Out for Inlander Restaurant Week 2025: Hogwash Whiskey Den

One of the main pieces of advice I gleaned from local chefs and restaurant owners in the lead-up to Inlander Restaurant Week is that you should go with someone and share to try more of the menu. My sister, our friend and I heeded this for our weekend visit to Hogwash Whiskey Den at 304 W. Pacific Ave. to sample its $45/person menu.

Hogwash has been on my radar ever since I learned that the basement bar serves Asian and American fusion dishes. To be specific, I had to get my hands on the okonomiyaki tater tots. The tots were among our party of three’s top menu priorities, so we ended up getting two bowls. They were the perfect crispiness to balance the coating of hoisin sauce, Kewpie mayo, furikake (dried seaweed) seasoning, sesame seeds and chives.
We also ordered Chris’ chicken strips for the first course, which we were initially worried about how to split between three people. The tender chicken strips have Nashville hot-honey house pickles, all served on a slice of milk bread. To our relief, it was easy to cut through the chicken and bread to share.

For the second course, we ordered each of the three menu offerings. My sister got the miso ramen, which features local mushrooms from Pacific Northwest Mushrooms, black garlic broth, soft-boiled egg, mala chili oil, truffled leafy greens, furikake, chives and house alkaline noodles. The dish was as flavorful and rich as it sounds, and I’ve heard good things about Hogwash’s ramen from more than one industry professional.

I ordered the Hogwash burger for my main, which consisted of stacked smash patties, caramelized onions, bacon, Hogwash sauce, American cheese and butter lettuce sandwiched in a house brioche bun. With how little room was left in my stomach, I was amazed that I scarfed down a two-thirds of the hefty burger before I passed the remainder to our friend.

Our friend ordered the crawfish gumbo for their second course, which in itself was a visual feast with vibrant red crawfish alongside andouille sausage, smoked pork belly, chicken thigh, okra, local bone dashi, herbs and white rice. This is the first time any of us had eaten crawfish, so we pulled up a short video to make sure we were removing the meat correctly.

For dessert, we again got to share each of the three options. I got the Thai tea poached pear, which had passion fruit, toasted coconut ice cream and basil. After a heavy main, the subtle sweetness of the pear was much-welcomed. My sister got the chocolate cobbler that had pecan praline, banana pudding and house vanilla wafer. Our friend ordered the ricotta donuts with amaretto, jam, orange and mint. I could tell that they were fresh-made with their soft yet chewy texture.

Making our way to the car, I had to pop my pants button to comfortably make the drive back home. But it was totally worth it.

Hogwash Whiskey Den is only serving its $45 Restaurant Week menu through Saturday, March 8, and seating is first-come, first-served. We got there only a few minutes after they opened at 4 pm on Saturday and snagged one of the few remaining tables. The menu is served Monday through Thursday from 4 to 8:45 pm and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10:45 pm.