We live in Idaho. There are potato warehouses scattered around like convenience stores are in L.A.--well, maybe not that close together
For $10 or so, you stop in and buy a 50 pound box of commercial potatoes. They keep in my garage all winter. In the summer, I throw half the box out and buy another.
But I had to move to Idaho to learn how to make crispy hash browns. It's not hard. You just have to learn one secret--it's the water. Squeeze the water out. Chances are, the cook is wringing them out with a dish towel. But that's not the only way you can do it.
But you can make hash browns just like those at the diner.