Visited Aug. 24, 2010
Written by Drew
Now that I go to school in Brockport, the title of Rochester Westside Grub has been invading different places there. I can pretty much guarantee, by the time I graduate from SUNY Brockport in 2014, our site will cover all local grub spots in the area. And where better to start out than the Golden Eagle Family Restaurant.
Our buddies from high school, Jay, Ryan and Matt, moved into their new off-campus apartment in Brockport. After a hectic weekend of moving in, Tyler and I went out there and picked these guys up for some grub.
I’ve been here a couple of times before, including a few years back when my aunt and uncle came up from North Carolina. Every time they come north, they have to grab a fish fry. My dad received a scoop about this restaurant from work. “The best fish fry on the west side,” so he was told. From what they remember, it wasn’t the best fish fry they ever had, but definitely not the worst.
I tagged along to this fish fry Friday trip and ordered a Golden Eagle Platter (their variation of a garbage plate). Just like their fish fries, it was an average plate. Their home fries were fried potatoes, not deep fried, and their hot sauce was similar to Coach Tony’s (a hot sauce sold in local grocery stores).
On this late summer evening, the five of us loaded up the car and traveled to the intersection of routes 19 and 31 to grab a bite. Going in, I knew I wasn’t going to try the Golden Eagle Platter again. My attention was grabbed very quickly by Burger Stadium, the burger section on the menu. Numerous professional sports teams, all of which in the state of New York, had different burgers named after them; the Buffalo Sabres, New York Giants and New York Yankees, to name a few.
Both Ryan and I ordered the New York Giants Burger (half pound-beef patty, with a slice a of cheese) Both of us finished the burger fairly quickly due how hungry we were. The burger itself was generic, along with the average roll. The price is something that stood out though, $4.95 for a burger. We both thought that this was a very reasonable price for a burger this size. Something to note, however, some of their burgers do not come with a choice of potato. This one did not. Ryan didn’t order a side of French fries and he definitely regretted it. Fortunately Matt had more than enough fries to share with Ryan.
Matt also ordered a burger. The moment I heard the tone of voice when started to place his order, I knew exactly what he was going to get, the New York Yankees burger (editor’s note: Matt is a Red Sox fan). This burger comprised of a beef patty with cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, bacon and grilled onions all on French bread instead of a roll.
“It was so good,” Matt explained. “Only if it wasn’t called (the Yankees Burger) it would have been better.”
Tyler “pulled a Tyler” and ate breakfast, which he will normally do as long as it is offered to him. He was originally upset because they didn’t carry sweet potato pancakes, which was a menu item last time he went there. He instead he ordered an egg, home fries, ham, and toast.
Seeing the sweet potato pancakes on the menu in February is the main reason he wanted to come back. But, the meal he ended up getting sufficed.
He enjoyed the ham, and said the egg, home fries and toast got the job done, but was nothing spectacular.
He noted it was nice the home fries were more like pan-fried slices rather than deep fried, but weren’t up to HFR’s standard, though not bad. He added he still hopes to try the sweet potato pancakes some day, as they are back on the menu now.
Jay also tagged along with us, and ordered a BLT.
“The bacon was crispy, the toast was toasted well,” he said. “If I had to rate the BLT itself, I’d give it a B+. It didn’t knock me over, but it was good.”
Jay also had an order of macaroni salad, which he said was very good despite lagging a bit in egg. He said our seats were a little hot because the blinds were open and the sun was shining right on him, but overall he had a pleasant experience.
“Their hostesses are generally attractive. They kept the drinks coming, which is nice. I never ran out of Pepsi.”
Anyway, I have a car on campus and have been bringing my suitemates and new friends to a few of the local grub spots. My roommate Josh and I traveled back to the Golden Eagle this past weekend to grab breakfast.
I ordered a tall stack of the peanut butter and chocolate chip pancakes with a side of home fries. This order came out to be way too much food for one person to put down.
The pancakes were large (probably 10” in diameter) and filling. Definitely a good meal.
Josh ordered the tall stack (six half pieces) of Texas French Toast with a side of scrambled eggs and toast.
“The French toast was delicious, the eggs were great, and the toast was crisp,” he said.
It doesn’t blow you away, but the Golden Eagle and its interesting variety of selections make for a consistent and serviceable stop, especially for breakfast.
Ratings:
Service/Atmosphere: Seated quickly, served even quicker. Matt’s fries were spilled on the floor and the waitress brought out a nice helping at no cost to us. It feels like a typical family restaurant, which is nice.
Food: The have several different types of specialty burgers and breakfast foods that isn’t on most diner menus. No complaints.
Value: Cheap-ish pricing, the food is not the best, but definitely far from the worst in the college town. But a half-pound Cheeseburger for $4.95... that’s a deal for college kids.
Overall: One of the better breakfast places I’ve been to in the Brockport area, a potential stop back for another breakfast sometime in the near future.
Grade: B-
