Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

99 Court Street, Downtown Rochester
Visited several times
Written by Drew




When visitors come to Rochester, they need to shop at Wegmans and eat a garbage plate. Barbecue most likely isn’t the next thing that comes to mind for those visitors, but it probably should be.

New York – and any state north of the Mason-Dixon Line, for that matter – isn’t known for its barbecue. But there is one exception: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which originated in Syracuse, has had a second location right here in Rochester since 1998, and has since expanded to New York City (Harlem) and Troy (just north of Albany).

First off, I would like to apologize for our absence on RWG the last month or two. I have been working 40+ hour weeks, in numerous jobs. With that said, I have attended a several Red Wings’ games on my spare time, a few of which with my friends. On three separate occasions, my friends and I traveled into the city to eat at one of the state’s most know barbecue pits, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

Located literally right on the border of the gray area and fair territory, the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que overlooks the mighty Genesee River. This barbecue pit resides within an abandoned 1905 Lehigh Valley train station. When walking into the establishment, your eyes are drawn to every nook and cranny in the restaurant. Tons of memorabilia ringing of Americana hangs on the walls. Enough with setting the stage, let’s get to the food already.

Voted America’s best BBQ in 2009 by Good Morning America, Dinosaur sets the bar high when it comes to barbecue in the Northeast. Over the past few months, I have been craving barbecue, and after having the Dinosaur, nothing else even comes close.

Josh and I went to the Dinosaur prior to a high-school baseball game back in the spring, and little did I know I would be returning two more times in the following weeks. All three of my visits I ordered the same thing, the Original Pulled Pork Platter (pardon the alliteration). For $9.50, the platter includes a hefty pulled pork sandwich with two sides. I chose their macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes for my sides all three times.

The pulled pork sandwich came piled high on one of their signature sesame seeded buns. One of the biggest things that puts Dinosaur’s pulled pork sandwich above the rest is the meat doesn’t come too saucy. The structure of the sandwich is well put together, seeing how the bottom half of the bun wasn’t saturated. Now don’t worry all of you “I like my BBQ saucy” fans, on the tables inside of the Dinosaur you’ll find many different BBQ and hot sauces to utilize.

As for my sides, the macaroni and cheese has to be some of the best I have ever had. It had a very cheesy consistency to it, and a bit of a bite. To the best of my knowledge, the macaroni and cheese is topped with Dinosaur’s rub seasoning, which includes some sort of hot seasoning.

Their mashed potatoes were more so the smashed variety, but still very good. The first two times I went there I ate all of my sides first because they were irresistible, on my third I ate them last, because I wanted to finish my sandwich in its entirety. After I finished these meals I was definitely full, and very content with my investment.

Josh ordered something that I would never have guessed he would have ordered, Jumbo Chicken Wings. Thirteen large chicken wings filled his basket with the steam and aroma of their barbecue sauce filling the air. Josh described the chicken wings as different than the normal chicken wing, but in a good way. The wings had a charcoal taste to them, since they are not deep-fried like almost every other chicken wing in the area. He went on and described their sauce as spicy. Josh finished all 13 wings, with much help of several beverages.

On my first return visit, Chad and I stopped at Dinosaur prior to a Red Wings game. We overestimated how much time we would need. We literally walked in, sat down, ordered and had our food in front of within five minutes; some of the best food service I have ever been a part of.

On our most recent visit, Chad, Joe, Kameron, and myself had quite a time eating there. As always, I ordered the exact same thing and Chad did the same. Joe and Kameron got involved with some appetizers. Both Joe and Kameron ordered three Jumbo Wings. Joe’s wings came ‘Wango-Tango’ style. When asked about the wings, he responded simply, “Delicious.”

For his entree, Joe ordered a half rack of ribs with corn bread, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese. Joe exclaimed that the ribs he ordered came to him perfectly. The meat fell right off the bone, and there was no need for him to put extra sauce on them because they already had the perfect amount on them. He went on to agree with my feeling on the macaroni and cheese. Joe would like to add that all-in-all he spent $22 on his meal, and didn’t have any qualms with that price.

