! Hashcapades

50 Cities 50 Hashes: Kristin Price at Assembly Hall in Seattle!

I love a good food adventure! And, since in my case the apple has not fallen too far from the tree, whenever my mother (a fellow food lover) comes home for a visit from Florida, we always try and plan at least one culinary outing together – time for my Hashcapade!

There many places in Seattle that do right by corned beef hash, but this was to be an adventure so I wanted to try someplace new (at least “new” to me!) that served at least two kinds of hash. I asked around to friends and fellow bloggers, crowdsourcing their favorite places to go for that unique hash experience. I also did a search online but quickly had to change my search options from “Seattle Hash”.  I came up with some, ahem, interesting choices, and learned that adding the word “breakfast” to my search resulted in a far more appropriate response!

I finally landed on a new venue in the Tom Douglas family of restaurants – Assembly Hall. This expansive complex, housed on the bottom floor of a downtown high rise apartment building, the Via6, provides all that might be needed to its residents above. At the heart of this innovative concept, is Tanakasan, an Asian-American sit-down restaurant open for lunch and dinner, named for Eric Tanaka, Tom Douglas Restaurants’ executive chef and partner.

Assembly hall also boasts displayed gift items for sale, a quaint little flower shop, and Home Remedy – a specialty market and deli that includes a salad bar, pizzeria and fresh baked items from Tom’s nearby Dahlia Bakery.

The namesake of this setting is a juice and coffee bar called Assembly Hall. While quick, to-go items here make it really easy to eat on the run, we came to linger and enjoy the Kitchen Counter Breakfast – a menu of six or seven items that make up the more substantial breakfast choices, including two kinds of hash!

Along with my mother, I invited my brother and brought along my two teenage boys to make it a family affair. Though the boys were not too excited about the hash (oh, they have not yet learned the joy!), my son was in heaven with his giant cup of hot chocolate.

To complement his hot chocolate, my younger son tried the Assembly Breakfast – which featured two eggs, hash browns, duck sausage and toast. The duck sausage had a bit of a rich taste for a thirteen-year-old’s palate but it was a big winner with my mother! My brother and older son tried, and loved, the Tanaka Family Bacon Fried Rice topped with crispy shallots and a fried egg – a nod to the Asian-food-loving people of Seattle and Chef Eric.

And then there was the HASH! We ordered both kinds! I tried the unique Coriander Potato Hash with yogurt creamed spinach, masala poached eggs and fried potatoes.

While Mom enjoyed the Pastrami Hash loaded with big, meaty chunks of lean, house-smoked pastrami with Dijon poached eggs on a bed of crispy hash browns. This pastrami hash was out of this world! I so wish I had ordered two of these! It was really hard to get Mom to share – I think she enjoyed it.

After we ate we explored Assembly Hall a bit more, bought some flowers and picked up a sweet or two to take home from the bakery counter, we were treated to one more surprise that was the icing on our Hashcapade adventure.

In the deli, we ran into and met Chef Eric Tanaka, who was hanging around making sure all was going well on the home-front. Well, actually, Mom met Chef Eric. I was too shy to introduce myself – so much for being adventurous! (She did introduce me though – Thanks Mom!)

So, while I didn’t have the words to say it then, a huge thank you Chef Tanaka and your staff for a most memorable Hashcapade!

Kristin is a Seattle native, event professional and writer whose favorite pastimes involve food, entertaining and exploring her beloved city. As a busy mother to two teen boys, she understands just how difficult it can be to find the time (and energy!) to pull off even the smallest gathering or home celebration. So for the past three years she has been helping readers of her blog, KristinPotPie – Savoring Delicious Celebrations, find fun, yet simple, ways to make the most of holidays, and those everyday wonderful moments. Follow along with KristinPotPie on her blog, or on Twitter, as she shares her passion for making all the moments in life celebratory through culinary delights, party planning ideas and all the must-see and do experiences around the Seattle area..