Krony's Pizza etc.

2139 North Union Street, Spencerport
Visited June 25, 2010
Written by Drew


For the last two or three years, my family has had a handful of go-to restaurants. Our criteria are: close to home, cheap prices, tasty food and friendly service. Krony’s Pizzeria has been on top of that short list recently.

Every time I walk through the door, I am abruptly greeted as if I own the restaurant. I don’t think it is just coincidence either, because while sitting down and eating your meal, the owner of the restaurant, Steve, delivers and greets costumers as if they were family.

Over the course of last summer, I would say my brother, my dad and I visited Steve and the Krony’s crew about once a week, and the reasoning is they fulfill everything we look for in a go-to restaurant.

Usually when we go, my brother orders the two-slice and fountain drink combo, I would order a Krony’s Plate and my dad would either get a plate or slice, six wings and fountain drink combo. This combined meal comes in just over $20.

But ever since I’ve been cutting back, I have been ordering Buffalo chicken wraps. Krony’s Buffalo Chicken wrap consists of crispy chicken smothered in Buffalo wing sauce with lettuce, celery and bleu cheese, wrapped in a garlic herb tortilla shell with a side bag of chips. All in all, this wrap is about twice the size of the wrap I had at Abe’s in the previous review.

For this blog visit, with Tyler and honorary blogger Jay, I ordered the wrap again. Instead of getting the Buffalo sauce, which had just the right heat, I asked them to substitute it with Krony’s sauce (their version of a sweet and sour sauce).

Jay asked me what I would recommend. I suggested the slice, six wings and fountain drink combo. He got just that. He ordered his wings Buffalo hot. He described the wings as just “OK” and “a little under cooked.” His slice of pizza, however, was excellent.

“The slice was great... the crust was perfect... and I love the cornmeal on the bottom of the slice,” he said. He also noted Krony’s other location, in Hamlin, is his longtime pizza place of choice.

In his typical fashion, Tyler tried the Grilled Chicken Breast sandwich, with a cup of chicken noodle soup. He decided to make the sandwich interesting, ordering it on a pretzel roll along with honey mustard and lettuce.

Tyler was pleased by the ($1 extra) option to get a pretzel roll (basically a flattened soft pretzel), which he had only seen at a few other places before. The chicken breast itself was relatively large with good flavor, but Tyler said he could barely taste the honey mustard, which didn’t add much to the sandwich overall.

He said the soup was decent; heartier than expected with a lot of chicken, but thinner than he’d like and a small portion for the $2.69 he paid for it.

One of the perks about Krony’s is its fountain drinks. There is a relatively large variety here, including my family’s favorites like iced tea and pink lemonade. Also, the dining room has two 50+ inch flat-panel televisions mounted to the walls. It really is a great place to get a slice of pizza, a drink and watch a game.

Krony’s used to have a location in our hometown, Hilton, which closed a few years back. We all agreed we appreciate Krony’s pizza more that it isn’t right nearby, but at least there are still two proximate locations to get it. The cornmeal on the bottom crust, as well as the slightly sweet and well-applied sauce, makes Krony’s stand out among other local pizza places.

Despite being known for its pizza, Krony’s offers a wide variety of items, including soups, salads, wraps, subs, grilled items and typical fryer items, among others. I have always thought Krony’s Plates are one of the best versions of garbage plates around, also.

All in all, I can rave all day about Krony’s, but I would strongly suggest going there yourself and giving it a try.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Very friendly service with a clean, comfortable dining area.

Food: Their menu is quite extensive. The pizzas stand out first, but all of their other dishes are pretty good as well.

Value: The prices of their food are relatively cheap and the food is good. The variety here makes it stand out.

Overall: Without a doubt, I will be returning to Krony’s numerous times this upcoming summer.

Grade: B

Tillman's Village Inn (Wednesday B-B-Q Buffet)

14359 Ridge Road, Albion
Visited June 9, 2010
Written by Tyler



While driving through Orleans County two weeks prior, Chad and I noticed a sign that immediately caught our eyes: “B-B-Q Buffet.” I don’t recall any other specifically barbecue buffets around, off the top of my head, so we decided we had to try it soon.

