Nick Tahou Hots

320 West Main Street, Downtown Rochester
Visited June 2, 2011
Written by Greg




Last Thursday, after catching a game at Frontier Field, we decided to eat at the Main Street Nick Tahou’s – the original building and place where the culinary Holy Grail known as the Garbage Plate was born.

The place looks pretty run down from the outside. Pulling up, there were only two cars in the parking lot behind the building, and it wasn’t obvious that the place was open. But it was, and upon entering we were somewhat surprised that there were only two other people dining there.

There wasn’t any food on the grill, so they must not do a whole lot of business on weekday evenings. That, or people just don’t go there anymore because of the negative gossip surrounding this particular location.

Nevertheless, our group of 10 or so ordered, and the kid running the grill quickly slapped burgers and red hots on for us. It took longer than usual (compared to Steve T.’s, that is) for our food to be prepared, but it looked delicious when we finally got it.

We should note that the ingredients used to construct the Garbage Plate are by no means impressive. They’re very basic burgers and red hots, very basic home fries, and very basic macaroni salad and beans. The burgers are typical quarter-pounders; the home fries are thoroughly cooked to a good balance – not too soft, nor uniformly brown and crispy. The mac salad is fairly creamy, but doesn’t have a whole lot going on besides the basic macaroni plus a few other diced ingredients. There’s very little, if any, seasoning on the individual ingredients (other than salt and pepper, maybe) but that’s not really the identity the Plate chooses to take on.

However, it’s the combination of these elements, and the addition of condiments such as onions, mustard, ketchup and the world-famous meaty hot sauce that makes the Garbage Plate the irresistible mound of greasy oral pleasure that it is. The plates we had there were very comparable to those found at Steve T.’s, however I was a little put off by the fact there was no Frank’s Red Hot dispenser (only ketchup and mustard), as there is at its Lyell Avenue cousin.

The inside was surprisingly clean, compared to the outside of the building and what I was expecting. There is plenty of seating, and the booths and table tops were very clean, and the whole place very orderly.

The menu there is actually decently extensive I’d say – and Tyler says a basic Tahou’s cheeseburger is actually quite tasty – but you pretty much only go there for a Garbage Plate. Ordering something else would be like asking da Vinci to do the calligraphy for your wedding invitations. Yeah he can do it, but so can the old lady across the street. It’d be a waste of his talent.

Burgers or hots are the most commonly ordered varieties, but Tahou’s also offers Italian sausage, chicken, fish, veggie burger and grilled cheese plates, as well as a few breakfast options. Of course, Tyler ordered a chicken plate, which only includes one (frozen/breaded) piece.

As noted, Tahou’s is somewhat related to Steve T.’s in Gates, and there is a second Tahou’s location – with Chad says he’s very impressed with – on West Henrietta Road.

Anywho, we were generally pleased with our experience at the original location. It was a lot cleaner and quieter than we were expecting (and safer, with the exception of Joe being swindled out of $0.50 by a well-dressed gentlemen who stuck his head in the door looking for bus money), and the food was on par with our expectations.

If we hadn’t already been downtown we probably wouldn’t have gone there, as it’s not in the greatest of neighborhoods, but now we can all check it off our respective bucket lists or whatever.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: The service wasn’t very fast, but, to be fair, we had a big group. The location is sketchy, to say the least.

Food: Not the best quality, but the finished product is incredible.

Value: Plates range from $6.50-8.50. You get what you pay for. It’s a large meal.

Overall: What it lacks in aesthetic pleasure, it makes up for in taste and novelty. Eating a Garbage Plate is essentially a rite of passage for Rochesterians. Just don’t eat one every day.

Grade: B+

Pizza Stop

123 State Street, Downtown Rochester
Visited April 25, 2011
Written by Tyler




Pizza Stop is widely regarded as having the best New York-style pizza, and perhaps the best overall pizza, in Rochester. I had been to Joe’s Brooklyn Pizza in Henrietta, which has family ties to Pizza Stop, the previous summer, but finally made my long-anticipated visit to the original the day after Easter following a downtown interview. It will not be my last visit.

