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

Main Street Pizza

82 Main Street, Brockport
First visited Oct. 17, 2010
Written by Drew



On my 18th birthday, this past summer, my parents bought me a gift certificate to Main Street Pizza. My mom ordered it online through the Entercom Marketing Results Group and its half-price hook-up deal. For $25, I was able to treat my friends to a $50 meal, and of course I saved this occasion for a Sunday evening when we could all gather and watch football. That time came in week six of the NFL season.

One of the catches in this discounted deal was that we had to spend all $50 in one single order, so there was a lot of eating ahead of us. I headed over to the restaurant before going to my buddies’ house to put the order in. A sheet cheese and pepperoni pizza, along with four-dozen wings would be more than enough food to keep us college guys full for the night and most of the following day. We also made sure it was delivered, mainly because we didn’t want to carry all that food up three flights of stairs. Going into this night, none of us had ever had pizza from this location, but we all had heard good things about its pizza.


We ordered the pizza for 8 p.m. Right at 8, the pizza came. We quickly laid all the food out to see how it looked. After taking the appropriate pictures, we dove right in.


I went right for the sweet and spicy chicken wings. I loaded my plate up with five or six wings, a few slices of pizza, and a cup of blue cheese and walked over to plop on to the couch. With the first bite of the wings, I exclaimed that these were some of the best wings I’ve had in a long time.

Since going here for my pizza, I have returned numerous times. A few of my neighbors in the dorms and I ordered pizza and wings from Main Street about a week later. We noticed that there was a difference between the sheet pizza, which is Sicilian-style, and the smaller sizes of pizza, which some in New York style. I enjoyed the Sicilian more because the bottom of the crust was crisp, but the rest was still doughy.


The New Yorker was just crisp. And,I liked the wings so much the previous time, we ordered two-dozen wings (one dozen BBQ and the other sweet and spicy). Just like the first time, the wings were very meaty and saucy.


This past weekend, during the Bills’ game, I ordered another wings again, along with a slice of pizza. This was New York-style slice, so I was a little hesitant to get it but I was glad I did. It was very crisp on the bottom, and very easy to fold. As mentioned in several of the past articles, If I can fold my food, I enjoy it that much more.


This cheese slice I got to-go, along with the wings, was the call of the day. The wings the third time was just as good as the wings the first two times, so I can say they are some of the best wings I have had.

Main Street also offers subs, wraps, (garbage) plates, burgers and hots, as well as typical fryer items.

On my last trips to Main Street, I chitchatted with the owner. I commented him on his website, and found out he created it himself.

“I’ve got more to add to it, but I just have to find the time” he said.

I strongly suggest you go check out his menus over on his website www.mspizzany.com.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: We ordered take out, however their store has a large-screen TV visable from any seat in the store, as well as smaller televisions that sit on the ends of the tables for the dining in customer.

Food: Some of the best wings I have ever had.

Value: The prices are a little bit higher then what the typical college kid would want to pay on food, but it is totally worth paying more because you definitely get for what you pay for.

Overall: My new go-to pizza place, when I’m out here in Brockport.

Grade: B+

Philly Steakout

1595 Long Pond Road, Greece
Visited Oct. 11, 2010
Written by Tyler



There aren’t many places you can find Philly cheese steaks in the Rochester area, but Philly Steakout in Greece does its best to serve up a slice of the City of Brotherly Love.

Located on Long Pond Road near its intersection with Ridgeway Avenue, Philly Steakout is a no-frills place that specializes in quality subs.

My dad has brought home Philly’s satisfying hoagies several times over the last few years, and it was about time I went for myself – and brought along some of the guys, as we celebrated Joe’s birthday.


Philly has an unassuming facade despite its busy location just past The Mall at Greece Ridge and Unity Hospital. The relatively small building is fairly clean inside, with a decent amount of seating.


“I was pleasantly surprised when we walked into the place, as the interior was much more welcoming than the outside of the building,” Greg said. “It was much more spacious inside than its exterior dimensions would belie, and there was plenty of seating. I liked how the walls were adorned with authentic Philadelphia cheese steak memorabilia.”


I opted for a Chicken Cordon Bleu sub, which is the one my dad always gets me. It includes a generous portion of chopped grilled chicken, ham and Swiss cheese (which I opted not to get); but Philly’s sweet dijonaise has always been what makes this sub one of our all-time favorites.

The chicken and ham are pleasing, the bread is just alright, but the dijonaise brings it all together.

