Laurel Diner | Best Corned Beef Hash | Southbury, Connecticut

The Great Hash House

Passionate seekers of Roadfood make finding the best corned beef hash a top priority. Many of us think we’ve found it at the Laurel Diner.

Adjacent to an auto service station, the Laurel Diner started slinging hash in 1949. It opens seven days a week. By mid-morning, customers have strewn sections of Connecticut’s newspapers almost everywhere. No matter where you sit, you’ll have easy access to reading matter. Diner connoisseurs know that the best seats are at the counter. Here you enjoy a view of the short order cooks working their magic at lightning speed. They use marking pens to write the daily menu directly on the diner’s wall.

How Do You Like Your Hash?

Regular customers seldom pay attention to the menu. One and only one dish brings them here: corned beef hash. It’s the real thing, a coarse-cut melange of spicy beef shreds and nuggets of potato intertwined. The cooks tend it on the iron grill until a web of crust begins to envelop the tender insides. If you ask, the grill man will cook the hash until it is brittle crisp nearly all the way through. If textural excitement supersedes succulence in your hierarchy of culinary pleasure, go for it. Personally, I prefer it cooked the regular way. That gets you forkfuls of corned beef that are brick-red and moist, their pickly zest balanced perfectly by soft pieces of potato.

Crunchy hash brown potatoes or home fries accompany the hash. Eggs come on top. It adds up to a royal breakfast at a commoner’s price.

Beyond the best corned beef hash, we have enjoyed excellent kielbasa-and-egg morning meals. Pancakes rate high, too. Some people come for a large cinnamon roll, which the cooks butter and grill to attain luxury status.

Good Burgers, Too

At lunch, the menu offers an array of standard diner items. We seldom eat anything other than a hamburger. Laurel’s burgers do not resemble fast-food burgers. They are thick, hand-formed patties, cooked to order. They spurt juice at first bite. Two other lunches to consider: hearty all-beef (no bean) chili and a fine fat length of kielbasa with peppers on a hard roll.

Change Your Oil

If you’re hungry and also need an oil change, call ahead to Corrigan Motors next door and make an appointment. If you time it right, your vehicle can be in and out in thirty minutes, which is about as long as it takes to order and enjoy breakfast at the Laurel Diner counter. The service station number is 203-264-9100.