! Hashcapades

50 Cities 50 Hashes: Kelly Umphenour at Boardwalk Café in St. Louis!

I was invited to host Hashcapades for St. Louis to contribute to “50 Cities 50 Hashes.”  My mission was to search for the best hash in our city.  I did just that and The Boardwalk Café put St. Louis on the map!

Your dining experience at the Boardwalk Café begins about 500 feet before your toes cross the threshold of the doorway.  The atmosphere is suddenly redolent of bacon frying, sausage, and fresh-baked biscuits!

My mom, friends and I had a difficult time choosing but eventually nailed it down, deciding we wanted one of just about everything. ‘The Boardwalk’ was an obvious choice.  Hash piled high with sausage, onions, peppers, tomatoes, jalapeno, Monterey and Cheddar cheeses topped with not one, but two fresh eggs. (All for only $6.75 – was that a mistake? No!)

Chris went with the Denver Omelet with his hash straight up.

I laid my money down on ‘The Arch’.  One could never go wrong with anything that claims Arch fame in St. Louis.  I got the head nod with that order from the server, Hakkie.

Hakkie filled our cups with piping hot coffee and we chatted while we waited happily for our orders.  Having a back ground in Sleep Medicine, talking about sleep is as normal for me and my friends as discussing the weather.  We always get around to it.  “I’m sleeping great!” Chris told me.  “Last night, I had a dream that Tina Fey and I were married!  She was really into me too and when I woke up I was so happy for about 10 minutes. I thought I was living in New York and Tina Fey was my bride.”   We shrieked with laughter that rose just above the din but no one seemed to notice.

The platters of food were delivered and they were huge, majestic mounds of golden hash crowned with eggs.

One bite and I knew that this was the best hash in town!  The meat added a smoky flavor to the fried potatoes and the scant jalapeno sprinkled throughout was a kick in the flava flave.  None of us could believe how crispy yet non greasy the fried hash was.  Not one dish needed a shake from the salt or pepper mill…everything was seasoned perfectly.

The group was impressed with the hash they’re slinging at The Boardwalk Café.  We took our left overs to go and our boxes were stuffed full, still.  I smiled because I knew that I was about to make my husband very happy with my hashcapade luncheon!

Kelly is a wife, mother, blogger and food lover. In her words, “I love the social aspect of dining out with friends and family, eating great food and then recreating those fabulous dishes in my residential kitchen. Food consumes me…when I’m not cooking something up in the kitchen you can find me on twitter where I’m dishing out!” Well said! You can follow Kelly on twitter: @RealHousewifeSL.