hash

Monday Munchies: Brunch at Local 149- Boston, MA

March 3, 2014

As part of my Monday Munchies series, I will feature a different eatery for a review on the first and third Monday of every month. Hope you enjoy!

____________________

Oh man, I love going to Local 149.

I love the food. I love the drinks. I love the decor.

I’ve gone for work outings. I’ve gone for birthday celebrations. I’ve enjoyed dinner and drinks. And for brunch and drinks. Ah, drinks. 🙂

I had been thinking about going to Local 149 for the past month. I was craving a good brunch and had been thinking of Local 149 since I had gone there back in October with my mom when she surprised me when we came up from Florida for my baby shower.

On this recent brunch outing Price and I enjoyed some Bloody Mary’s. The Bloody Mary ($10) has a homemade horseradish tomato juice base. They came garnished with an olive, a slice of pepperoni, and a peppadew pepper. Their Bloody Mary is really good but I like mine with more lemon juice- just my personal preference.

I am looking forward to the next time I go and trying the Irish Breakfast ($10). The Irish whiskey, cereal milk, amaretto, and cold-brewed coffee sounds irresistable. I just love whiskey and amaretto. And combined… sign me up!

I had suggested that we kick off brunch with the Mac and Cheese Fritters ($7) but Price suggested the Crispy Beignet Bag ($7). Being so close to Mardi Gras I was sold on the idea of some beignets!

These are not like the beignets we had at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. Those were big pillowy beignets, but these were little beignet nuggets. Very different than what we were expecting but still very good!

As soon as these little beignet nuggest are out of the fryer they were tossed into a bag with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Then to take thing to the next level, they were given a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar before being served to you. So yummy.

Price had an order of the Chicken and Waffles ($17). A huge crisp sweet waffle made for a great pedestal for some crispy, crunchy fried chicken. The chicken breast, thigh, and drumstick were all very juicy and tender. But what tops it off is that the Chicken and Waffles are served with warm maple syrup, a warm nutmeg butter, and apricot jam. The nutmeg added a bit of spice to the butter.

The best way to eat this is to cut a piece of syrup drenched waffle, then put a bit of butter and jam on the waffle. Okay, got that? Then you rip off a piece of chicken and stab your fork through the chicken and waffle and take a big bite. Enjoy!

Now the thing that I had been craving was the Texas in Southie ($12). It all starts with a slice of buttery texas toast that is surrounded with a generous portion of corned beef hash, that is packed full with seasoned homefries.All of that is then topped off with a fried egg and hollandaise sauce. Glorious.

The dish comes with a sunny side up egg but I prefer mine over-easy so I requested that instead. The egg was so runny, soo sunshine yellow happy. Mixing together the runny yolk with Hollandaise and then scooping up some hash and swooping it through the sauce is such a perfect bite. Try it, trust me.

Now that was an awesome brunch!

Be sure to arrive right after Local 149 opens at 11 if you don’t have a reservation, or just be flexible to wait. And just maybe, you can try to snag one of the tables by the fireplace! I’d totally request that when making a reservation.

Local 149

149 P street

South Boston, MA

617 269.0900

Brunch on Saturday and Sunday 11am-3pm

Hash Benedict @ Deluxe Station Diner, Newton MA

May 5, 2012

Recently, Price and I went to Deluxe Station Dinner in Newton, MA for an early morning weekend breakfast. We had been to their sister restaurant, Deluxe Town Diner, in Watertown, MA more times than we can remember. And we would always pass by Deluxe Station as we took the train everyday so we finally made plans to stop in one day for breakfast.

The diner is located at the Newton Centre T stop on the D-line (Green Line). The building is charming inside and out. The diner is located inside the old train station. It is filled with fun accents and interesting artwork.

We settled into a booth together as a friendly waitress gave us some menus. We had checked out the breakfast menu before going so we knew what we were getting but it was nice to take a peak again. We enjoyed some coffee before placing our orders. Price ordered the Deluxe Colossal Hungry Person Special and I ordered the Hash Benedict, natch.

