Union Street Eatery

Union Street Eatery 

2139 North Union Street, Spencerport

Visited Nov. 18, 2014

Written by Drew

Now that Tyler and I both have our feet (somewhat) underneath ourselves, we ventured out to try yet another restaurant in our stomping ground and officially call it the first in our comeback tour.

The Union Street Eatery has been operating out of Barefoot Landing Plaza on Union Street, just north of the Village of Spencerport, for the better part of two years now. I have visited this place on a handful of previous occasions. 

When my Uncle Mike (UM) and Aunt Mary (AM) come up from the great state of North Carolina to visit our family, my dad insisted on taking them out to a good meal, usually a fish fry. For years, my dad attempted to find a location that, in his eyes,would serve a mean fish fry.

Well, he found it. 

Neither Tyler nor I are ones to go out to order a fish fry. We are willing to settle with the fact that my dad did find the eventual fry that would top his list. One of the things that I believe led my dad to making this determination is the fact that the fish fry came with an option to get steak fries in place of the traditional French fry at no additional cost.

Through these few meals, I have had the pleasures of sampling many of the other menu items. My first visit, more than a year ago, I had the black and bleu burger. The one thing that makes this meal memorable for me is that the burger came to me exactly how I ordered it (medium, no lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, etc.). Often, my burger comes to me with something on it that I didn’t want (which I probably didn’t make clear with the server) or overcooked. The burger on the whole was just above average.

Earlier this fall, my family took UM and AM out to eat here, and I remember being on the fence about what to order. I fell back onto the chicken finger dinner, which consisted of five large beer-battered chicken fingers a dipping sauce and a choice of two sides. The chicken fingers must have come right out of the fryer moments before I tried to eat them because they were still too hot to touch. When they did cool down I was able to enjoy the second-best chicken fingers I have ever had (second only to Tully’s Good Times). For the sides, I ordered macaroni and cheese, which was exceptional, and French fries, which were sub-par.

Enough buildup, though. Tyler and I met up here for dinner shortly before Thanksgiving. Tyler must have been caught up in the impending holiday because he has ordered, a RWG first, a turkey dinner. This meal was a regular menu item, which included a helping of sliced turkey and a pile of mashed potatoes, all covered with thick gravy, along with a side of cranberry and a side salad or an option of soup. In typical Tyler fashion, the plate was cleared pretty much before I took my first bite. Upon finishing his meal, I asked Tyler how it was, he simply responded “good.”

Let’s talk about that cup of soup. Both Tyler and I opted for a cup of turkey noodle soup (over it’s equally appetizing steak and potato soup option). The soup came to us with a bag of oyster crackers. Silence ensued for about three minutes while we each finished our soup. We both agree that the soup had plenty of flavor to it could have had more noodles and meat to it, but on the whole, we will quote a 2014 New York state gubernatorial candidate: “Soup is good!” 

As for my meal, I had the appetite for a steak. It was surprisingly inexpensive here, as my meal didn’t cost more than $15, which for a large portion of steak anywhere I would consider cheap. My meal came with two sides to choose from; I chose the previously mentioned cup of soup and the traditional style French fries. The steak, like my burger a few months back, came to me cooked just how I ordered it, medium rare. The steak was exceptional, considering we weren’t quite at a steakhouse. The French fries, on the other hand, were sub-par, as the majority of them were the bits and pieces left in the bottom of the bag.

One of the things that we used to always include, because often it is a necessity to know is whether or not this location offers free refills on their drinks or not. To keep that tradition afloat, Union Street Eatery does. 

Our experience was pleasant. We went on one of the first legitimately cold winter-like days of the season, which I presume to be the reason behind a fairly empty dining room(mind you, it was after 7 p.m. on a Tuesday). I have been there in the past when there was a short (5-10 minute) wait to be seated. Our waitress was very prompt, attentive and friendly, and made for a good overall experience.

Ratings:

Atmosphere: Clean, very typical for your bill at the front-register diner. A great place to sit and catch up with friends, non-rushed, location is ample and isn’t too far off the expressway.

Service: Exceptional (most likely because of the slow night), VERY friendly waiting staff

Food: Typical “diner food,” great soup, typical fries.

Value: Decent portion sizes, really reasonably priced.

Overall: This would be considered a frequent stop for my family, but wouldn’t call ourselves regulars. It’s a nice alternative to the typical chain, sit-down style restaurants in the area. There’s nothing about it that jumps out, but that’s OK because sometimes that’s exactly what you’re looking for. We’ll be back.

Grade: B

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