Origins

When I was a kid we used to go to the Santa Fe Restaurant in Glen Ellyn for breakfast. I would only ever get two things: two eggs basted with wheat toast and potatoes or later pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.

Before they moved to bigger fancier digs, you used to be able to see into the kitchen when you sat at the counter stools. I watched those guys cook the most delicious breakfast potatoes dozens of times. They had a big flat frying surface, and as best as I can remember they did essentially nothing while cooking these potatoes except chop them up and fry them in butter for a few minutes. The results bely the simplicity of the preparation though: rich and soft with a nice crusty outside and awesome flavor.

I've never been able to reproduce the results no matter what technique I use though. Frustrating considering how simple it looked when I used to watch them. Of course this was over 20 years ago and before I had ever cooked anything, so I might be missing a step. The closest I've been able to get so far is when I boil the potatoes first to get them nice and tender before I fry them up to get the outsides crispy. Decent, but still no where near as good as the original.

This is my ultimate goal though, so stay tuned for new attempts at cracking this mystery.