Coffee Shop Review: Hash House a Go Go
Posted on 24. Sep, 2009 by Jason Coffee in Shops
6800 West Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89146
My Experience
Written By Jason from SingleServeCoffeeDeals.com
First i’d like to say I’ve been here at Hash House a Go Go several times in the past for their food, and it was always excellent. Each dish on their menu is very unique, and the presentation was stunning. This review isn’t about their food though, it’s about their coffee.
As I walked in, I heard very upbeat music playing, and quite a few people waiting in the lobby area. I noticed right away that behind the bar, they had a Mazzer Super Jolly grinder and a Rancilio Epoca espresso machine. That gave me a very good first impression.
The good first impression immediately came to a crumble when I heard the lady tell people they can “sit over there at the counter… if they want”. She didn’t even call it a “bar”, and she just looked so miserable, as if she hated her job. Next, I sat at the bar and waited several minutes for the guy next to me to stare at his menu and make up his mind… while the barista stood there and started at him. She took much longer than she should have to finally leave him to his menu and come take my order. I asked for a cappuccino, and she looked at me as though I just caused her great pain.
I was losing confidence that I was going to receive a decent tasting cappuccino, but I let her continue.
Mistake #1 – The doser in the super jolly was already full of ground coffee which was most likely sitting there for hours. The entire time I was there (over an hour), not a single person besides me ordered an espresso based beverage that required the Super Jolly. There was NO reason why the doser should have been full of grounds already.
Mistake #2 – The barista’s tamping technique was horrible. She had the entire portafilter tilted to one side as she tried to tamp. She rolled her tamper from one side of the puck to the other as if her tamper was an ink stamp.
Mistake #3 – She brewed my espresso into a tiny pitcher instead of my mug, then poured my espresso into a mug (what was the point of that?)
Mistake #4 - The milk was frothed until it turned stiff and tasteless, then it was spooned into my cup because she could no longer pour it.
Mistake #5 – The barista did not flush or wipe the frothing wand once she was done spooning my stiff froth into my cup. This was disgusting because it made me realize it was probably never cleaned before she made my cappuccino.
Once I was able to take a sip of the cappuccino, i’d already lost all hope that it was going to be good. As I expected, the coffee tasted bitter and stale. I paid $5 for a sink shot. I can’t blame the poorly executed cappuccino on the barista because it was very obvious that she’s never had proper training. Due to this experience, I will never order coffee from this place again. I will come back many more times for food though.
My Rating – 2.5 out of 5 stars
The Breakdown:
Environment – 3 Stars
Customer Service – 2 Stars
Products – 3 Stars
Skill – 1 Stars
Wifi – 0 Stars
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Comments
6 Responses to “Coffee Shop Review: Hash House a Go Go”
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Neil
24. Sep, 2009
A somewhat costly lesson, huh? At least they don’t advertise themselves to be a coffee shop. Things would certainly be better if people followed the principle of finding what they do best and then doing it. Perhaps we should make it our mission to let the shops that lack this focus know that they need to focus and that while it may look easy to make an espresso or an espresso based drink it is not and that training is absolutely essential.
It certainly makes you appreciate the “perfect storm” when equipment, coffee, and barista all come together to make the perfect coffee drink. sounds like Hash House a Go Go missed on two out of three.
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Ian
29. Sep, 2009
Jason,
Good point about Mistake#5, not flushing or wiping the wand, however, everytime I see a barista wipe the wand, I wonder how long that cloth has been sitting around and what kind of bacteria they are actually adding to the wand. Its very tough to see proper cleaning techniques and usually better if you know that the staff understands the importance and truly cares about their customers.
Ian
http://www.fair-trade-coffee-review.com
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Jason from SingleServeCoffeeDeals.com
10. Oct, 2009
@Neil – Yup, it was a costly lesson. It was still an interesting experience though. At least i’ll no longer be curious about it when i go back again for food.
@Ian – It’s always tough to know for sure what happens behind the scenes. If I had to choose though, i think i’d still pick a dirty cloth over a non flushed frothing wand.
@Jason Coffee – Thanks for posting my review. Btw I noticed you accidentally used the word “single” twice in the name of my site at the top. Just wanted to let you know
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Jason Coffee
11. Oct, 2009
@Jason from SingleServeCoffeeDeals.com – sorry bout that just fixed it. Have you visited any good shops lately?
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Jason from SingleServeCoffeeDeals.com
11. Oct, 2009
@Jason Coffee – Not yet. Unfortunately Vegas seems to be cursed when it comes to coffee. All the local roasters have closed down and it’s pretty much impossible to find a real espresso bar.
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CoffeeJoe
14. Nov, 2011
Great blog about coffee! I’ll be sure and tell my friends !
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