I walked in amid a decent lunchtime crowd in the small pizzeria, with a decent handful of tables for those eating in. There was also quite a variety of slices available.

Pizza Stop appears to be solely a pizza joint, not offering subs, wings or anything else. It offers pizzas in many sizes, styles and with many toppings, but is mainly a place to grab a quick slice or two. The thin New York-style pizza is not my preferred style of pizza, but it’s impossible not to like Pizza Stop’s version.

I opted for a regular-sized Buffalo chicken slice and a thicker pepperoni Sicilian slice.

I started with the Sicilian slice, which was almost identical to the slice I got at Joe’s last July. It was quickly reheated in the oven after my order, giving it quite a toasty crunch. I normally like my pizza quite crispy, but this was actually just a bit too crisp on the outside crust for me.

The interior, however, was bready enough to make the slice pleasant to chew. I’m not a huge cheese guy, but there was just the right amount on this slice.

Along with the sauce, all of the primary components worked together well to produce a good slice, but I would have preferred a little more sauce and a little less crispiness to the slice.

While I did have some minor reservations about the Sicilian slice, the Buffalo chicken slice was just about flawless. What the crust lacked in thickness it made up for in quality. It was toasted just right and was complemented by the perfect proportion of cheese and Buffalo chicken pieces. None of the contrasting flavors drowned out any of the others, and made for possibly the most balanced slice I have ever eaten. Most of the Buffalo chicken slices I’ve eaten have been relatively soft and doughy, but this one was baked to a perfect crisp.

I accidentally deleted my photo of my slices, but I found some photos of similar slices online, courtesy of the Rochester Pizza Blog, which has raved about Pizza Stop to a different level than of any other pizzeria in the area.

I had heard that Pizza Stop had questionable customer service. There was a sign saying something along the lines of, “This isn’t Burger King, you don’t get it your way,” and they don’t blow you away with friendliness by any means, but there is nothing to complain about. The staff does its job, respects its customers and efficiently churns out high-quality pizza.

When I return to Pizza Stop or Joe’s, I will definitely get another Buffalo chicken slice, but I’m also very intrigued by the Grandma’s slice, which appears to come topped with a spiral pattern of fresh extra sauce on top of the cheese, along with oil, two cheeses and several herbs. Sounds right up my alley.

Make sure if you want to try Pizza Stop, you catch it while it’s open. It closes at 5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, but is closed on the weekend.

Like I said, I prefer thicker and saucier pizzas, but that’s just me. A lot of people prefer the thinner New York-style, but everyone will probably love just about any pizza from Pizza Stop.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: Seems like a place very popular for a workday lunch, with the closest feel of being an authentic New York City pizzeria in Rochester.

Food: Perfect balance of all the components of a pizza, and baked to perfection.

Value: $6 for my two slices seemed fair.

Overall: You can tell Pizza Stop a passion for pizza, and its staff is well-aware how good its product is. After eating here, it’s not difficult to see why this place has such a great reputation.

Grade: B+, but consider it higher if you’re a NY-style pizza connoisseur or purist.

Zebb's Deluxe Grill and Bar

300 Center Place Drive, Greece
Visited Feb. 27, 2011
Written by Tyler




Zebb’s recently opened on the site of a former UNO Pizzeria on Ridge Road in Greece, joining the Zebb’s in Brighton as the second of this mini-chain to hit the Rochester area.

I had always heard good things about Zebb’s, but hadn’t previously eaten there. My high-school football coach joked he would leave our game against McQuaid to grab a burger there if we didn’t play well (for the record, we won handily).

After it opened in Greece, I finally got around to dining at Zebb’s one recent Sunday afternoon with my parents.

When you walk in, it feels like a big chain restaurant, similar to Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday. But it’s actually not. There are six total locations, including two in the Buffalo area, and one each in the Syracuse and Utica areas.

It was kind of crowded, so we had a slight wait, but killed time by watching TV while my parents ordered drinks from the large bar.