After visiting the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que several times in the past few months, as well as other barbecue place in the area, I could say hands down the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is the best barbecue in this state, if not the entire North.

It rates No. 1 overall in the Rochester area on UrbanSpoon’s restaurant rankings. It also takes the top spot in Syracuse, home of its original location, and No. 16 in New York City.

After feasting at Dinosaur several times over the years ourselves, it’s not difficult to see why.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: It doesn’t get much better than this. Americana at its finest. I’ve rarely had to wait an extended amount of time here. If going during weekend dinner times, expect a little bit of a wait.

Food: Simply, some of the best barbecue and sides I’ve ever had.

Value: Priced a little high, but as Joe put it, he doesn’t have a problem paying for better quality food.

Overall: There is a reason why GMA voted the Dinosaur the best barbecue in America.

Grade: A-

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.

Hose 22 Firehouse Grill

56 Stutson Street, Charlotte
Visited July 1, 2010
Written by Tyler

Hose 22 is a restaurant straight out of the Rochester history books, set in a former firehouse on the city’s northern tip. The building had been vacant since 1962 until renovations began in late 2007, with the restaurant opening last fall. From what I’ve heard, business has been good and the reviews have been decent as well.

I went with my family a few weeks ago as we celebrated my birthday. My mom had eaten here before and really enjoyed it.

A proud American will enjoy this place, as the cuisine is mostly American and the décor is basically all firefighting equipment. Even the original fire pole remains intact.
(Image courtesy of rochester.metromix.com)

The place was fairly busy, but we had reservations. The service was kind of slow, but we had an appetizer to sustain us for the time being.


Our platter of Firehouse Nachos was pretty good. The freshly made tortilla chips were warm and covered in a “blend of melted cheeses,” topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos, plus we added pulled pork on top. It was a lot to handle, but we polished it off. You can get such a dish at most similar restaurants, but the tasty blend of cheeses and warm chips really set these apart.

We had a relatively long wait for our food. This was somewhat understandable because it was pretty crowded, but still longer than I would have thought. My mom promised us they would bring us free bread and butter and some point, which we finally asked for and received about a minute before our meal came. This was probably a good thing, because the bread was incredibly dry and boring, even though my mom said she had great bread last time she ate here.

I ordered a bowl of chicken chowder, which was very similar to white chili, one of my favorite dishes. The soup was fairly creamy and had a decent kick to it, but wasn’t nearly as hearty as I’d hoped for, especially lagging in chicken. Other than that it tasted fine, but was too thin and wasn’t as all-around good as other, similar soups I’ve had elsewhere.

My grandma had a five-cheese penne pasta topped with grilled chicken, which she enjoyed for the most part. I sampled it myself and it was indeed very cheesy, but I enjoyed the chicken in it.

Jake ordered Cajun wings, which ended up being overwhelming for him, not even finishing one before deciding they were too spicy. He returned them and got Buffalo-style wings instead, which he only ate a few of and didn’t care for either. I wish I would have tried one of the Cajun wings before Jake returned them, because the coating and seasoning was different than anything I’d seen before and actually looked quite appetizing. Oh well.

My mom had the Hose 22 Salad, which included roasted tomatoes, red peppers, artichoke hearts, spaetzle noodles and feta cheese with house balsamic dressing. This salad was basically the reason my mom suggested Hose 22 for this occasion, as it is one of her all-time favorites and she enjoyed it yet again.

My dad had the Back Draft Chicken Sandwich, which is blackened grilled chicken with peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce and tomato. He said it was “fair,” but not nearly as good as similar chicken sandwiches at places, namely the Dakota Grill in Hilton. He did enjoy his side of French fries more, however, because they were freshly cut.

I sampled a bite of my dad’s sandwich and, being somewhat of a connoisseur of grilled chicken, I thought it was pretty good. I agree with my dad; it isn’t among my top two or three, but it is something I’d eat again.

My sister had macaroni and cheese, which was much fancier - more of an actual pasta - than your basic Kraft dinner. It had penne with a blend of Asiago, cheddar jack and mozzarella cheeses, along with a bread-crumb topping, which she said was good.

