KELSEY WALKER

Breakfast: the most important meal of the day. When people wake up to prepare for the day ahead, they’re most likely reaching for that that first cup of coffee and quickly filling up a bowl of cereal. Noodles and rice…those dishes are best saved for dinner – or at least that’s what I thought before I had Hashi.

 

Hashi’s owner Ross Riddle wants to change the way we eat breakfast – and lunch for that matter. Blending a mix of Asian and southern inspired flavors on his food truck, Ross aims to bridge together a collection of very different cultures. Spending time in Korea as a military kid, Ross says he caught an, “Asian cooking bug.” He’s been involved in the restaurant business locally for roughly fifteen years, spending time learning various styles from the likes of Italian and Japanese restaurants, where he says he picked up his knife skills. “It was kind of rare to see a white boy behind the sushi bar,” Riddle says. He wanted to branch out and do his own thing, and decided a food truck would be a great way to learn from the ground up.

 

With the truck, Ross knew he wanted to emphasize the concept of bridging together ideas, concepts, and cultures. So came forth “Hashi,” the Japanese word for bridge. It also happens to be the same word for chopsticks (different characters, same phonetics). The truck, with its signature wood paneled exterior, was officially completed in 2013.

 

Riddle’s recipes do the truck’s name justice. Dishes like the Choshoku Noodles show off his versatility, which includes a mix of lo mein, country sausage, fried egg, and flavors of miso-chili oil. Mixed in are crushed peanuts locally sourced from Suffolk and pickled veggies from the Eastern Shore. The noodles tossed in the miso-chili oil give the dish a nice kick, and the pickled veggies add a refreshing crunch. Mix in the egg, and you’ve got something way more exciting than your typical scrambled eggs.

 

Another crowd favorite is the Hashi Hash, which puts a twist on the otherwise common breakfast food by mixing Yukon potatoes with pork fried rice. Ross says he’s all about clean flavors and clean ingredients, with his recipes often revolving around “what the weather and food may dictate,” and buying local ingredients whenever possible.  Though there are a few staples on the menu, Ross is always mixing it up and trying out new things.

The excitement of trying something new and out of the box is what makes Hashi so great. Whether it’s traveling to a foreign country or trying a new dish at a food truck, people are often “scared to leave their comfort zone,” Ross says. When it comes to both food and life, Ross leaves me with a piece of tried-and-true advice: “People should welcome the opportunity to take a chance.”

 

Like them on www.facebook.com/HashiFoodTruck for updates on where they’ll be!