Rohrbach Brewing Company

3859 Buffalo Road, Gates
Visited July 24, 2010
Written by Tyler




Even though Rohrbach’s is famous around the area for its in-house microbrewery, winning a Rochester’s Choice Award for best local beer six times. Of course, I should add, none of us are 21 yet anyway, so we can’t provide any insight on the homemade beverages, but we’ve found ourselves returning for its food frequently in the last year.

Located on a relatively quiet stretch of Buffalo Road near the three-town border of Gates, Ogden and Chili, Rohrbach’s is one of very few restaurants in the Rochester area that has a German-based menu, and its interior appearance is designed like a German bar, providing what seems like an authentic experience.

I jumped on the Rohrbach’s bandwagon after my first visit with my parents, four years ago. It took me a while to return, but I’ve been back five times in the last year.

Because of Greg’s obvious German heritage, like me, I know he’d love Rohrbach’s. After his first visit, last summer, it instantly vaulted toward the top of his favorites.

On this visit I opted for the Railroad Street Ham & Cheese; smoked ham with melted Swiss cheese on pretzel bread with a side of honey mustard. As I said in the Krony’s review, I love pretzel bread, which is hard to find around here. It made my decision not to get a giant Munich Pretzel, which I often get at Rohrbach’s, much easier.

The sandwich seemed a little bit drier than the last time I had it, but the delicious honey mustard cured any semblance of a problem there. The price ($6.95) seemed kind of steep, although it did come with a choice of a side.

For my side dish, I opted to drop an extra $2 on my obligatory cup of White Chicken Chili. This is, without a doubt, the best chili I’ve ever eaten, and I get it every time I go to Rohrbach’s. It’s perfectly hearty – with chunks of chicken, plenty of white beans, plus bell peppers, onions, shredded cheese and tortilla chips – perfectly creamy and has a nice, sinus-clearing kick to it.

I let my mom – who had tried a few different white chili recipes at home, to no avail – have a taste of it last time I was here. Blown away by its tastiness, she immediately asked, “Why can’t I make mine like this?”

Greg was also amazed by the white chili the first time he tried it, and has become a regular consumer of it as well.

“The chili was excellent as always,” Greg said. “Creamy, full of flavor, laden with ingredients… my standard for white chili.”

For his entrée, Greg had the Park Ave. Panini, with roasted turkey, cheddar cheese, lettuce and cranberry mayo on hot-pressed Panini bread, along with a side of fries.

“The bread was excellent, cooked just right in my opinion; crispy, but not crunchy,” he said. “The cranberry dressing was delicious with the turkey, and it was pretty filling. The fries I liked, too. They were battered, which is always nice.”

Chad ordered the most authentic German meal of all us, opting for grilled bratwurst with sauerkraut and German potato salad. He said the bratwurst was very tasty and spiced to perfection; clearly much more than a generic Johnsonville brat.

Drew ordered the Swillburg Pork Sammie, a pulled pork sandwich, which is his usual meal at Rohrbach’s. Clearly, he enjoys Rohrbach’s pulled pork; even more so because it came on a Martusciello’s roll, arguably the best in Rochester. The sandwich came with fries, which, like Greg, Drew enjoyed because they were battered and crispy.

He also got a cup of Cheddar Highland Soup; made from sharp cheddar, Rohrbach’s own Highland Lager and smoked bacon bits. Drew isn’t much of a soup guy, but he like this because it was so unique.

Joe and Tim also enjoyed their meals; Railroad Street Ham & Cheese and a Bourbon Burger (pictured), respectively.

Rohrbach’s is a bit pricier than most restaurants we have reviewed, with decent portion sizes, but it never seems to bother us.

“My meal … was just over $10 and it was well worth it,” Greg said. “(It was) quite filling. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad value by any means.

“I’m not sure there is a menu item I wouldn’t eat. The food brings me back.”

We unanimously agreed that the service was outstanding. Our server was friendly, informative, quick, and even remembered all our orders without writing them down. We also had a relatively short wait for our food to arrive.

The atmosphere was enjoyable as well. It primarily has a German feel, with its bar and décor, but also has some sports-bar and casual elements.

“It’s just good, reasonable, and it’s a relaxing place to eat a meal,” Greg said.

It must be good, based on our standards, because there are very few places we have returned to as often recently.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service is phenomenal, among the best we’ve had, and the comfortable atmosphere goes a long way toward making this one of our favorites.

Food: German centered, but diverse overall. All the food is great, nonetheless. There aren’t many other places around where you can get authentic German food, like Chad’s bratwurst.

