Can you imagine NPR’s new radio show, Potato Hash Talk? Click and Clack would trouble-shoot hashcapades gone bad. A distressed caller would complain about mysteriously lifeless potatoes as the brothers poke fun and then get down to business in their wicked accents: Click: “Did ya yooz Russet or Yookohn Gouhld puhtatoes?” Clack: “Did ya bake dem foist or were dey fuhrozen?” (Cue the guffaws and snorts that would ensue from Tom and Ray’s enthusiastic banter.) Such were my musings as I drove home from the Red Star Tavern listening to Car Talk and a woman calling from Connecticut. She wanted to talk about her prototype snow plow that would use ironing boards strapped onto her Subaru to clear the driveway…great stuff! And so was my hashcapade…
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| Red Star Tavern on SW 5th and Alder |
I’ve had my eye on Red Star Tavern for awhile because its menu not only has a Potato Hash section, but boasts a House-Made Chorizo Hash! Any establishment that seeks to showcase its house-made goodness in a chorizo hash is automatically my new best friend. Such artisanal dedication validates my core belief that potato hash is worthy of gastronomic inventiveness and time spent laboring on its ingredients. Welcome to my church!
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| Red Star Tavern Dining Room |
A lovely, smokey, bacon and roasted coffee aroma greeted me as I entered the cavernous dining room. I loved the vibe instantly as the hostess escorted me to a booth and I expertly slid in with even greater expectations. Casting a quick glance about, I soaked in the leather upholstery with brass studs, huge windows with a view to 5th Ave, Heath ceramics, and the small pewter pitcher for the cream on my table. I confess that I obsessively touched the pewter vessel with its cold, grey metal assuring me that the cream was fresh!
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| House-Made Chorizo Hash |
When my order arrived – nicely arrayed on the square, Heath ceramic plate – the kale and chorizo had my full and complete attention. I couldn’t wait to dig in! Amazing flavors burst upon my palate as the chorizo’s complex and spicy flavors yielded to the slightly crunchy and earthy flavor of the kale and yukon gold potatoes. This chorizo hash needed no Potato Hash Talk diagnosis or tweaking or overhaul, just a big appetite and an appreciation for the flavor-packed punch of the chorizo. As usual, I kept some extras for leftovers, but caught myself stealing tasty morsels under the egg – this is addictive stuff and worthy of your potato hash devotion!
Where should I dine next? Suggestions welcome!
Happy Hashcapades,
Clark
Thanks for the tip, my friend…I am there!
I can only imagine their other hash offerings were equally tasty! Let me know if you venture forth on a hashcapade. Might have to join you 🙂
If you drink a shot of bourbon from all sixty bottles, they will engrave your name on a glass and put it behind the bar. They only let you have three shots in every visit. So, it'll take at least 3 weeks to get it. Sigh. That's a lot of bourbon.
A lot of bourbon and determination! I'd have to fill up on the hash first…