Rochester

New York’s third largest city centered around the Genesee River has long been home to innovators and trailblazers. Civil rights leaders Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony resided in Rochester. George Eastman patented roll film and cameras that made Eastman Kodak a household name. And the company that would become Xerox created the world’s first commercial photocopier here.

Rochester’s regional food specialties embody this innovative legacy, from its own take on hamburgers and hot dogs to the creation of the garbage plate. The history behind this city’s food and drink scene runs deep, from boasting one of the country’s oldest public markets and the state’s longest-running brewery to a nearly century old custard stand that has since taken the country by storm. Explore the unique eats, historic sites, charming neighborhoods and scenic parks of Rochester:

Main Courses

Nick Tahou Hots

320 W. Main St., Rochester

(585) 436-0184

garbageplate.com

Rochester’s signature dish goes by many names on restaurant menus across town – from the “trash plate” to the vegan “compost plate,” the “sticky icky plate” and the “junkyard plate.” But there’s only one original garbage plate, created and trademarked by the pilgrimage-worthy Nick Tahou Hots on the western edge of downtown.

Nick Tahou’s traces its roots back more than a century, when Greek immigrant Alex Tahou first opened West Main Hots in 1918 just a short distance from the restaurant’s current location. Among West Main’s offerings was a dish called “hots and potatoes,” an inexpensive and hearty plate of hot dogs, cold beans and home fries meant for the blue-collar employees that worked nearby.

“Hots and potatoes” grew in popularity over the decades and evolved to include a host of other options, from hamburgers, sausage, chicken or fish as the protein to French fries, macaroni salad and onion rings as sides. By the early 1980s, college students wandering into Nick Tahou’s late at night after drinking would ask for “a plate with all that garbage on it” – and the phrase “garbage plate” stuck.

Have a game plan when ordering a garbage plate: pick one protein (while hot dogs are the original, the two-cheeseburger plate with home fries and macaroni salad has become the most popular option) and either two sides that each cover half of the plate or four sides that cover a quarter. Nick Tahou’s staff layers the sides on first, then tops the plate with the protein and covers it all with mustard, onions and its signature hot meat sauce.

The textures and combination of mild and spicy flavors on the garbage plate blend together in a surprisingly delicious way. Each plate comes with two slices of Italian bread perfect for dipping in the sauce, which is a closely guarded Tahou family secret recipe that may have its origins south of the border. Nearly a century ago, Alex Tahou befriended a homeless man from Mexico and provided him with a job and shelter. As a repayment, the man gave Tahou the meat sauce recipe now iconic in Rochester.

Second generation owner Nick Tahou opened the present-day diner in 1968, and his son Alex, who has operated it since 1989, can still be found there most days manning the cash register and taking orders. The flat-top grill is just a few feet behind the ordering counter, filling the diner with the sounds of sizzling home fries, burgers and hots. Nick Tahou’s interior, complete with a payphone and a vintage vending machine selling candy bars for $1, hasn’t changed much over the years– a testament to the staying power of this Rochester classic.

Abbott’s Frozen Custard

4791 Lake Ave., Rochester

(585) 865-7400

abbottscustard.com

At the northern tip of Rochester – where the Genesee River meets Lake Ontario – Abbott’s has been scooping out frozen custard for nearly a century.

Genesee Brew House

25 Chestnut St., Rochester

(585) 263-9200

geneseebeer.com

No Rochester visit is complete without drinking a pint on the rooftop patio of the Genesee Brew House that overlooks the 96-foot tall waterfall flowing through the heart of the city.

The Rochester Public Market

280 Union St. N, Rochester

(585) 428-6907

cityofrochester.gov

While the rest of Rochester sleeps, farmers across the Western New York countryside rise in the middle of the night and converge on the Rochester Public Market much as they have for more than a century.

Hots and Ground Rounds along the Lake

965 Edgemere Drive, Greece

(585) 865-3319

schallers.com

4900 Culver Road, Irondequoit

(585) 323-1177

donsoriginal.com

4870 Culver Road

(585) 266-7820

billgrays.com

1000 N. River Street

(585) 235-3620

billgrays.com

Along the Lake Ontario shoreline in the suburbs of Greece and Irondequoit, a hot dog and hamburger culture unique to Rochester exists at a series of roadside stands dating back to the 1940s.

Schaller’s in Greece and Don’s Original and Bill Gray’s in Irondequoit – located next door to each other in an area historically known as “hot dog row” – collectively have more than 200 years’ experience of grilling hot dogs. Each sources their hot dogs from Zweigle’s, a 140-year-old Rochester institution that makes both “red hots” – made with pork and beef – and “white hots,” a regional specialty of pork, veal and a blend of spices.

Don’s Original and Schaller’s remain in their original post-war structures that closely resemble diners, complete with stools lining a front ordering counter. At Schaller’s, cashiers yell orders to the grill staff in the back without writing anything down just as they have for 65 years, while the Don’s Original grill is viewable right from the front counter.