The menu features mostly American classics, especially burgers. On this day, however, each of us was feeling like chicken – specifically chicken sandwiches on fresh-baked rolls.

I got a Cajun grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce. There was a decent dusting of Cajun seasoning and the portion was fairly large and tasty. The homemade roll made it one of the best (of many) grilled chicken sandwiches I’ve had in the area.

My mom ordered her grilled chicken sandwich with mozzarella cheese and mushrooms, while my dad opted for Chicken Cordon Bleu. They were also fairly pleased with their sandwiches.








There is also a free topping bar, but it didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. We didn’t really utilize it.

They also each got fresh-cut fries, which they agreed were outstanding – perhaps the best part of the meal. I didn’t have any, but they indeed looked fresh, with a medium thickness and the perfect balance between soft and crispy.

Following our sandwiches, we couldn’t resist the fresh-baked cookies that greeted us upon arrival. I believe there are two varieties available, but the most popular is Chocolate Chunk, which can be purchased individually (85 cents each), in a six-pack ($3.99) or in a “Big Box” ($6.49).

We ordered a six-pack of the soft, gooey delights. It was evident right away why they are Chocolate Chunk and not Chocolate Chip. The cookies were so soft they stuck together a bit, but that’s fine with me because they were pretty good.

Overall I’d say Zebb’s does a good job. It doesn’t blow you away, but it’s a respectable All-American bar and grill. It feels like a big chain, but it’s not, and you can tell some of the menu items truly are freshly made.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: No complaints on either end, and a good All-American feeling throughout.

Food: Good portion sizes and good variety, primarily featuring American items. Anyone with “fresh” in front of it is just that.

Value: No complaints. Portion sizes seem to fit the prices.

Overall: It doesn’t blow you away, but it’s better than going to an Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday because you can tell Zebb’s puts at least some thought in to its products – more so than the national chains it emulates, at least.

Grade: B

La Famiglia Pizzeria

3208 Latta Road, Greece
Visited March 4, 2011
Written by Tyler



I remember enjoying La Famiglia’s pizza the only two previous times I had eaten it, which were a handful of years ago. I remember a thick crust and a good helping of delicious red sauce making for a tasty pizza, and I wanted to check back and see if it was still the same.

My grandma and I stopped in last month, and it immediately seemed different from how I remembered it. It used to be more of a take-out place, but now it has a decent amount of seating and regular table service.

The menu isn’t terribly extensive for a pizza place. For pizzas, you can choose from three different sauces, four different crusts (based on thickness), more than 20 toppings and six specialty pizzas. There are also calzones, wings (eight types), subs, fish fries, pasta and the typical fryer items.

We decided to split a small cheese pizza (10 inches, $6.99 plus $1.10 for each topping), with pepperoni on my grandma’s half and grilled chicken on mine, with thick crust.

After a decent (though bearable) wait, I received a pizza that wasn’t close to what I remembered. The crust was hardly what I’d call thick, the toppings and sauce were relatively scarce, and the pizza was a bit greasy.

It was good enough for us to finish, though I helped her with one slice, but I wasn’t particularly impressed by either half.

There wasn’t enough sauce or toppings. The toppings that were there tasted OK, but there were nowhere near enough.

The crust was also OK, but it was too thin for my liking. I would have been slightly more impressed by the thin crust if I hadn’t specifically ordered thick.

I wouldn’t call this pizza generic, but it was disappointing because the pizzas I had previously had at La Famiglia in the past were really good. I will give it another chance, but I’m not exactly counting the days before I return.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: The service could have been better, and there wasn’t much atmosphere. There weren’t many others eating there. It lies somewhere between a basic pizza joint and a basic family diner – perhaps too basic.

Food: Typical pizza-place menu. Our pizza was kind of skimpy in most areas. I don’t know much about the rest of the menu.

Value: Not bad, but I’ve had much better bang for my buck elsewhere.

Overall: Not how I remembered it, which is unfortunate because it was very good the first two times I had it. It may get a return look someday, especially to see if anything else on the menu is worth it.