So Chad, Greg and I made our first blog venture outside Monroe County to try the Wednesday night buffet, which costs $10.95 and runs from 5-8 p.m.

The Village Inn, housed in a 19th century tavern and carriage shop, is a relatively upscale restaurant, with many similarities (both in menu and prices) to Hilton’s Arlington, but much larger. We glanced at the menu briefly, but knew we were getting the buffet.

The buffet offerings included chicken, ribs, pork (not pulled), corn muffins, salt potatoes, baked beans, macaroni salad and potato salad.
We all agreed the chicken was the best item available. Picking around the bones was a little annoying, but the chicken was cooked well and the runny sauce, though seemingly generic, was balanced in well to keep from overpowering the chicken.

The baked beans were good, but also very generic; perhaps right out of a can. The corn muffins were fairly sweet, but weren’t warm, and also seemed rather generic.

Overall, Greg was not very pleased with the buffet.

“The ribs were disappointing,” he said. “Bland with very little flavor, while cooked too softly with no texture; like eating Jell-O off of a bone.”

He also said the potato and macaroni salads were disappointingly basic, as they contained just potatoes and mayonnaise, and macaroni and mayonnaise, respectively.

We all were very impressed with the atmosphere, which Greg compared to a grandmother’s dining room. It felt very welcoming and the relatively dim lighting added a comfortable touch.

While Greg probably wouldn’t return for the B-B-Q Buffet, we all agreed we would be interested to come back and try a regular lunch or dinner, perhaps even the Sunday Brunch. We have heard good things about the Village Inn otherwise, and they advertise “Award Winning Prime Rib of Beef, au jus,” along with other meats (especially steak), soups, salads, sandwiches and seafood.

We also agreed we probably weren’t the target demographic for this buffet, as a great majority of the clientele was senior citizens.


“The only reason this place is historic is because you have to be an artifact to eat there,” Greg joked.

Chad and I agreed with Greg that the barbecue wasn’t up to par with other places we’ve been to, but the novelty of a barbecue buffet is something that’s hard to criticize. I wasn’t expecting world-class barbecue anyway, and I feel like I got what I paid for.

It’s not fair for us to give the restaurant overall a grade because we all had the same thing, and it’s clear barbecue isn’t a specialty here. Once we return and try some of the regular items we can give the Village Inn a fair grade, but we will grade the buffet only, for now.

Ratings:


Service/Atmosphere: The buffet didn’t require much service, but we were never asked if we wanted drink refills and it took a while for our bill to come. It was kind of a confusing situations for both sides, though, as all customers sat in common areas, while not everyone had the buffet. For a regular meal, it appeared quite prompt and friendly, however.

Food: The barbecue buffet was very generic, but it seems like a highly regarded restaurant for more typical menu offerings.

Value: You really can’t complain about a buffet; you can get as much food as you want. I wasn’t exactly expecting Memphis or Kansas City-quality barbecue anyway.

Overall: It wasn’t bad, and gains points for novelty. I would be intrigued to return and try some of the more well-known meals.

Grade: C(for the buffet only)

Note: The restaurant’s website lists its price range as $8.95-$23.95 and is open every day from 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., for lunch and dinner.

Abe's Restaurant

5232 West Ridge Road, Spencerport
Visited June 19, 2010
Written by Drew


If you are a fan of being honest, log cabins and/or Abraham Lincoln, Abe’s Restaurant is the place for you. The slogan here is “Abe’s, an honest meal,” and I couldn’t say it any better.

If you are ever heading West on Ridge Road toward Brockport– which I frequently do – Abe’s is right on the way, in a ‘can’t miss’ log cabin near the border of Ogden and Parma.


The parking lot is shared with some sort of shed dealer. Walking toward the restaurant, your eyes quickly scan the log cabin exterior of the building, consistent with the restaurant’s theme. There are also numerous signs depicting large ice cream cones on the roof of the building.