The three restaurants grill Zwiegle’s using the “butterfly method,” which cuts the franks in half lengthwise and serves them on a wider than usual hot dog roll that better accommodates the signature Rochester toppings of mustard, onions and a homemade ground beef hot sauce. Bill Gray’s, which has several locations across Rochester, serves the largest Zweigle’s hot dogs of the three stands, at a quarter of a pound per hot.

Know the lingo before you go: Schaller’s lists its red hots as “Texas hots” and its white hots as “pork hots,” while the Don’s Original menu simply states “hots” and leaves it up to the customer to specify. And Schaller’s calls its burgers “ground rounds,” while Don’s Original refers to theirs as the “Ground steak sandwich:” each are nicknames the original owners preferred during an era when the term “hamburger” was less enticing than it is today. Staff at each stand take fresh, bulk ground beef and shape the patties by hand using a pie container before grilling them, a more labor-intensive process that results in an incredibly fresh and juicy hamburger.

There are plenty of other Rochester nuances here to explore: from the housemade custard and fresh onion rings at Don’s Original to the crinkle-cut French fries that are a staple at Schaller’s –which has been run for three generations of the same family – and the sides of pickles upon request at each stand. For burger and hot dog fans, the 9 mile, 20-minute trip between Greece and Irondequoit to visit these stands is a revelation – and with plenty of parks and greenspace lining the lakeshore in between, the perfect summer afternoon drive.

Side Dishes

Italian Classics

While in Rochester, make sure to try Chicken French, a popular Italian-American dish first served at the now-defunct Brown Derby restaurant in the 1970s. This breaded chicken tossed in either a white wine or sherry sauce has become a favorite in eateries across Rochester and beyond. Go-to spots for this dish include Phillips European in Brighton, Papa Joe’s Italian Eatery in Gates and Mr. Dominic’s at The Lake in Charlotte.

Savory and Sweet

After a day of eating Garbage Plates, white hots, ground rounds and custard, a lighter breakfast might be in order. Morgan’s Cereal Bar (320 East Ave.) has you covered with nearly three dozen varieties of cereal available, from Shredded Wheat to Cocoa Puffs, as well as hot bowls of grits, porridge and bourbon oatmeal. Owner and Rochester native Cheria Anderson has been a lifelong cereal enthusiast and loved finding prizes in cereal boxes as a kid. Keep it healthy at Morgan’s with a bowl of Special K or Life, or go big with a cereal infused waffle topped with a scoop of ice cream. Morgan’s has taken ordinary breakfast food and transformed it into something extraordinary.

Around Town

The Strong National Museum of Play (One Manhattan Square) is the only museum in the world dedicated to the exploration and discovery of play. The museum houses the largest collection of toys, dolls and games in the world, while also serving as home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

The George Eastman Museum (900 East Ave.) is the world’s oldest museum dedicated to photography. Housed within the sprawling East Avenue mansion of the founder of Eastman Kodak, the museum features several million items in its collection connected to the history of film, photography and cinema. From vintage advertisements to early camera and film prototypes, the exhibits here capture one of Rochester’s greatest enduring legacies.

The Susan B. Anthony Museum & House (17 Madison St.) retraces the life of one of America’s foremost suffragists within her longtime residence. This is where Anthony was arrested in 1872 after she cast her ballot for U.S. President, some five decades before women won the right to vote – and where she served as president of the National American Women Suffrage Association. Afterward, pay your respects at the final resting place of Anthony and fellow civil rights leader Frederick Douglass at Mount Hope Cemetery (1133 Mount Hope Ave.), situated on 196 acres of rolling hills in the heart of the city.

Walk it Off

Park Avenue, which features block after block of patio dining, locally owned boutiques and popular pubs, is a must-visit Rochester neighborhood. Grab a drink at Half Pint Pub, known for serving two half-pints of beer for the price of one pint, allowing customers to enjoy a wider selection of brews, or head across the street to Magnolia’s Deli & Cafe, where President Obama stopped in 2013. Then wander around the surrounding tree-lined streets to admire some of the neighborhood’s stately turn-of-the-century homes.

For a scenic walk, drive up the winding Reservoir Road to the Cobbs Hill Reservoir, the 144-million gallon repository for Rochester’s water supply since the early 20th century. Perched atop a hill and encircled by a nearly mile long walking trail , the reservoir features one of the best views of the Rochester skyline.

Bottle Your Food Memories

Bring a taste of the Upstate Eats Trail back home with you! Several of the restaurants along the Trail sell bottles of their signature sauces to-go, providing you the opportunity to make some of these regional specialties yourself. Here is a round-up of those sauces and other easy-to-transport products available for purchase at each restaurant or online to keep sampling the best of Upstate New York long after your trip.

Meat Sauce Bottle

The hot meat sauce found on ground rounds and white hots across Rochester is available both as a dry mix sold by the city’s iconic hot dog company, Zweigle’s, or as half-cases (six jars) from Bill Gray’s.

Genny Beer Can

Wash down your meal with a can of Genny Cream Ale, available both at the Genesee Brew House’s gift shop and sold online in select areas.