Grade: C

Marvin Mozzeroni's

39 North Main Street, Brockport
Visited Feb. 27 and March 6, 2011
Written by Drew



It has been my mission this year to try as many different places out here in Brockport as I can. With my second semester halfway through, a few restaurants remain on my “must have” list.

Now that NASCAR is back in season, My roommate Josh and I have been watching the races on Sunday afternoons. By the time a race is over with, it is around 6:30 in the evening. We have decided in the last few weeks to head in to town and enjoy a nice meal before we go back and do our homework for the next day. I honestly never thought of Marvin Mozzeroni’s as an option until Josh recently mentioned it. Looking back, I am glad he suggested it.

Josh and I went into Mozzeroni’s with absolutely no idea of what we wanted. After about 10 minutes of looking at the menu, I decided I was going to try a calzone, opting for a Buffalo Chicken ‘Zone.

Since the start if the school year, everyone has bragged about the quality of the calzones that come out of competitor Calzonies. After a few bad calzones from there (coming up in a future post), I have wanted to look elsewhere to fulfill my calzone desire. Guess what… I found it.

Marvin’s Buffalo Chicken ‘Zone was one of the best calzones I have ever eaten in my whole life. It was a mixture of the price, size, quality, and atmosphere that made my meal such a good experience.

The insides of the calzone consisted of cubes of chicken fingers shaken in Buffalo mild sauce, with mozzarella, cheddar and ricotta cheeses, but the outside of the calzone was even better than the inside.

The dough was perfectly cooked on the outer layers, and became more and doughier as you make your way into the center. The bottoms were crisp and had a nice texture.

My Buffalo Chicken ‘Zone came with a side of bleu cheese and two sides of mild Buffalo sauce. I used up the whole cup of blue cheese, but didn’t even bother putting more wing sauce on it because it already had the perfect kick to it.

I was hesitant about ordering the calzone with the ricotta in it, because I’m not a big fan of ricotta, but a last-minute decision to get the ricotta turned out to be a good thing, because it complimented the Buffalo sauce well.

Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed was how well everything stayed inside the calzone, and how clean it was to eat. I ended up cutting my calzone in half to make it easier to eat, and all the insides stayed on the inside. This made my experience much more pleasant.

Josh also ordered a calzone, the Marvin’s Chicken Finger ‘Zone, without the Romano cheese. This calzone consists of chicken finger strips, mozzarella and ricotta cheese, all smothered in pizza sauce with a side of bleu cheese. When I asked josh how it was, he simply responded, “Amazing.”

After both of us finished our calzones, we sat there for a good 10-15 minutes watching TV. That is yet another thing that made our experience there so amazing: the large-screen flat-panel television. We were able to change the channel to whatever we wanted while we were there, which made it feel like we were home.

Marvin Mozzeroni’s website is: www.whatareyouhungryfor.com. This implies that they will pretty much make any of their dishes custom to how you would like them, which I experienced this on our return visit.

I ordered another Buffalo Chicken ‘Zone, but instead of getting the Buffalo sauce, I asked for sweet and sour sauce. The guy who took our order said, “No problem.”

I ate the whole ‘Zone, however I would say it wasn’t as good as the first mainly because it just lacked the kick that the Buffalo Chicken ‘Zone had. They will make anything custom to how you want it, but I suggest just sticking to their menu for the best combinations of tastes.

On our second trip, we also felt it was necessary to sample some pizza so I could write this review. Josh ordered a personal-sized cheese pizza. He compared Marvin’s pizza to that of Main Street Pizza, which we have called the best pizza in Brockport. He also mentioned that he “liked the pizza part.” After I made fun of him a little bit, he clarified himself and mentioned how he was a little disappointed when it came to the crust of the pizza.

I also ordered a personal-sized pizza – cheese and pepperoni to be exact. I shared the same opinion as Josh did, adding the taste and quantity of pepperoni was similar to that of Main Street’s.