With Abe Lincoln memorabilia lining the walls, wagon wheel chandeliers hanging from the rafters and a fully stocked condiment bar, customers get the full Abe’s experience even before they receive their food.

I have been trying to cut back on the intake of food at each meal and have already cut all beverages other than water out of my diet. My next step: eating more chicken instead of burgers, steaks and hotdogs. Abe’s was a great place to kick-start my new regimen.

So, with my new plan intact, I ordered a Buffalo chicken wrap. This consisted of a grilled chicken (I had an option to get crispy chicken), bleu cheese and mild wing sauce all wrapped up in a tortilla shell. Upon seeing my meal, I was kind of surprised how small it was, but I soon found out after digging in there was a good amount of chicken stuffed in there and it was just the right size.

Tyler ordered his typical grilled chicken sandwich, with shredded lettuce on it and a side of baked beans. He said Abe’s grilled chicken sandwich is one of the best around, based on previous experience.


“It’s one of the best chicken sandwiched I’ve had,” Tyler explained. “The marinade makes the sandwich better than those at similar places.” Tyler also ordered a side of baked beans. He said they were the same as those at similar restaurants, which is OK because they are “the perfect complement to a grilled chicken sandwich.”

I suppose my next visit (hopefully, for my own sake, I am still ‘cutting back’) will include a grilled chicken sandwich, based on Tyler’s recommendation.

Jake came with us, and ordered a cheeseburger and a side of fries (which looked pretty basic). In my opinion Jake only ordered that just because he knew I was cutting back (Note: Jake has denied Drew’s accusation). Jake said his meal was decent; not up to Bill Gray’s “World’s Greatest” caliber, but better than the burger he had at nearby Sullivan’s.

Abe’s also has a number of ice cream options, like “Blizzards,” “Flurries” and milkshakes, which are known to be pretty good. Abe’s also has breakfast beginning at 8 a.m., but you have to ask for a menu and we’ve never heard much about the breakfast options here. As for lunch and dinner, which is what Abe’s is known for, you can pretty much get anything normally associated with a grill or fryer.

Overall Abe’s has a similar style to Rochester staple Bill Gray’s. You order before sitting, and the service isn’t quite as speedy as that of fast food, but is faster than a typical diner. Both restaurants have a good selection, but Abe’s is less expensive for the most part.


It’s the down-home atmosphere at Abe’s makes it stand out from similar restaurants, though. You really do feel at home inside the log cabin. The food and atmosphere are much better here than at Sullivan’s, which we visited in March, and its consistency has us stopping by Abe’s every now and then.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Unique atmosphere. Service time is comparable to Bill Gray’s.

Food: Also comparable to Bill Gray’s, though it’s clear why Bill Gray’s is considered to have the best burgers in the area. The chicken options are better than most similar restaurants, thanks especially to Abe’s marinade.

Value: The prices are a little bit less than those at Bill Grey’s, and the food is similar, for the most part.

Overall: Great atmosphere and consistent food make Abe’s an honest meal for an average American.

Grade: B+

Jo's Diner

444 North Avenue, Hilton
Visited May 21, 2010
Written by Drew



After getting out of school at 10:30 a.m. because of a half day, I thought it would be fitting to meet Tyler somewhere and cross yet another place off our list.

We found ourselves two miles north of the Village of Hilton at Jo’s Diner, and two miles south of the Lake Ontario State Parkway, on the corner of Route 259 and Curtis Road.

Jo’s has a strange location, as there really aren’t any other businesses within a few miles. The deceptively large building has housed numerous restaurants through the years, but none have lasted very long (Jo’s has been open since late 2008/early 2009, approximately).

Like the Lighthouse Diner, we were very deceived by the size of the restaurant. It appears small from the outside, but it was surprisingly quite large on the inside. There were three separate rooms that make you feel more at home and comfortable.

Two of the rooms are regular dining rooms – bright and squeaky clean – and the other has a few small tables and a countertop facing the kitchen. There were only a handful of other diners, though I think we missed the morning regulars.