Hose 22 is said to have very good pizza. It has five on the menu, and all are what I’d consider ‘specialty’ pizzas; Buffalo Chicken, Barbeque, White Florentine, Margherita and The Downtime Specialty (alfredo-based white pizza with sausage).

I am interested in going back soon to try out a chicken dish of my own – because I saw some promise there – as well as a pizza.

Our reactions to our visit to Hose 22 scaled one extreme to the other in terms of food. We all agreed the service wasn’t terribly fast, but it certainly has a nice atmosphere. There is a lot of potential for this restaurant – which hasn’t even been open a year yet – to be special. Business has been great thus far and the firehouse setting makes it a true novelty.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service wasn’t great, but it was fairly crowded, especially for being a Thursday night. The atmosphere is great; a unique slice of history.

Food: A hit for some of us; a complete miss for others (Jake). All around the food is good, and there are several interesting items on the menu I’d love to try, namely the pizza.

Value: The portion sizes are decent, but the prices are expensive relative to the other restaurants we reviewed.

Overall: A unique, historic novelty with potential to be a popular and respected restaurant.

Grade: B-

Visit online: www.hose22.com

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

DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines

2540 Ridgeway Avenue, Greece
Visited April 3, 2010
Written by Drew



Being a group of college-aged guys, there is almost nothing more exciting than going to a professional athletic event.

The night before Easter Sunday, Chad, Tyler and I attended the Rochester Knighthawks indoor lacrosse game. And as always the question arose, ‘where can we get a meal on our way to the game?’ DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines was the answer.

DiBella’s originated in the city of Rochester, but now has 16 locations scattered throughout the Northeast United States. Seven are in the Rochester area, with three each in the Buffalo and Cleveland areas, two near Pittsburgh and one in Ann Arbor, Mich.

However, the only one definitely considered Rochester’s “west side” is on Ridgeway Avenue in Greece.

Walking into the restaurant itself was an experience. As soon as you open the door, the aroma of the fresh bread and the grilled sandwiches punches you right in the face (in a most pleasing way, of course).

You are then greeted by music from the 1930s and ‘40s and old New York deli décor on the wall. And finally, regardless of how busy it is, the words “Welcome to DiBella’s” aren’t far behind. It truly is like walking into an old-fashioned New York submarine shop.

So now let’s talk about the submarines themselves.

DiBella’s has two different meal deals available, the small and the medium. Each of these deals comes with a drink and a bag of chip. Being a big guy myself, the small meal deal is just the right amount of food. Another bite or two would be overkill.

If you choose, you could substitute your bag of chips for one of Grandma DiBella’s famous cookies. You can choose from two different varieties; chocolate chip with nuts or without nuts. It is suggested that you finish your meal with one of these freshly baked cookies.

I have been a huge fan of DiBella's submarines for as long as I can remember. Nine times out of 10 I will order my “go-to sub” which is fairly simple: seeded roll, turkey, mayo, and American cheese. The explanation for my order is just as simple as the order itself. The seeded bread is the original bread of the sub shop, the mayo and turkey mix well together, and the American cheese because of Uncle Sam.

So on our visit, I ordered my usual, which was great as always, and Chad ordered a Chicken Philly Supreme without cheese. The sandwich included a hefty serving of grilled chicken pieces, peppers, onions and added a sweet Rochester kick with Boss Sauce.

When asked about his sandwich Chad simply responds, “Excellent,” and when asked if he would order it again he said, “I sure would.”

Tyler didn’t order anything because he had just eaten a huge meal, but said he thought Chad’s Chicken Philly (which the restaurant seemed to be hyping at the time) looked delicious and, having a love for chicken like he does, should probably try one soon.

Tyler has eaten at DiBella’s before, however, and said his Hot Turkey and Ham on Multigrain bread he had last summer was one of the best subs he ever ate in his life.
Both the City Newspaper and the Democrat and Chronicle agree with us when it comes to our satisfaction with DiBella’s, which has been voted “Rochester’s Best Sub” for the last eight years and counting. It wouldn’t be surprising to me if it wins that title again.