Mozzeroni’s has four other locations, including one on the west side at 534 Lake Avenue in the city, just north of downtown. Another noteworthy item is the $5 Lunch Special, with 14 different options, offered weekdays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The menu includes five different sizes of pizza, 26 different calzone fillings/pizza toppings, and several specialty pizzas, subs, seafood dinners, pastas, salads, wraps, quesadillas, various sides and fryer items.

Both times we went to Marvin Mozzeroni’s, we had some of the best service anyone could ask for. I can see us going back several of times before the semester wraps up.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Love the fact I can just take the remote control off the counter and turn on ESPN. Also the service behind the counter has to be some of the friendliest RWG has come across.

Food: Really good calzones –arguably the best in Brockport – and serviceable pizza, with an extensive menu we’ve barely tapped in to.

Value: The prices were a little higher than those of other typical college-town places, but the products are definitely worth every penny.

Overall: Without a doubt, I will be returning to Mozzeroni’s in the near future.

Grade: B+

Two Brothers Family Restaurant

6515 Brockport Spencerport Road, Brockport
Visited Jan. 30 and Feb. 26, 2011
Written by Drew



As mentioned in previous reviews, since I spend most of my time out in Brockport, I have been trying to get to as many places out here and review them for you.

One Saturday, my roommate Josh, his friend Cody and I jumped into my car and headed to the Brockport USA Diner, just to find it absolutely swarmed with people. I then turned the car around and we headed towards Two Brothers.

We walked right in, sat right down and ordered our drinks, then started digesting the menu. Our drinks came right out and the waitress asked us if we were ready, which we weren’t. There were so many items on their menu, it was nearly impossible to make a decision. The waitress came back and we ordered our food. It would be a wait of about five minutes before our food came out. I was shocked how quickly we were served.

Even though there were numerous things on their menu that sounded appetizing to me, I was drawn to one sandwich in particular, the Hickory Chicken Sandwich. This sandwich was composed of a piece of grilled chicken topped with cheese, sliced deli ham and barbecue sauce on a hard roll, along with a large helping of fries.

The sandwich didn’t end up as great as I thought it would be. The barbecue sauce had little, if any flavor to it, and was weird in color. I also imagined the ham-chicken combo would of worked out better than it actually was, but the two meats just clashed in taste.

I ate about two-thirds of the sandwich and fries, and left the rest on my plate. My meal came with a cup of soup, which I have started to enjoy as of late. However, there was a slim selection of soups; just split pea and bean. I chose the split pea and only ate the crackers that came with it.

Josh ordered breakfast in the middle of the afternoon, opting for the 2-2-2, which consists of two pancakes, two eggs, and two pieces of bacon. Also available in the larger 3-3-3 size, this menu item is perfect for the breakfast fanatic.

The pancakes were average in diameter, but thicker than normal pancakes. Josh explained that his meal was good, (although it looked to me like one of the most generic breakfast meals ever), and better than breakfast here in the dining hall (which isn’t saying that much). He ate the 2-2-2 in its entirety, and in reality an average hungry person could put a serious dent in the 3-3-3.

Cody, like I, went for lunch. He ordered the Chicken Salad Club sandwich. His sandwich’s bottom layer was made up of chicken salad and bacon, with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on top.

His initial response was that the sandwich was too tall to fit in his mouth. Throughout the meal he reiterated that point by saying the layer of lettuce was unnecessarily large. His meal also came with a side of fries, and a cup of soup. The club sandwich looked generic, and didn’t leave the must have again-factor that we would of hoped.

Following this meal, I called Tyler up to discuss what we should do about this restaurant, and he suggested holding off about writing it and revisiting it with him when he came back home for mid-semester break. I agreed, and we went back.

Tyler was quite curious about how I described the barbecue sauce to him. He made it a point to order something from the menu which he could sample the strange barbecue sauce I told him about. He ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with the barbecue sauce and an order of home fries on the side.

He immediately noted the chicken breast was larger than that of most other restaurants, and had a pleasant hint of seasoning visible. He said the chicken was tasty – much better than what he ate from BBQ Fred the night before.

As for the barbecue sauce, it had an orange hue to it that we can’t quite determine a cause for (though the hostess couldn’t, either), but he liked it much more than I did. He agreed the flavor wasn’t too strong, but the taste it did have was good and complemented the chicken well.

