Hash House A Go Go

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You’ve heard about the national obesity problem — and that’s a statement, not a question, because I’m assuming most of you don’t live in caves. You know that portion sizes are one of the big problems with weight control — or at least our inability or unwillingness to reduce them is. You’ve vowed to cut back, eat less, move more.

Yeah. Hash House A Go Go probably is not the restaurant for you.

If you’ve heard anything about HHAGG, you’ve probably heard about the portion sizes, which conventional wisdom has it are huge. That’s pretty close to the truth; most of the dishes at this place are served on platters. But the issue isn’t just size; it’s also the fact that HHAGG’s "twisted farm food" is, well, farmy, and by definition hearty, stick-to-your-ribs stuff. And stick to your hips, and your butt, and …

It’s a popular spot for lunch but still, when a friend suggested we meet there I had my reservations and not the phone-in kind. A lunch of this size is no problem if you’re a longshoreman or want to sleep the afternoon, but neither of those describe me. But there were going to be four of us, and his idea was that we could share. You know, kind of tapas-style, but with REALLY big tapas.

One of our foursome (who’s very thin, so I was immediately suspect) said she loved the quesadilla ($9.95), so we’d start with that. Yes, $9.95 is a lot for a quesadilla, but then again, this was a lot of quesadilla. It was one of those extra-large flour tortillas, folded and filled with the customary cheese, jalapenos and tomatoes, but also with smashed potatoes and eggs and a little pool of chili cream. It wasn’t squished together and grilled — the potatoes and the eggs pretty much precluded that — but the basic idea was there, and it was a very pleasing combination.

HHAGG is a pretty breakfasty kind of place even at lunch and the Farm Scrambles sounded pretty good so we went with No. 1. This one was even bigger than the quesadilla, a plate with a heapin’ helping of scrambled-up eggs, bacon, Swiss cheese and avocado — basically an entire half of an avocado, if that gives you an indication of the size of the thing. And oh, let’s not stop there. We already had enough mashed potatoes so we took the other option, which was crispy potatoes, and they were indeed, nicely brown and crisped on the edges, lightly seasoned and just really good. And there were enough of them to feed half the population of Idaho.

And The Hash House Cobb ($13.95), which was, yes, huge, and brought us another half avocado, along with the requisite Cobb stuff like blue cheese and smoked chicken and bacon and tomato, everything as fresh as it should be.

And so was our waiter (not fresh, but as he should be), who was prompt and efficient, filling beverages without our asking, etc. The hostess, on the other hand, was about as warm as HHAGG’s pseudo-industrial decor. I can understand their reluctance to seat a party if not everyone has arrived, but if a threesome’s going to be a foursome the table’s the same, so let’s use some common sense. And let’s also remember that an air of welcome is a quality to which any hostess or similar greeter should aspire.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.