There are only two sizes of subs here: regular and large. I ordered a regular for $5.32, and it was a pleasing portion. There were only a couple of workers behind the counter, and only one line, but it wasn’t busy at all and our food was ready in a matter of minutes.

Joe, Greg and Tim all gravitated toward large Buffalo Chicken subs, which included grilled chicken, fried onions, bleu cheese, American cheese and Philly’s wing sauce. The subs truly were large, and the guys all seemed to like their subs. Joe, who was reluctant to go at first (wanting to try DiBella’s), said he was glad we went to Philly Steakout.


“Even though I didn’t get a Philly cheese steak, the Buffalo chicken sandwich was very tasty,” Joe said. “It wasn’t as hot as I would have wanted it to be, but tasted good nonetheless.”

Even though food connoisseur Greg downed his sub and said he was pleased, he said there was still room for improvement.

“Ordering was very easy and our food was prepared unexpectedly fast,” he said. “(The sub) had my mouth watering just thinking about it. It looked delicious, but was a little bland in color. While the sandwich was still served hot, and was nevertheless quite tasty, there was almost no Buffalo flavor to be found in it. The sauce was more of a teriyaki/sweat-and-sour combo, which was very disappointing.

“When I ordered a Buffalo chicken sandwich, I expected a hot mess of savory chicken slathered in peppery hot Buffalo wing sauce that would leave my mouth agape with fiery acidity. This was not the case. If they had labeled the sandwich something different, my opinion of my visit would likewise be better, but because of this misunderstanding, my experience at Philly Steakout was thus a Buffalo-sized disappointment.”

The rest of us didn’t quite agree with Greg, as we were rather pleased with our subs. The thing I like best about Philly Steakout – aside from the dijonaise – is the chicken selections available, particularly of the grilled variety. As you may know by now, I’m a big chicken fan. This is a chicken and sub lover’s haven.

Other sub choices include Chicken Cheese Steak, Chicken Classic, Buffalo Steak, Teriyaki Chicken, Chicken Parmesan, Hickory Chickory, Veggie Philly and Chicken Finger.

Most subs range from around $5 to just under $9. There are also a few wraps, salads, kids’ items and typical fryer items – including some good sweet potato fries – but the focus is on subs.

The Philly steak isn’t generic, frozen shaved steak purchased from a grocery store either; there were real steaks visible behind the counter.

Ironically, no one got an original Philly cheese steak. Just another reason to go back, I guess. We hope to do so very soon.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Surprisingly comfortable inside, while still feeling like a traditional sub joint. The service was very quick and to the point.

Food: Not a ton of variety, but far from a basic sub menu. A lot of chicken options to choose from. The subs are consistently good.

Value: The prices are reasonable, but with relatively few choices there is relatively no variety in price (in other words, there’s no dollar menu). But the portions are large and the subs are well worth their prices.

Overall: Consistently pleasing, in both taste and portion size. A gem if you notice it in its busy location. It’s right near a DiBella’s, but the two shops specialize in different types of subs. Go here if you want to try something a little different or get a taste of Philadelphia.

Grade: B+

Golden Eagle Family Restaurant

4820 Lake Road South, Brockport
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-

Rookies Neighborhood Sports Bar

2351 Buffalo Road, Gates
Visited Aug. 21, 2010
Written by Tyler



It hurt to head to Buffalo Road and not stop by General Hoock’s. Alas, it had to be done. There are a ton of good restaurants in Gates and we had to cross another one off our list.

We were heading to a Rhinos game and felt like going to a sports bar on the way from Hilton, so we chose Rookies, which opened in 2007 right near Gates Center.

The lighting was a little darker than other sports bars we've been to, but otherwise it was everything you would expect from a typical sports bar; the walls covered with TVs (with sports on, of course), beer memorabilia everywhere and a lot of barstools.

The menu was pretty standard as well: wings, burgers, the usual fryer items and sides, chicken, sandwiches, a few pizzas, wraps, quesadillas and salads, among others.

Drew ordered a dozen Country Sweet wings ($7.95) and said they were pretty average; not too dry and a decent temperature and size, with a price just about right for a sports bar. They weren’t much different from the same type of wings anywhere else, but Country Sweet is always good.

I ordered a Cajun chicken sandwich (also $7.95), topped with jalapenos and lettuce on French bread (Martusciello’s, if I’m not mistaken). I was actually pleased with the size, and the Martusciello’s bread (best in town) helped make the sandwich. The jalapenos seemed to add more of a Cajun kick than the seasoning did, but all around it was a solid grilled chicken sandwich.