Jo’s is said to have good breakfasts, so I skipped breakfast before school that morning because I was planning on eating a big meal. So, being extra hungry, I ordered a tall stack of buttermilk pancakes. While ordering this, the waitress looked down at me and asked me if I was sure. I stupidly insisted that I was really hungry. I made a mistake. I had three large, Frisbee-sized pancakes sitting in front of me. I was able to finish about one and a half of them.

Tyler sampled a few bites of pancake and was fairly impressed, saying they were nice and thick with a tasty crispiness on the outside, but fluffy on the inside.

Tyler also ordered breakfast, opting for two eggs with ham, home fries and toast. He said the scrambled eggs were better than any other egg dish he had recently, and said Jo’s home fries are the closest thing he’s had to those of Hilton Family Restaurant (HFR), which is his standard for home fries.

“The eggs were very good, they were some of the best I have had in a while,” he said. “The home fries were also very good... almost as good as HFR’s.”

He said the toast and ham were very average, but was impressed by the pancakes he sampled from my plate and pleasantly surprised by his eggs and home fries.

If you are planning on going to Jo’s Diner, you’ll have to do so within its very abnormal hours of operation; Tuesday through Thursday, plus Saturday and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.

Jo’s has a typical diner menu, but the portions (at least for breakfast) are relatively large. For lunch Jo’s offers mostly soups and sandwiches, and its Friday fish fries have received positive reviews.

Overall it was a pleasant surprise, as the prices were reasonable and the portions were filling. The atmosphere isn’t as lively and aesthetically pleasing as HFR, but the food was very comparable.


Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Friendly service, very honest waitress, average wait time, relatively clean. Jo’s out-back location doesn’t have the intimate small-town feel the HFR does in the heart of Hilton.

Food: Very comparable to HFR, which is our standard for greasy-spoon diners like this.

Value: We always talk about bang for the buck and quality, and the very large pancakes epitomized that.

Overall: Jo’s was pleasantly surprising, considering its somewhat remote location and the lack of success its building predecessors have had. We’ll definitely be back for a good breakfast.

Grade: B

Nola's BBQ

4775 Lake Avenue, Charlotte
Visited May 27, 2010
Written by Tyler


Our quest to find the best barbecue on the west side took us historic Charlotte and Nola’s BBQ, a short walk from Ontario Beach Park and the Port of Rochester at the northern tip of the city.

Nola’s is known for its live entertainment, with at least four bands per week starting in late May and through the summer, performing on an outdoor stage. There is normally entertainment indoors two nights of the week during the rest of the year, according to Nola’s calendar online.

There was no entertainment the Thursday evening of our visit, but we were excited to try some more barbecue. Greg and I brought our friends Kameron and Tim on this stop.

We parked at the ferry terminal across and street and took the short walk to Nola’s, where everyone was seated outdoors on this evening. We would have preferred to sit inside, but didn’t have the option to. The building looks relatively large (a pretty good replica of a New Orleans-style building) and I assume there is indoor seating available when necessary.

The tables and chairs were made of hard plastic and weren’t particularly clean or comfortable. The service was friendly, but fairly slow.

Despite some of these slight annoyances, we were all pleased with the variety of choices on the menu, including many Cajun entrees like jambalaya, gumbo and various seafood that aren’t too common in the Rochester area.

I ordered the Voodoo Chicken sandwich, a Cajun grilled chicken topped with chicken and sausage jambalaya and a side of red beans and rice. The chicken tasted good, but didn’t seem particularly Cajun. The jambalaya was also good, and it’s always good to try something different, but it was kind of sloppy and didn't blend with the sandwich as much as I’d hoped.

Kameron ordered the B.B. King Burger, which was topped with grilled ham, Swiss cheese and barbecue sauce, plus he threw on a couple of Tim’s onion rings. Kameron said any burger with ham on it is a must-have for him.


He also ordered crab cakes, which aren’t too common around here, plus sides of red beans and rice, and cheddar mashed potatoes. Kameron was mostly pleased with his unique meal, but said the sides could use some work. Kameron and I agreed that the red beans and rice – which was more a layer of tomato-saucy red beans on top of a layer of rice – was more stew-like than we had hoped.

