serene Highness the Grand Duchess Maria Hines of Tilth
Her Serene Highness the Grand Duchess Maria Hines of Tilth
9
I'm inclined to agree with #6. The servers hovered over our table in a fashion that made some of us (party of 6) kind of uncomfortable. And I don't really need a verbal presentation with every course.
I only spend this amount of money on a meal 2 or 3 times a year and I expect to be blown away when I do. It didn't happen here.
The place is just too precious.
I only spend this amount of money on a meal 2 or 3 times a year and I expect to be blown away when I do. It didn't happen here.
The place is just too precious.
10
hey all you timid souls - tell the help exactly how you want their service
if not pleased, get up and walk out
(I hate hovering, chatting wait staff - and - I tell them so - seems to work)
if not pleased, get up and walk out
(I hate hovering, chatting wait staff - and - I tell them so - seems to work)
11
@6 and 9: No one in our reader-reviews has had service complaints (so far), but I will email a link to this to the Tilth P.R. guy and ask him to make sure Maria Hines takes a look.... @10 is right, you should not suffer in silence. I don't know about walking out, but letting the host know or sending an email after might help to address the issue (and make you feel better).
12
@6,9,11: I've been twice. The service was not good the first time, but not bad enough that we couldn't smile and laugh about it. The second time I went I brought my visiting mother and was horrified by how bad it was. It was brunch and although only three tables were filled (it was late in the service) our coffee and water was never refilled, our waitress was rude and not particularly knowledgeable and the food was really uneven: the pulled chicken and biscuit was amazing, but the truffled egg I got was essentially inedible because of the amount of truffle oil poured on it -- a weird problem since the stuff is so expensive. It's one of the only two times in my life I haven't left a tip.
I went a third time by myself maybe 8 months ago and sat on their porch -- I had one server (a man) who was really kind and come out twice to refill my coffee mug. I got the pulled chicken (delicious) but still ended up owing over $20 without even getting an alcoholic beverage.
I think it's nice in theory with some standout items (the duck burgers) but horribly overrated in practice.
I went a third time by myself maybe 8 months ago and sat on their porch -- I had one server (a man) who was really kind and come out twice to refill my coffee mug. I got the pulled chicken (delicious) but still ended up owing over $20 without even getting an alcoholic beverage.
I think it's nice in theory with some standout items (the duck burgers) but horribly overrated in practice.
13
@12: Ok. I've been three times. Service for each table seems moderately shared -- I wonder if they pool tips and how much of the problem that might be?
And the place gets loud -- the sparse interior design offers little in the way of sound-dampening.
And the place gets loud -- the sparse interior design offers little in the way of sound-dampening.
14
Bethany: Reading this led me to reading the Yelp reviews -- a site I have posted to, but something I rarely trust, and I'd say at least half of them mention bad to indifferent service. I don't think this is an isolated complaint.
15
How do I sign up for Burning Beast? Is that date concrete? I tried to find more on the web, but wasn't seeing it.
17
@15: I was wrong about the date—it is Sunday, July 12th. Apologies! The organizers say tickets will be available on Brown Paper Tickets by June 1.
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