I got macaroni salad as a side but didn’t eat because I’m not a fan of any macaroni salad. Drew was too full to eat it, but said it looked very generic. There weren’t a ton of sides to choose from, which was kind of disappointing, and most of them cost a little extra.

We also enjoyed some complimentary popcorn, which is always a plus. It had a balanced flavor, so it wasn’t overly buttery, which is good. It was kind of salty and made me thirsty, but isn’t that the point?


Overall, this is a pretty typical sports bar with food fitting the same description, for the most part. There’s not a whole lot that stands out, but there’s not much to complain about either. It definitely seems like a nice place to gather to watch some games with friends, which we’re always kind of partial to, but it’s not at the level of Tully’s food or Bathtub Billy’s atmosphere, in my opinion.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service wasn’t remarkably fast, but friendly and nothing to complain about, really. Felt just like a typical sports bar, but smaller than others I’ve been to.

Food: Pretty average, but a lot of tasty things to choose from and a lot of local favorites on the menu.

Value: Not bad; the portion sizes are proportional to the price. If you’re not completely satisfied, grab some free popcorn and grab another pop.

Overall: Another decent place to grab some food and watch a game with the guys, but nothing that stands out too much.

Grade: B-

Visit online: www.therookiesbar.com

Redwood Restaurant

6 Cohocton Street, Naples

Visited Aug. 7, 2010

Written by Tyler

There isn’t much commercial civilization to speak of on the back-road trek from Watkins Glen to Prattsburg, let alone places to eat, but we had to eat somewhere on our way to Chad’s camp from a day of NASCAR action at the Glen.

We decided to bypass both potential restaurants in Hammondsport and Prattsburg, and extend our trip a few miles north to Naples. Chad had previously suggested Redwood, telling us it was a family-diner-type place, which we always enjoy.

The place looks kind of like a red barn on the outside, but is just like a typical family diner on the inside, with a dining room and sit-down bar, plus a relatively upscale larger dining room as well. According to Chad, the ‘fancy’ dining room’s menu charges $1 more for everything. The menu featured standard diner fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I went with my usual grilled chicken sandwich, plus a side of home fries. The chicken and its marinade (which wasn’t too strong) were decent, though it could have used a little dipping sauce, and the roll was a little different than usual, in that it was powdered on top. In all it was pretty good; slightly above average.

The home fries were also decent, but not quite as crispy as they appeared. In fact, they were somewhat soggy and greasy. They didn’t meet Hilton Family Restaurant’s (HFR’s) standard for home fries, but they were still good enough for me to scarf them down without hesitation.

Drew also went the chicken route, opting for a (fried) chicken fillet sandwich, or in cafeteria terms, a chicken patty. He said it wasn’t anything different from comparable restaurants, but still good because it was moist. He also had a chocolate milkshake, which did the trick in refreshing him after a hot day at the track.

Chad was also pleased with his meal; a simple bacon burger with fries.

The service was very welcoming and friendly. Not particularly quick, but nothing to complain about either. The booths were a little tight, and this wasn’t one of the cleanest places we have been to either – especially the sketchy bathroom – but nothing that severely hindered our experience.

I ordered cornbread as well, but it was unavailable because the person who usually makes it was out of town. I was disappointed I couldn’t try it – because I figured if they have a designated cornbread maker, it must be good – but they had a legitimate excuse. If I’m ever at Redwood again I’ll definitely try it.

As for our overall experience at Redwood, Chad put it best, saying, “The food is decent; there

are better and there are worse (places). The lack of competition makes them better.”

Like we said there aren’t many places to choose from in this area, but Redwood appears to fill its niche as a family diner in Naples.

“It’s very good, but not HFR level,” Chad said, to which we agreed.

If we’re at Chad’s camp, we know there’s a satisfying hometown diner available. Although Naples is nowhere close to the west side, it’s not a place you hear about in the news often, so we made an exception. We figured we were there, it was decent, it’s similar to other places we’ve reviewed, so we might as well give the Redwood its due.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service was generally pretty good, and the restaurant had a classic small-town, family-diner feel.

Food: Nothing that blows you away, though not quite generic.

Value: The prices were good and we left with full bellies after sitting in the sun all day at the track.

Overall: Another pleasing family diner. There’s not much competition around, so there’s a good chance we’ll be back next time we head to Chad’s camp.

Grade: C+

Hilton Fireman's Carnival

137 South Avenue, Hilton
July 28-31, 2010
Written by Tyler and Drew

(Image courtesy of hiltonfd.org)

Every time the last weekend of July rolls around, numerous tractor trailers come rolling into the village of Hilton. For four crazy nights, the Hilton Firemen’s Carnival takes center stage and puts a little livelihood in to an otherwise-quiet village.