Aside from its 16 locations, DiBella’s seems to be in a partnership with Wegmans. Many Wegmans stores I have been in have the “Old Fashion Submarine” moniker and have very similar subs to DiBella’s.

I visited Subway about a week after my visit to DiBella’s. I paid roughly the same price for the same amount of food, and I was amazed how much DiBella’s ruins Subway for me. There just isn’t a fair comparison.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Very quick service, always fairly full, more than enough people behind the counter to speed up the process. It seems like you walk back into time when you walk in.

Food: Always the best of quality. I have never had a bad meal here.

Value: Great food with reasonable prices, plus good portion sizes.

Overall: There is a reason it was voted the best subs in Rochester for the last eight years.

Grade: A-

Anchor Bar

355 East Ave, Rochester
Written by Drew

Visited Dec. 26, 2009

For this trip, Tyler, the crew and I piled into the car to get two things done: Go to the Anchor Bar and then proceed to an Amerks game.

Going into this road-trip experience, we all were looking forward in trying out the restaurant whose original location, in Buffalo, is the birthplace of the chicken wing. I knew that I would have to get some wings, while the others had their own agendas.

We traveled into the city, part of our ‘Grey Area,’ though we made our visit before conceiving the idea of a blog.

The parking situation is a bit tricky, however we found a free parking spot on a side street that was within walking distance of the restaurant.

Upon arriving to the storefront, we were temporarily confused on how to enter. There were two doors, both unmarked.

The restaurant was located in a very fitting spot, with the façade of the building having an antique look to it. As soon as we entered, our eyes wandered all over as we took in the second edition of the world famous Anchor Bar.

We were seated promptly; upstairs where we were the only ones for about 15 minutes. With a hand full of large-screen televisions and an animated fireplace, it felt like the five of us had our own VIP lounge to eat in, though we were isolated from most of the action downstairs.

With a quick glance at the menu, I was speechless by seeing a few of the prices. I was thinking that the price of a dozen wing would be the typical seven or eight dollars, but for ten medium Anchor Bar wings, I paid $9.49.

One variety of wings that makes the Anchor Bar stand out is its Suicidal Wings. It costs $10.49 to sweat through some of the hottest wings around, which none of us the guts to do on this night.
But even though the 10 wings I had were pricy, the Anchor Bar set the ‘bar’ high when it came to quality. Each wing was meaty and loaded with flavorful sauce. With the price for 10 wings stuck in the back of my head, I ate every piece of the meat off the bone. It was worth the price, for the most part.

Tyler, on the other hand, ordered his typical grilled chicken sandwich, which came marinated and basted in a choice of wing sauces, which he ordered medium, topped with lettuce.
He said he enjoyed the sandwich, with the Anchor Bar’s legendary sauce giving it just the right kick to make this one of the better chicken sandwiches he’s had recently.

Jake opted for the Nacho Platter ($6.99), topped with grilled chicken for $2 extra. Additional topping choices include pulled pork, chili, meat hot sauce and ground beef. The tri-colored chips are homemade and come “smothered” in melted cheddar, diced tomatoes and jalapenos.
The platter looked very appetizing to us, and Jake agreed after downing them, saying, “they were good and cheesy” and “there were a lot of them.”

Overall, the Anchor Bar trip was a success. Its location isn’t too bad, for being in the city. There were some sketchy things apparent on the surrounding streets, but those were well outside the restaurant. It would have been nice to get the full experience down on the main level of the restaurant, but it appeared to have a nice, somewhat fancy sports-bar atmosphere.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere- No wait to be seated, quick service for being on the second floor, on a busy Saturday night. Able to see a television or two from any seat in the house. We didn’t get the full experience being isolated from most of the crowd, however.

Food- Excellent, simply great.

Value- Some of the prices are pretty steep, but the quality mostly makes up for it.

Overall- Great food, fitting location, not a bad place to stop on your way to or from a Rochester sporting event. Definitely pricy, but good quality. It would be interesting to see how this compares to the original location in Buffalo.

Grade: B-

Note: Read this additional article from City Newspaper.