Tim ordered a Blue Cajun Burger, topped with bleu cheese and bacon, with a side of onion rings. He ate it, but wasn’t impressed and said it wasn’t one of the best burgers he had ever had.

Greg ordered the BBQ Beef Brisket sandwich topped with barbecue sauce, peppers, onions and cheese. He said the actual brisket could have been thicker and cleaner cut, but said it was tasty (crispy and almost caramelized on the outside, yet tender) nonetheless.

Greg said the sandwich wasn’t worth $9 and wasn’t impressed by its composition, but overall it was good and something he would eat again.

“(The toppings) were plenty, but were just kind of thrown on with no regard to proper sandwich construction, thus making it quite messy to eat,” he said. “The peppers and onions were good with the brisket and the sauce, but could have used some sort of seasoning.

“However the addition of cheese and veggies to a brisket sandwich is a new experience for me, and I would be more than willing to try it again.”

It would definitely be interesting to go back on a livelier night, when there is entertainment, and see how close Nola’s is to the New Orleans aura it tries to replicate. Greg heard from a friend Nola’s was packed later in the evening when there was entertainment.

We would have preferred to sit inside and the service could use some work, but the unique variety of choices would bring us back, at least for takeout.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Friendly, but fairly slow service. The atmosphere was pretty good because Charlotte is already such a unique setting, and I imagine it would probably be pretty cool to be there for live entertainment.

Food: The components may not always blend together perfectly, but the individual items are good and the choices are relatively unique with good variety.

Value: Decent, though not quite the bang for the buck we expected.

Overall: It didn’t meet our overall expectations, but I’d definitely eat Nola’s food again.

Grade: C+

Visit online: http://www.nolasweb.com/index.html

Lighthouse Diner

500 South Union Street, Spencerport
Visited May 27, 2010
Written by Drew



With my school year winding down, I was able to get out of school a little bit earlier in the day, so Tyler and I decided to cross off yet another restaurant on our list. The restaurant of choice was the Lighthouse Diner in Spencerport.

About three months earlier, my family and I went out to this diner – on the corner of routes 259 and 31 – and I walked away swearing I would never be back again. I gave it a second chance, and the revisit actually changed my mind slightly.

It is very deceiving from the parking lot how large this diner actually is. Walking into the restaurant, you are greeted abruptly by an old-school bar counter. There are a few booths across from the barstools, and two moderately sized dining rooms on either end of the restaurant.

Tyler and I sat in a booth, which could fit eight people comfortably. Before opening the menu, we both agreed on the cleanliness of the restaurant; it was as if the building was brand new and just opened for the first time.

My first trip their a few months ago, I had an awful experience. It was a long day, for whatever reason, my family was arguing where to go out to eat, and we’d been to two or three different places before ending up at the Lighthouse Diner.

I ordered a cheeseburger, and it wasn’t anything too special. It tasted like any other ordinary diner cheeseburger. I did however enjoy the French fries; they served the typical dinner French fries that are slightly seasoned and extra crispy. I’m a big fan of those.

When Tyler mentioned that we should go to the Lighthouse for lunch so we could write it up for the blog, I thought it was a bad idea because of my previous experience. All in all, I was glad we made a return visit because my second experience was much better.

On the second visit I ordered the self-proclaimed “Rochester’s Favorite Messy Plate;” a cheeseburger plate with double French fries and meat hot sauce on top. I thought it was a decent plate; I have had better, but also I have had much worse. As far as the price goes for the messy plate, very average: $7.69 for a cheeseburger plate, $6.99 for a hotdog plate.

Tyler ordered a simple one-egg and toast breakfast with a side of home fries. He said the home fries were decent, with a nice outer crispiness, but were a little soft otherwise. The eggs were pretty typical, but the toast was above average.

