Dan M. was at our recent New York meetup, but apologized that he couldn't stay long because he was due to meet friends for a massive steak dinner. No apology was needed, since that's a perfectly valid reason to skip out of a Sporkful event. Before he left, we had a conversation about favorite steak house sides. I professed my love for a good creamed spinach alongside my beef.
He wrote back to say that the creamed spinach was just average at the steakhouse he visited, but he did find potato pairing bliss in a side of hash browns:
These went very well with the steak, since they soak up some of the juice from the meat, rendering a grilled potato flavor infused with some of that steak flavor. I'd say this is the perfect side when ordering a steak; a baked potato is ultimately just too starchy and mashed potatoes will dissipate somewhat when the steak juice is added.
He's got a point, especially if the potatoes are a slightly charred to a crisp on the outside. /mark
Photo: Flickr CC / dongkwan