Hash Benedict – Two Poached Eggs and Homemade Corned Beef Hash over English Muffin with Hollandaise Sauce and Homefries or Salad… $12.50

My love of Eggs Benedict was satisfied during our visit. The large plate it barely visible with the combination of Hash Benedict and home fries piled high. The eggs are layered with English Muffin, Corned Beef, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. They use the hearty English Muffins from Wolferman’s so the stand up well to the flavors stacked up high on there. I was so excited for this when it was placed down in front of me. I was eager to dive right in.

I loved the combination of each bite. The Hollandaise was very good as it was light, lemony, and very buttery. The color is always so inviting. The Hollandaise was a little lumpy so it was a bit disappointing.

The corned beef hash was flavorful, tender, and piled high. I would have prefered it to have been on the griddle a bit longer as I love crunchy edges on corned beef.

The eggs were cooked perfectly. The poached eggs were neatly trimmed, the whites were set, and the yolk was warm and runny. Once you pierce the egg the yolk cascades down the corned beef and onto the English Muffin.

A generious portion of home fries were plated along side the eggs benedict. The home fries are simple without adornment with veggies (onions, peppers), but are seasoned well with are fresh herbs.

I highly suggest visiting the Deluxe Station Diner when you crave a great breakfast. If you love corned beef hash or eggs benny as much as I do then you should really order this. You might want to take a nap afterwards but it will be worth it. 🙂

Rating

English muffin– 20 pts

Corned Beef Hash– 20 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 15 pts

Side– 9 points

Total: 89/100

Deluxe Station Diner

70 Union Street

Newton, MA 02459

617. 244.2550

@dluxstation

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash

November 29, 2011

There is a restaurant and catering place a few blocks away from us called Bakers’ Best Cafe. We are typically so busy or away on the weekends that we don’t stick around our neighborhood, so it took us a few months to find it and go there. But since then we have been hooked! I order the Hash and Eggs (crispy homemade corned beef hash topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce $9.50). It’s so good! My favorite brunch thing to get is Eggs Benedict, so this is a great spin on it.

While I would love to go there whenever we are in town and not going at break neck speeds, I can’t always justify a $30+ brunch bill. And that not including the mimosas I have a habit of throwing back, which I can make at home for a fraction of the price. So I decided to make something at home that reminds me of the delicious meal I enjoy there. Making this sweet potato & squash hash is a simple way of doing so.

I make this hash without corned beef in it because I don’t just have that laying around (who do you think I am?) and I’m looking for a simple recipe that I can do in my sleep. I think the key with this is letting the potatoes rest after being roasted because it softens up this crunchy pieces a bit. I don’t know about you but I hate super crunchy potatoes with my eggs, so letting them relax in the fridge over night solves that earth shaking problem. Also, it means you don’t have to get up super early to make this. After so the dinner clean up, cut up the squash and sweet potatoes, ditch them in the oven to roast while watching SNL (& skipping the bits Kristen Wiig is in), throw them in a container and in the fridge before going to bed. While making bacon, cut up and onion, then while your eggs cook sauté the onion and then add the rest of the hash to warm up.

I did use bacon grease to cook the onions in to pass on some flavor and is it was easy- basically dump out the leftover grease and don’t clean the pan… Win! Of course you can make this vegetarian by butter, vegan you say?… Use oil. Problem solved. No matter what, it’s gluten free! (Well, check the bacon.)

Sweet Potato and Squash Hash

-serves 4-6-

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
pinch of crushed red pepper, optional
1 large onion
1 tablespoon bacon grease, or 1 tablespoon oil

Process

Cut squash and sweet potato in 1/2″ to 3/4″ pieces.
Toss with oil, seasoned salt and crushed red pepper to evenly coat.
Roast at 375 for 40-45 minutes, stirring half way.
Refrigerate over night, or at least cover and refrigerate for an hour
Prior to serving, chop up an large onion. Saute in bacon grease until soft.
Add the cooked potato and squash mixture to the skillet and gently warm through.
Serve with eggs and bacon. And a mimosa or bloody mary can’t hurt!