When it comes to diners and restaurants, there is one thing that really makes me tick: the lack of free refills. It seems like, more times than not now, places don’t advertise refills. Typically when my family goes out to grab a bite, we usually enjoy a drink or two before the meal comes. My dad always proclaims three drinks during a meal is always the perfect amount. Honestly, sometimes I think he bases his tip on how many refills he was offered. So when we go to places like this where there are no refills, it is very hard to still have a drink come meal time.

Will we ever return to the Lighthouse Diner? Perhaps, though we wouldn’t go out of our way to do so. Spencerport has several appealing restaurants in it. If we had to travel out there for a meal we would either try a new place, or re-visit a restaurant that we gave a good grade to.

Ratings:
Service/Atmosphere: Decent service, very clean, and felt like the stereotypical diner atmosphere that we like.
Food: Average diner food. Nothing we had stood out too much from all the rest, but there were several interesting choices (namely the pancake and waffle meals) that might warrant a return.
Value: The prices were very reasonable, as were the portion sizes. Good bang for the buck.
Overall: Very large, clean place. Open to a return, but not if it’s out of our way.
Grade: B-

Dakota Grill

913 Roosevelt Highway, Hilton
Visited May 26, 2010
Written by Tyler



The Dakota Grill sits close to the road, right on the border of Hamlin and Parma, near an X-shaped intersection. The building looks relatively plain – with a gray exterior – from the outside, but the opposite is true on the inside.

There is a small dining room to the left when you enter, a full bar with TVs in the middle, another dining area to the right of the bar, plus an outdoor patio.

The walls are adorned with many random slices of ‘Americana,’ as Greg described it. Though it seems to be marketed somewhat toward Western and biker types, there really is no one central theme to the Dakota.

Like the Arlington, the Dakota is the closest thing to upscale dining in Hilton, but is still very casual. There are many finer dishes available, including the popular Wednesday ‘Surf & Turf’ special ($16.95), chicken, pasta, steak, seafood and Friday fish fry.

But on our college-student budget, we order from the bar menu, which features many burgers and chicken sandwiches that have become popular take-out options in my house.

The Dakota offers some of the best chicken sandwiches around, and I opted for the Black Jack Cajun Chicken ($5.75) on this visit. The chicken was grilled to perfection, but it’s the seasoning that makes this particular sandwich.

The breast was blackened by a spicy Cajun seasoning – so much so that it looked like it had been completely burnt. Obviously, it hadn’t, and the sweet mustard it was topped in complemented its kick well, making it a delicious concoction.

Greg opted for the Dakota Burger – which was topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, Thousand Island dressing and sweet Dakota Sauce – with a side of fries.


Greg was pleased with the burger (cooked medium), saying the key to it was texture.

It was very well cooked; a tad crispy on the outside but pink halfway through and quite tender,” Greg said. “The literal handful of toppings (was) more than enough, and made the burger a tad messy, but delicious.

“I thoroughly enjoyed their combination of the Dakota Sauce with the Thousand Island dressing. The Dakota Sauce was smooth and sweet, while the Thousand Island provided a small kick on the front side.”

Greg added his burger – the most expensive on the menu at $4.95 – was one of the best values around, though his fries (which he described as average) cost extra.

The service was average in terms of promptness, but informative and friendly. We were also pleased by the complimentary bread and butter. Greg described his experience as “pleasant, perhaps even a tad charming.”

The Dakota is a pleasant stop for somewhat upscale, yet casual dining. If you aren’t in to the expensive stuff, the burgers and chicken sandwiches are difficult to be disappointed by. The restaurant and bar put just the right amount of liveliness in to a relatively quiet area.

Ratings:
Service/Atmosphere: Not the quickest, though friendly and you get free bread. The atmosphere is great; it feels like a roadside bar and grill should.
Food: I’m not sure on how the items on the actual dinner menu are, but those on the bar menu are consistently delicious.
Value: As Greg alluded to, the sandwiches are a great value. The portion sizes aren’t big because the items we bought didn’t come with sides, but those can be added for a reasonable price.
Overall: The setting makes it unique, and the Dakota as a whole is nicer than its outside appearance suggests. The entire meal may not blow you away, but the main course (from our experience) always pleases.
Grade: B

Taste of Texas Bar-B-Q

122 South Union Street, Spencerport
Visited May 16, 2010
Written by Tyler



Since opening on Spencerport’s main stretch by the canal in 2004, Taste of Texas has prided itself on being a “hole in the wall with a whole lot of taste.”

