Inspired by nostalgia for diner and steakhouse versions, not to mention Mickey D's, some of today's top chefs are reconceiving the classic shredded-potato side dish.

"I grew up loving McDonald's," says Adam Harvey, the chef-owner of butcher-shopstaurant A&E Supply Co., whose "farm to party" kitchen's cooking motto is "shamelessness in pursuit of deliciousness." So it's no surprise that a Golden Arches-inspired hash brown has earned a spot on his brunch menu. The straightforward version started out as an individual serving about the shape and size of an iPhone but proved so popular Harvey has supersized it, turning it into a half-pound shareable side dish.

When downtown taco savant Alex Stupak was putting together the menu for his new Madison Avenue Empellón, he asked himself, "What's appropriate for midtown? What is of the place?" The answer, given the proximity to all those iconic steakhouses, was simple: meat and potatoes, specifically hash-brown potatoes. And so the hash-brown taco with tomatillo ketchup was born...