He enjoyed his sandwich, and downed his home fries. He said they were among the top half of home fries he’s had; pretty tasty and a little crisp, but a bit too greasy to get them to HFR level. Overall he was pleased with his meal.


I decided to get breakfast so I can see if Josh’s opinion on things were accurate or not, opting for a short stack of pancakes with a side of sausage patties.

The sausage would have to be the best part of my entire meal. The patties were the first thing to disappear off of my plate. When I made my way to the pancakes, I noticed they were a little darker than the typical pancake. So I poked at it with my finger and realized they were a little overdone. I started to eat them, and my previous observation was verified.

The inside of the pancake was dry and kind of heavy. I finished about one-and-a-third pancakes, and left the rest on my plate. Tyler sampled a piece of my scraps, and agreed that they were overdone and, as previously alluded to, quite generic; perhaps even frozen elsewhere and reheated in the kitchen.

With my breakfast, I ordered a glass of chocolate milk. I was very pleased when they brought out a glass of what I believe was Byrne Dairy chocolate milk.

After our meal, Tyler and I talked about how we would assess Two Brothers, and came to this conclusion: Two Brother’s Family Restaurant was better than I originally said it was, and fit perfectly in the B- category with other diners we have been to that are the typical, run-of-the-mill family restaurants that we enjoy.


Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Typical family restaurant with speedy service.

Food: A lot to choose from. The breakfast was generic, but there are some interesting concoctions (including the orange-ish barbecues sauce) worth a look.

Value: Pretty standard for a family diner, with good portion sizes.

Overall: If you haven’t caught on yet, this is a typical family diner… but we tend to enjoy those types of restaurants more so than others.

Grade: B-

Danny's Buffalo Cuisine- South

4300 Abbott Road, Orchard Park
Visited Dec. 22, 2010
Written by Greg



Editor's note: During a recent foray in to the Buffalo area, we grabbed a bite at Danny's right down the road from Ralph Wilson Stadium. It's outside our boundaries, but I'm sure some of our readers will be out that way sometime in the near future for a game or what not. Anwyay, Greg had a strong opinion about Danny's and wanted to write a review, so we let him. You will probably enjoy his colorful, blantantly honest style. Enjoy.

Over our winter recess from our respective institutions of higher learning, Tyler, Joe and I took a day trip to Buffalo so Tyler could spend a few hours at the Ralph for his internship. Joe and I, in the meantime, walked a few hundred yards down the street to Danny’s South, a restaurant known to many a Bills fan for its Chicken Wing Soup.

We first sampled this delicious concoction at Taste of Buffalo the previous summer and fell in love with it; so much so, we drove an hour out of our way (kind of) to try it for real.

As you walk in you’re instantly greeted by walls adorned with sports memorabilia, including a section of metal bleachers from the Bills’ old stadium to sit on while you wait for a table. However, not being a game day (it was a Wednesday actually), we were immediately seated in the large and spacious dining room (we had the option of sitting in the bar), right next to the large exterior wall full of windows.

Overhead were a half dozen or so scale-model airplanes made of wood or metal, presumably. The walls were still full of sports memorabilia, though on a far wall there was a glass cabinet full of ceramic dolls and stuff. Creepy.

Anyway, it didn’t take long for us to be waited on. Our waitress kind of bothered me a little bit; she interrupted me twice while I tried to ask questions about their lunch special, and just in general seemed like she didn’t want to be there or like we were wasting her time, and apparently was allergic to cordiality.

Joe and I both opted for the $10 lunch special, which included an entrée preceded by the soup and salad bar. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Finger platter, while Joe had 10 Buffalo wings. My platter included four rather large chicken fingers coated with Buffalo sauce, a moderate serving of fries, a few sticks of carrots and celery, and a cup of bleu cheese.

