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"I think of breakfast potatoes as the part of brunch that is most beneficial if you are suffering from a hangover," L.V. Anderson, Slate's food and drinks editor, tells me this week on The Sporkful podcast.

This wisdom is especially handy around New Year's, when so many Eaters will be nursing hangovers with crispy, fried potato-y goodness.

But among hash browns, home fries, and the like, which are best? L.V. and I hash out the relative merits of these starchy, morning side dishes.

"The inside of hash browns just don't taste that good to me," L.V. says. "The outside is great because it's crispy and fried, but the inside is just potato goop with some al dente bits of potato in there."

We also get the lowdown on the benefits of size uniformity in home fries and the essential role cooking time plays in creating optimal potato texture. Plus, a timeless debate on breakfast potato toppings: Are they enhancers or deficiency-maskers?

"You can't really go wrong if you have shredded or otherwise crispy potatoes topped with melted cheese," L.V. argues. "I think that cheese makes things better, but that doesn't mean that those things are deficient in any way."

At the first meal on the first day of the new year, don't risk your gastronomical well-being (and hangover recovery) on sub-optimal breakfast potatoes.

Also in this show, Sporkful staffers reveal the foods we resolve to eat more of in 2015. Check out the list and tell us your New Year's eating resolution!

Photo: Flickr CC / nils gore