Joule and Tilth: Best Chefs

We always knew there was some good grub to be had in Wallingford, but Rachel just tipped us off that two of Wallingford’s own have been named semifinalists for the 2009 James Beard awards.

Rachel Yang of Joule is on a list of 22 chefs nation-wide up for the Rising Chef of the Year award for her French-Korean-American fusion delicacies, while Maria Hines of Tilth has made it to a similar field for Best Chef: Northwest. (Apparently, James Beard is not a fan of the Dick’s Deluxe.) Congratulations and good luck to them both.

Wallyhood has eaten at both restaurants and found them both outstanding (although, we’ll be honest, we thought the dishes at Tilth suffered somewhat from an overzealous acquaintance with salt). We pine for Joule’s “lasagna, shitake, carmelized Bleu D’Auvergne” and Tilth’s “Skagit River Ranch Beef Carpaccio”, especially in light of our own repast this evening, “hot dog infused macaroni and cheese”.