The fingers themselves were soggy, not crispy as they should be, and the Buffalo sauce could have been hotter (I don’t recall having an option of temperature), though it wasn’t overly buttery as some Buffalo sauces often are. Overall the chicken tenders were pretty generic, and the fries were quite disappointing. They had no seasoning whatsoever – a pretty poor effort if you ask me. I mean, throw some salt and pepper on there when they come out of the fryer at least.

The soup (and salad) bar was the reason we came here though, and it certainly did not let us down. The Chicken Wing Soup was just as good as we remember it, maybe even better.

It’s orange in color, and the large chunks of celery, chicken, and potato are clearly visible. It’s just the right hotness to consume quickly and in liquid form, and has very adequate amounts of chicken and its other ingredients. It had a very enjoyably creamy texture, but wasn’t too thick to slurp, or so watery it splattered.

They also had a basket of cheesy breadsticks, which we each got nearly every time we went up to grab more soup (3-4 times each in total). The breadsticks were cooked just right, the cheese wasn’t burnt, and they weren’t overly seasoned with garlic. Some marinara sauce would have been ideal I suppose, but dipping the breadsticks in the habit-formingly delicious Chicken Wing Soup certainly sufficed.

Joe had himself the $10 lunch special comprised of 1 dozen “hot” Buffalo wings. He said they were definitely hot enough, but he was disappointed with their size despite being full from the meal. He also thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Wing Soup (who couldn’t?), noting that it was a satisfying reprieve from a bitterly cold day. Joe joined me in the practice of dipping the delicious breadsticks in the soup as well.

Joe agrees with me (after I convinced him, of course), that the service we experienced was certainly sub-par. He noted that the waitress seemed completely disinterested in us, as well as the friendliness we regularly experience at our favorites such as Hoock’s and HFR and how it makes our meals at those establishments that much better. Joe really took to the décor at Danny’s, as well as the fact that it’s right down the street from Heaven... I mean Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Ratings

Food: I was pretty disappointed with my entrée. It filled me up, but was boring and I could get much better chicken tenders somewhere else, and probably for a better price (could be said about Joe’s wings as well). However, the Chicken Wing Soup would probably bring me back here, if I were willing to give the menu a second chance.

Atmosphere: It’s a pretty neat place to eat, I suppose, what with all the sports memorabilia. Though, next time I’d opt to sit in the bar area with some TVs broadcasting various sports networks, and drinking some adult beverages.

Service: The service definitely irked us, and might have even been bad enough for me to not return. Our waitress was curt, cold, and – at one point – downright rude. She made us feel like we were wasting her time, and didn’t make our time worth-while.

Overall: Wings somewhat disappointing, unfriendly service (at least from our experience). However, the Chicken Wing Soup is incredible, and Danny’s has a great atmosphere, especially on game day at the Ralph.

Grade: After much deliberation, we give Danny’s South a grade of C+.

Grade Changes

We made our debut by rating General Hoock’s a well-deserved A. A few others joined atop the grade leader board, but each return visit to Hoock’s separated more and more from the rest of the pack. Now, it’s caused a bit of a restructuring of the system.

No restaurant we’ve visited is close to Hoock’s level, so that is the only A. Hilton Family Restaurant has slipped to an A-, joining Tully’s, Rohrbach and DiBella’s. HFR was originally our No. 1 restaurant, and received an A when we reviewed it last spring, but has since been surpassed for the top spot by Hoock's.

Before the revision there seemed to be a logjam of restaurants in the B+/B crowd, so we’ve spaced them out a bit more.

B+ restaurants are all very good places that have a few items that really stand out, and are pretty good all around.

B grades are typically places that don’t appear special from the outside, but are surprisingly good and turned our heads upon eating there.

B- grades are places that are either… a.) Good, but interchangeable with several others (usually family diners) or b.) Not quite there yet, but have potential to be great.

Few places have fallen into the C category, but the ones that have are usually way too generic. Frankly, we haven’t been to any places we absolutely wouldn’t return to, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to return to these places.

