Hash House A Go Go

Hash House A Go Go has several locations in Vegas and a few other cities and now they have opened their most recent in Orlando. Apparently there was a guy from Indiana who took all of the farm recipes he grew up on and gave them a twist and started this Restaurant.

They opened a couple of months ago on International Drive in a spot where several restaurants have previously failed. Will Hash House follow in their footsteps? I have been there twice now, after the first time I had high hopes, but after this last time I’m not so sure.

First visit was great, so let’s talk about that trip first.

Three of us dined on a late afternoon mid-week, we were one of just a few occupied tables (but it was at an odd time of day so this didn’t seem unusual).

By the outside you would expect the décor to be rustic and “a little bit country” but it is quite different with a sleek design, a full bar, and a huge dining room (with additional private rooms available for parties or meetings).

So many items on the menu sounded good. Our server warned us that the portions are huge and he was absolutely right!

One of us had the Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits, 2 Eggs and Mashed Potatoes ($13.95). This was probably the smallest of our three meals, and still required a “To Go” box.

Another had the Apple Smoked Bacon and Mashed Potato Burger ($13.95). Their Burgers are 2 patties (equaling a Pound of Meat!) with the ingredients “stuffed’ in between.

I honestly don’t see how someone could actually get their mouth around these Burgers!

And I had the Fresh Mushroom, Artichoke Hearts, Sundried Tomato and Fresh Spinach Hash ($12.95). It was served in a Cast Iron Skillet and tossed with Crispy Potatoes, served with 2 Eggs, Fruit and a Biscuit (also taking about half of the Hash “To Go”).

The Hash itself was amazing, very fresh and hearty.

The Biscuit was enormous, a little dry, but once slathered with Butter and Jelly it was excellent.

(I don’t think the ‘side of fruit’ should be listed on the menu, it’s hardly what I consider to be a side)

Other things ordered at the table were a Signature Cocktail (where you keep the glass) that I think was around $15,

Andy’s famous Bread Pudding served with Ice Cream ($8.95)

and a Strawberry Shortcake (which was really just one of their Biscuits with some Strawberry Topping and Whipped Cream)

I left liking Hash House A Go Go pretty well and definitely wanted to go back again.

So then, after a few weeks I returned with a different friend of mine for lunch.

This time the place was almost full.

Already being familiar with their menu I decided to go with the other option that looked really good to me, the Blueberry and Pecan Pancake! However our server (who was bubbly and fun) said that she recommended the Banana and Brown Sugar one. I decided to take her advice and go with that one.

My friend ordered the Bacon, Cheddar and Avocado Burger (Avocado on the side).

Our server told us that they bring stuff out to the tables as soon as its finished, so everything might not come out at the same time (However we didn’t realize it was going to be quite so drastic).

My Meal came out right away. The Pancake was the biggest Pancake I have ever seen. The photos don’t do it justice, but you have to realize that these plates are at least 14 inches across, so that Pancake is about as big as a vinyl record!

It was not just filled with slices of Banana, but with Bananas that were simply cut in half lengthwise which combined with the Brown Sugar gave it a “Caramelized” feel similar to Bananas Foster. Besides the fact that it was ridiculously large and too much for any one person to eat it was very delicious!

Now to tell about the experience we had… My plate was delivered right away, and I assumed that my friend’s Burger would be closely following. I thought about waiting until he got his but I didn’t want my eggs to get cold so I started to eat. Before I knew it I had eaten all of my Eggs and Potatoes.

Surely his would be out soon?

Our server came to check and assured us that his would be right out.

I started on the Pancake still hoping that his would be along shortly, however it wasn’t. I kept on eating until I was stuffed and I couldn’t shovel in another bite.

His Burger still hadn’t arrived.

Here I was completely finished and his hadn’t even been delivered yet.

Awkward!

After sitting there a few more minutes the manager brought out his Burger and apologized and told us his meal would be “on the house”. Our server also continued to apologize, but still the situation was uncomfortable.

As he ate his Burger he said that the Beef was not seasoned, not even with Salt and Pepper. This reminded me that the first time I dined there my friend that had ordered the Burger mentioned that it was under-seasoned. Is this there standard practice?

I do feel like they handled the situation the correct way by comping his meal, and I realize these things happen and do not fault them for this. However I don’t know if I will return to Hash House for bland food and questionably awkward dining situations. Perhaps two visits were enough.

And I really wanted to give it a rave review!