BOS, Des Moines, IA

It's pretty hard to resist a signature dish, even if it does look like someone just threw up on your eggs...

Sears Fine Food, San Francisco

I am always suspicious of "world famous" venues I've never heard of. But I decided to throw caution to the wind and sample the world famous Swedish pancakes at Sears Fine Food, 439 Powell St (between Post and Sutter), San Francisco, CA, Tel +1 (415) 986-1160.



Rather than 18 straight silver dollar cakes, I went with 9 little pancakes, corned beef hash, poached eggs and hash browns. The eggs came in their own dish with a puddle of water, and were so runny that they disappeared into the beef hash as soon as I started to slice 'em up. The beef hash was good, and the fat wedge of hash brown potatoes was even better. Soft in the middle. Crisp and golden on the outside. As for the pancakes, they were fine. I wouldn't call them world famous. But I wouldn't complain about them either.

13/20 "babycakes"

Hashtastic

A little light on cornichons and some of the corned beef cubes were a little chewy, but all-in-all the Batch hash is a seriously good dish if you need a potato fix. The poached egg is a bonus.

Johnny's, Newton, MA

Johnny's... "Where the folks get their yolks"

Mr Tulk, Melbourne

Let's face it, if you're not in rehab, or recently out of rehab, you're nobody. Robbie. Pete. Britney. Keith. Lindsay. Jesse. Courtney. Even Ben Cousins. It was almost enough to make me down a bottle of Jack, score some ice, and do a few lines of coke for breakfast. But then I discovered the hash at Mr Tulk, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Tel +61 3 8660 5700. Corned beef hash, to be specific.



First impressions are a bit confusing, with the sign outside instructing me to order at the bar. Then, when I rock up to the bar, they tell me it's table service if you eat inside. Oh... I guess I'll go find a seat. Service, it seems, is not a strong point.

Food, on the other hand, is a whole different story. Put simply, the corned beef hash with poached eggs was brilliant. Take a big fat cake of soft spud and finely diced corned beef and fry till golden and crispy. Top it with a pair of soft poached eggs and season lightly. Serve with a generous blob of mustard. Very, very yummy. Not very healthy. But much healthier than crystal meth.

Mr Tulk is also a very slick venue. It reminded me a bit of The Wolseley, with low leather banquettes, airy feel, high ceilings and buzzy vibe. Except that The Wolseley doesn't have a communal table surrounded by stools.

16/20 "best hash in town"