I’d give it a little more credit for its interior appearance, but it got the taste part right. It’s very difficult to find good barbecue in Rochester, especially on the west side, but Taste of Texas fills its niche nicely.

After being at the top of my list of restaurants I wanted to go to for quite some time, I finally got around to it when I dined at Taste of Texas with my family on a Saturday in mid-May.

The inside was fairly clean and had a good combination of Texas saloon (a bar) and barbecue shack in one. There isn’t a ton of seating, so I’d imagine the restaurant’s ‘seat yourself’ method can get a bit tricky at times. Also unique, you order you before you sit, then see your order slide down a zip line to the cooks.

Meals are served fairly quickly, with reasonable prices and an array of relatively unique choices.

The most notable item is probably the baked potatoes. The potato itself is huge in its own right, and seems 10 times bigger when topped cheese, bacon, sour cream and barbecued beef (pulled pork and chicken are also available), like my dad got in his $8 Outlaw Potato.

There are various sizes and toppings available for the potatoes, but my dad was left in awe of his. Even though he could barely get through half of it, he couldn’t help but share his approval of this mountain of a potato; so much so, he’s returned multiple times to get a baked potato (and sample its various toppings) to go. He’s yet to finish a whole potato in one sitting.

After deliberating on which sandwich I would get for some time, I finally settled on the Lasso Bar-B-Q Chicken sandwich, which was simply chopped up barbecued chicken doused in sweet, smoky sauce. The sandwich tasted great and I scarfed it down quickly. I was pleased with it, though more chicken would have been nice. Fortunately I had delicious baked beans, as well as a corn muffin, to fill the void.

My grandma enjoyed her Rodeo Pulled Pork sandwich, while my mom (admittedly not a big barbecue fan) was rather neutral in her critique of the same meal I ordered.

Drew, who coincidentally dined there the same day, enjoyed the Cattle Drive, a two-meat plate with choice of two sides and a corn muffin. He chose pulled pork and the smoked half chicken, with Moose’s Mac & Cheese and Brianna's Fries (regular deep-fried frech fries). The condiment bar also had complementary sliced white bread, which prompted Drew to make his pulled pork and pulled chicken sandwiches.

"All in all it was a good meal," Drew said. "Not fast food, but good food fast."

There are several intriguing options I’d like to return and sample myself, like Lone Star Turkey Breast, Bar-B-Q Pulled Chicken and Smoked Beef Brisket, and we’ve also heard good things about the soup. For you vegetarians out there (as if there are any reading this), Taste of Texas offers a couple choices for you, such as the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich.

I also can’t wait to bring in Greg and see if he can conquer the $25 Armadillo Plate – an Outlaw Potato, full rack of ribs and a corn muffin – to earn a free T-shirt and photo on the restaurant’s website. Only five people are pictured on the site as being successful in the challenge.

In all, Taste of Texas isn’t quite Dinosaur, but it beats most other semblances of barbecue – especially in its ‘sit-down restaurant’ appeal – on the west side. It’s nice to know there is a capable barbecue joint on this side of the city.

Ratings:
Service/Atmosphere: Efficient, unique and authentic, with a near-perfect setting in the heart of a nice village. It seems to be a popular place in Spencerport.
Food: The closest thing to an authentic barbecue experience you’ll find on the west side, with many unique and interesting choices.
Value: The prices are fairly reasonable, with an average “bang for the buck” (for example, you can add two sides to a $5 sandwich for $3).
Overall: Good atmosphere and food, but not quite the elite level Dinosaur is at. Relatively speaking, however, this is a nice place to try something different.
Grade: B+

Taste of Texas Bar-B-Q's Menu