I had been pining to try the food at The Better Half in Hillcrest ever since the review came out in The Reader. A few weeks ago I finally had the opportunity.and it was "better" than advertized. If you have not heard of TBH, you are not alone. It is a very unassuming, cozy little place on the 100 block of University with both indoor and outdoor seating. Unfortunately for us, the word is out...Wine Spectator just awarded TBH an Award of Excellence in this months issue.

The hook at TBH is that all their wine is in half-bottle. All of it! Somewhere around 100 different bottles. They have something for almost any palate. This would be a great list if it were all full bottles, the fact that you can share 2 half bottles for about the same price as 1 regular bottle allows you and your dinner companion to each have a full glass of 2 different wines, very convenient when you both have different menu directions (ie. fish and steak). We started with a half bottle of Duval-Leroy Brut Rose, one of my all-time favorite champagnes, and a steal at ~$55. With our appetizers (they make the best charcuterie tray in SD) we enjoyed a half-bottle of Adelsheim Pinot Noir from Willamette, which can often be hard to come by as it always scores well. With our main course we slurped on Tablas Creek's Esprit de Beaucastel, their hommage to parent company Chateau Beaucastel's Chateauneuf du Pape, grown on clippings from said chateau. As the wife and I don't get out as often as we would like, we splurged on the wines, which made up the "better half" of our $200 (after tip) bill, but a meal for two with 2 half-bottles could easily come in around $100.

Great meal, great selection of wine, and great service. Make your reservations.