So, here are the revised grades:

A: General Hoock’s

A-: Hilton Family Restaurant, Tully’s, Rohrbach, DiBella’s

B+: Joe’s Brooklyn Pizza, Taste of Texas, Philly Steakout, Great Northern Pizza Kitchen, Abe’s, Martusciello Bread

B: Carmine’s Dakota Grill, Jo’s Diner, Krony’s Pizza, North Chili Family Restaurant, Brian’s USA Diner, Chilango’s Mexican, Olympia

B-: Anchor Bar, Hose 22, Slayton Place, Golden Eagle, Lighthouse Diner, Millhouse Family Restaurant, Arlington, Rookies, Main Street Pizza, BBQ Fred

C+: Nola’s, Redwood Inn, Tillman’s Village Inn (Wednesday BBQ Buffet)

C: Sullivan’s Charbroil

C-: Minnehan’s

These new grades will be used as precedents for future visits. As strange as it may sound, we look forward to the day we go to an all-around subpar restaurant to see if this new scale is accurate in the long run, but it seems to fit for now.

Happy Anniversary, RWG

We’re celebrating our first anniversary here at Rochester Westside Grub, reflecting on our inaugural year which included climbing all the way to No. 2 on Urbanspoon Rochester’s blog rankings.

We’ve eaten a lot of good food in the last year, and look forward to what’s to come, but it’s going to be difficult to top one restaurant: General Hoock’s.

It was the first place we visited for the blog, and it’s yet to be surpassed. That’s why it’s our 2010 Restaurant of the Year.

We’ve made several return trips, bringing along different friends each time. We’ve also passed along word to others, who tell others and keep Hoock’s customer base growing.

Each return visit provides some new delicious twist as Shawn Hoock keeps unveiling – and letting customers create – new concoctions every day.

For instance, Waffleopolous – a breakfast sandwich in between waffles. (Yes, that’s bacon cooked into the waffle)

Or there’s the Roc Bomber, basically a giant garbage plate sandwich. (Image courtesy of Hoock’s Facebook page)
We could go on and on about Hoock’s creations, but we’ll leave it up to you to visit the restaurant on Buffalo Road in Gates and see for yourself.

Believe it or not we did go to, and enjoy, and number of other restaurants as well. In fact, we’ve come up with a list of our top five thus far:

1.) General Hoock’s (1308 Buffalo Road, Gates)- See the laud fest above.

2.) Hilton Family Restaurant (54 Hovey Street, Hilton)- Hoock’s has surpassed it as our favorite place in the last year, but our hometown HFR still brings the gang together for a delicious breakfast in an atmosphere that feels like home.

3.) Tully’s (1225 Jefferson Road, Henrietta)- Our favorite sports bar, with the best chicken tenders on Earth.

4.) Rohrbach Brewing Co. (3859 Buffalo Road, Gates)- Authentic German cuisine along with various other fantastic sandwiches and some fantastic white chili.

5.) DiBella’s (2450 Ridgeway Avenue, Greece)- Consistently voted best subs in Rochester, and very high on our list despite being (as Greg calls it) a niche restaurant.

Honorable Mentions: Taste of Texas (122 South Union Street, Spencerport), Martusciello Bread (2280 Lyell Avenue, Gates), Joe’s Brooklyn Pizza (1100 Jefferson Road, Henrietta)

Another restaurant, Yumbo’s, might have cracked the list, but we just found out it closed both its locations. However, Yumbo’s still does catering and is searching for a new location, according to its website. That’s some darn good barbecue, and I hope to eat it again soon. UPDATE (8/21/11): Yumbo's has since reopened at 1460 Lyell Avenue in the city, just west of Mt. Read Boulevard.

In other news, Hoock’s clear emergence as our unquestioned favorite restaurant has forced us to change some grades up, which will be further detailed in our next post.

Anyway, we’ve now added a Facebook fan page and opened a Twitter account in order to spread our name, so get involved and let others know – even if they don’t live on Greater Rochester’s west side.

We look forward to exploring visiting some new places soon and seeing if anything can touch General Hoock’s, which will be difficult. We may even make some trips farther west in to the Buffalo area, so stay tuned.

Well, thanks for a great first year, and hopefully the second will be even better.
-Rochester Westside Grub staff