Drew lives within a mile of the fairgrounds, and for those few nights, it is very difficult to do anything due to the screaming kids, uncharacteristically busy streets, and loud music blasting from the carnival. Some of the behavior of many carnival goers, particularly teenagers, is less than exemplary, but you can’t beat some of the food available at the carnival.

Thursday after work, the two of us walked down to grab a bite just as the carnival was opening around 6 p.m. We ordered all of our food, then went back to Drew’s house to enjoy our meal.

We both decided to try the beef on wick sandwich. The one thing that stood out about the sandwich was the roll – or wick, in this case – which was pleasantly salty and dipped in some sort of au jus. Other than the roll though, the sandwich was just like any other typical festival sandwich. The beef was a bit dry and generic, but there was plenty of it and the roll definitely helped out. All in all, it was worth the $5 it cost.

After ordering his sandwich from one of the many Hilton Fire Department (HFD) concession stands, Drew walked over to the Walker Fire Department’s clam stand and ordered a side of salt potatoes. For $1.50, he received five larger-than-golf-ball-sized salt potatoes. The potatoes were perfectly cooked through and were pretty decent considering how cheap they were. They were also served with a small cup of what looked like melted butter, but it looked strange and he ended up just throwing it out.

Tyler always has to order at least one bag of popcorn every year.

“It is the best popcorn,” he said. “(It) wasn't obnoxiously buttery like movie popcorn. It melts in your mouth… (it’s) just perfect”.

For $1.50 ($2 for a large) he got an overflowing sandwich bag of fresh-from-the-popper Pickett’s Popcorn, a Hilton carnival staple. It was not overly buttery, salty, or oily, Tyler explained, but a perfect balance of all the components that make up good popcorn. He even went by himself to the carnival Wednesday to get a bag of popcorn as his main course for dinner that night.

We also tried some sugar waffles from the HFD. Drew was first introduced to these very tasty treats at last year’s carnival and said he could only wish he knew about these saucer-sized waffles, dipped into and fully covered with powder sugar, a long time ago. There is no easy or clean way to eat these things.

“Personally, I just pick at it and couldn’t care less about how much powder ends up in my shirt, mainly because the taste is that good,” Drew said.

These waffles cost 75 cents each and usually two or three of them is more than enough for a while. They are fried up and then stuck in to a heat box, so in a single order can provide a wide variation of doneness of waffles. In our first order of four, there were two perfectly golden ones, one undercooked and one overcooked waffle. Undercooked ones are rather chewy and hard to eat, overcooked ones are fine, just a little more crisp, and the perfectly done ones are outstanding and melt in your mouth. The powdered-sugar coating doesn’t come in obnoxious amounts either; rather it sticks to the waffles and created a pleasant glaze of sorts.

On his return visits Friday and Saturday, Drew tried a slice of pizza. The HFD’s pizza is made fresh in its own oven, but the pizza definitely doesn’t stand out over any of the pizzerias in town. The crust is very crunchy and everything else is very mediocre. For $2 a slice, or $11 for a whole pizza, you will definitely get a meal that will fill you up, but the pizza is average.

Tyler was fortunate enough to sample some HFD fried dough. He had to settle for lukewarm dough, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, which had been sitting in the microwave overnight. He said it still tasted good – soft and sweet, yet not too greasy – much to his surprise. He said he could only imagine how great it would taste fresh out of the fryer.

Word on the street is the hamburgers, which we didn’t have the pleasure of trying this year, were outstanding at the HFD burger stand. Apparently they sold out and had to wait several hours on Saturday for more burgers to come in because they were selling like crazy.

Another interesting note about the hamburgers; the HFD has never sold cheeseburgers at the carnival, dating back to 1983. The aprons the HFD workers wear even say, "We still don’t do cheese."

The HFD has a relatively low number of choices, also including hot dogs, Italian sausage and French fries, notably. The menu pretty much never changes from year to year, though the prices occasionally creep up. Tyler was disappointed by the lack of chicken selections, but has become used to it over the years of annually attending the carnival multiple nights. For him, the popcorn suffices.

For being carnival food being made by people associated with the HFD, rather than trained chefs, this is as good as it gets. The food is tasty, filling and reasonably priced, and was by far the highlight of our carnival experience this year.

Are we looking forward to next year’s carnival? For the food, yes; for the commotion that comes with it, not so much.