Value: “A tad pricey, but you get what you pay for,” Greg said, which I agree with. Like I said, we keep coming back, so price obviously isn’t much of a hindrance.

Overall: Food is very good, including many authentic choices. Outstanding service and great atmosphere. Given how often we return, we can comfortably say it’s one of our top favorites.

Grade: A-

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+

Sullivan’s Charbroil

4712 West Ridge Road, Spencerport
Written by Tyler

Visited March 6, 2010

Even though Sullivan’s isn’t too far away from us, we haven’t been more than a few times in our lives. It’s generally regarded as a small, somewhat rundown, but respectable burger shack.
After dining there for the first time in more than five years, I can say that is just about spot on.
It’s located on Ridge Road, right near the three-town border of Parma, Ogden and Greece. It’s actually in Parma, but has a Spencerport zip code.

Once you get to this part of Ridge Road, you’re away from most of the traffic and the heavy concentration of highly developed land that is Greece. In this section of Route 104, just west of the newly renamed Doug Miller Sports Dome, there are several specialty stores (carpets, awards, auto parts, to name a few), some small car dealerships, some vacant motels, and Sullivan’s.

From the outside, the building looks pretty rundown. There is a decent amount of outdoor seating, with several picnic tables sitting on a covered porch just outside the entrance.
The inside was surprisingly nice and clean, with an abundance of ‘50s memorabilia and four or five TVs adorning the finished, wooden walls.

There was plenty of seating – all booths – though none of which seated more than four people.
One of the strangest features was the location of the bathrooms, which you literally pass through the kitchen on your way to. It got the job done, though; at least they didn’t look at me like I had three heads when I journeyed back there.

As for the food, the menu was basically everything you would expect from a run-of-the-mill, small burger place like this; burgers, hots, fries, chicken and all the typical fryer items.
Once we placed our order at the counter and sat down (at two different booths because there were five of us), we were served fairly quickly; about the average time you would expect it would take.

Also as you would expect at a burger joint, our group enjoyed the burgers. Three group members ordered basic ground rounds, all topped differently. They said they enjoyed the taste of the burgers, which were very wide, not terribly thick, but not too thin either, between a pretty standard hard roll.

As per usual, I order a grilled chicken sandwich, topped with lettuce. The sandwich got the job done, but it wasn’t one of the best I’ve had. It was lightly marinated, so it didn’t have as much flavor as I would have preferred. I doused it with a little too much Red Hot, which gave it a little kick, but still not quite enough to compensate for the slightly sweet flavor I had hoped the marinade would have given it.

We had heard Sullivan’s had pretty good curly fries, so my brother gave them a shot. It was a heaping portion, but didn’t quite meet expectations, at least for us. They were relatively thin and greasy, and didn’t taste much different than the typical French fry. We would have liked a little more seasoning and thickness.

The regular French fries were alright. Nothing spectacular, just the basic crinkle-cut fries.
Deciding to make things interesting, Drew tried the sweet and sour chicken tenders. Tenders are always good, and sweet and sour sauce makes just about anything taste good. This isn’t something you see at every restaurant, so it was good to see something different. The tenders were basically what you would expect, everyday chicken tenders soaked in Boss Sauce, but that’s not a bad taste to have, even if you know what to expect.

For drinks, they have Pepsi products in a small refrigerator, plus fountain drinks with free refills.
One of the more interesting drinks they offer is Aunt Rosie’s Loganberry. Native to the Buffalo area, the multi-berry-flavored drink isn’t too prevalent in the Rochester area, but we wish it was.

“It was a good drink … like a Shirley Temple,” my brother said. “It would be my first choice before any pop.”

Sullivan’s is also said to have good milkshakes, so that may warrant a return visit.
Also, there is a driving range directly behind the restaurant, along with a miniature golf course, according to the sign. There is nothing like a burger and a bucket of balls from time to time, according to Drew.
In all, Sullivan’s isn’t bad, but has nothing overwhelmingly great about it either. It was the average, everyday burger joint, in our opinion.

But we have heard good things about certain items (burgers, curly fries, milkshakes), so give it a shot. Maybe your tastes are different from ours.

Ratings:
Service/Atmosphere- Not much of a wait, able to see TVs, not very crowded, pretty standard service. Booths were all the same capacity, but otherwise a very comfortable burger-joint setting.
Food- Not bad, not great, but very average. Standard burger-joint menu. A few different items here and there, but nothing that really makes it stand out.
Value- Also pretty standard.
Overall- A little atmosphere to it, and definitely proves not to judge a book by its cover, but otherwise very average. If we’re looking for something quick and consistent, and we’re in this specific part of town, we would probably stop here.
Grade: C