Hashbrowns Cafe

Breakfast restaurant · Near North Side

3

"Brunch is one of our favorite pastimes, but sometimes spending our rent check on mimosas makes us wish we’d never left home. Sometimes you just want breakfast. In sweatpants. Maybe even entirely alone (the horror). If you find yourself thinking these thoughts, get out of bed, and get yourself to Hash. Hash is the best of both worlds. It feels like eating breakfast in your living room, if your living room was a friendly hipster commune. The mugs are mismatched, the alcohol is BYO, and the music actually adds to the atmosphere. Everything about this place gives you the vibe that Hash isn't interested in conforming to the brunch scene. Think of Hash as the beatnik genius who shows up stoned to Math. We’re all familiar with hash as a dish - meat, potatoes, and, at breakfast, a few eggs. The diced potatoes are heavily seasoned, giving each dish a strong base. You think you know what’s coming next, but then you see truffle aioli, pork shoulder, and the option to upgrade to bacon fat hash. It’s then that you realize you’ve struck gold. If hash isn’t your thing, you’re in good hands with breakfast tacos or the flap jacks. Comfortable, but creative - we hope you’re catching on by now. It’s an order-at-the-counter-then-grab-a-table situation, which is great because the food comes fast and the prices are cheap. The staff is friendly, but service isn’t their gig. They’ve been known to mess up an order from time to time, and the servers seem pretty confused about their role in the whole operation. Oddly, it doesn’t bother us. Probably because the entire atmosphere makes us feel like we just popped a Xanax. They also run a Serious Take-Out Operation, but we’d urge you to stick around. Cold eggs suck, and the atmosphere is quiet and cozy. So grab your beanie, and leave your high-strung friend at home. For breakfast like this, you won’t regret playing it cool for a bit." - Caitlin Doermer