Slayton Place

54 Slayton Avenue, Spencerport
Visited multiple times
Writen by Drew



Last May, Tyler and I happened to be traveling through Spencerport and decided to stop to grab a bite to eat. We stopped at the Slayton Place. Little did I know, that would be the last time I would eat in their previous, run-down location.

Tops Friendly Markets bought Slayton’s old building so they could install a gas station there, and the restaurant moved across the way, in to the plaza. Now at a nicely renovated spot, I have returned to the Slayton Place several times.

The first time I went, I ordered Slayton’s version of a garbage plate. The plate was very generic, however the meat hot sauce really stood out from the rest. Since the time Tyler and I went, I have returned numerous times with my family.

The first time I went to the new location was for a retirement party for one of my mom’s co-workers. The new location has a party-room area that can seat about 40 people comfortably. For that meal, we had a pasta dish with meatballs and chicken parmesan with, of course, a side salad.

On other trips back to the Slayton Place, I usually order a cheeseburger with a side of the hot sauce. Their burgers also come with a side of their double-fried French fries, which are typically a fan favorite on the diner scene.

Both of my parents typically order Reuben sandwiches. According to both of them, they are one of the better Rueben sandwiches around. The corned beef is always thin cut and juicy, and, all compiled, the sandwich is very thick. My Dad will always order that when he goes, and my Mom will either order that or the fish fry.

On my most recent trip there I went with my mother. She ordered a beer-battered fish fry with French fries and coleslaw.


“They do their fish fry every day which is a nice thing,” my Mom explained.

The fish wasn’t too fishy at all (not being the biggest fan of seafood myself , I guess that is a good thing). She enjoyed her French fries, but realized halfway home that she was never given her side of coleslaw or the side of rolls that usually comes with every meal.

I mixed it up a little bit and ordered their Chicken Finger Dinner. The meal came with six large chicken fingers and two sides. Not knowing I had to choose two sides, I ordered French fries and also, in a panic, home fries. For a dipping sauce I ordered the honey mustard sauce, so I could more closely compare the meal to Tully’s. I couldn’t even come close to finishing the whole meal. The four chicken fingers I ate were very good and juicy. The honey mustard was a little watery, but still very good.

The chicken itself cannot compare to the quality that Tully’s serves, but that’s more or less a universal truth. The French fries, as previously mentioned, were very good.

I only picked at the home fries because I didn’t really have that much room for them. They looked kind of crsipy - strikingly similar to those at Hilton Family Restaurant, which has the best home fries on Earth - but a bit undercooked. But anything that appears close to HFR's home fries is probably something we should actually try sometime.

Every time I walk out of the Slayton Place, I feel satisfied with what I just ate. It is one of the restaurants my family will frequent if we are in the area. However, with Krony’s just down the road, we don’t go to Slayton quite as often.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: In our most recent meal, two sides were missing. But usually they are very quick to refill your drink or to bring your food out to you.

Food: Fish fries every day of the week and one of the best Ruben Sandwiches around.

Value: Prices are very typical of the diner scene. Relatively large portions.

Overall: A typical family diner and one of the better restaurants Spencerport can offer.

Grade: B-

Brian's USA Diner

5524 Mount Morris Road, Mount Morris
Visited Nov. 5, 2010
Written by Drew


They always say, “Never judge a book by its cover,” but does it apply to restaurants and their names? Well, it does in this case, and that's fine with us.

On our way down to visit Tyler and Joe at St. Bonaventure University, Chad and I made a pit stop to a place that rivals General Hoock and Sons’ All-American Pizzeria for the most patriotic name thus far: Brian’s USA Diner , right off of Interstate 390, on Route 36 in Mount Morris.

Tyler called me up and informed me of this American diner shortly before I left, and how could I pass on this opportunity? After all, who doesn’t love Uncle Sam?

As much as I don’t want to overdo all this patriotic talk, the moment Rapid Dave (my 2001 Saturn station wagon) made his way around the bend, we were able to find the restaurant just by its parking lot. At 2:30 on a weekday afternoon, there were only a handful of parking spots to be found. All the occupied spots were taken by pick-up trucks, mainly American-made. While walking in to this place, we were already thrilled to see what else was in store for us.

We had to wait a few minutes to be seated, thanks to their late lunch rush. After we were seated, out waitress took our drink orders and brought them right out, pretty much before I was able to open my menu. My eyes were drawn immediately to one of their better-known menu items, their Best ‘Dam’ Chicken Sandwich.

Playing off of a local tourist attraction, it clearly was a good choice for me. The ‘Dam’ consisted of a piece of Southern-coated and deep-fried chicken topped with lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, bacon and served with a side of honey mustard sauce.

As mentioned before in our Tully’s Good Times review, we are all fans of chicken. It is very hard, ever since going to Tully’s to order a chicken entrée, to write about it, mainly because it doesn’t compare.

However, Brian’s chicken comes pretty “Dam” close. The piece of chicken was definitely larger than the bun, easily larger than my hand. Next to the sandwich sat a large pile of curly fries. Slowly I started to pick at the mound of food, and slowly discovered that the plate I was eating off of was an American flag plate. It’s easy to see why they have a rather extensive chicken menu.

Chad ordered an All American Burger. This Burger consisted of a one-third-pound slab of beef topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and bacon. When asked about how his burger was, Chad explained to me how closely it mimicked the burgers from the Hilton Family Restaurant (the best burger around according to him). His burger came with a large pile of French fries as his included potato side.

All in all, it was a grand ole time and both of us were glad Tyler found this little place for us to grab a bite.


Although Brian's has strange hours, If I am ever in the Mt. Morris area again (which is more frequent than one would guess), I would definitely stop back.

By the way, I apologize for getting carried away with all the patriotic puns in this article. I just couldn’t handle myself.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Very American. Had to wait a few minutes to be seated, but very quick service with the drink and food items.

Food: They offer the “Best Dam Chicken Sandwich” on their menu, and it was pretty darn good. They offer typical diner fare (for all three meals) with an All-American flair. Rather than garbage plates, they have USA Plates.

Value: Prices are pretty comparable to most places diners or family restaurants.

Overall: Good food, quick service and normal prices, but with a little bit of patriotism thrown in. A clear “must go back” if in the area.

Grade: B