Happy Anniversary, RWG

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tully's Good Times

1225 Jefferson Road, Henrietta
Visited June 30, 2010
Written by Tyler and Drew

(Image courtesy of rochester.metromix.com)

Of all the many places to grab a bite in Henrietta, our resounding favorite is Tully’s. Two weeks ago, we and our friends celebrated Tyler’s 20th birthday. He chose Tully’s Good Times, and we had just that.

Drew: Two full cars, with 10 people total, headed towards Tully’s; one driven by the newly licensed Joe and the other by myself. Once we got there we all piled out into the ‘gray area’.


Tyler: I introduced the group to Tully’s a few years ago, after often eating there with my family. The first few times my dad took me there, it stood out as the most kid-friendly sports bar I had been to. I also quickly came to realize it truly does have the world’s “Best Tenders on Earth” it claims. My dad, even though he’s more of a burger or steak guy, gets the tenders every time we go to Tully’s. All our friends we have taken to Tully’s over the years have really enjoyed it as well.

Drew: Going into this meal, I knew exactly what I wanted to order: the Tully’s Tender Dinner. It consists of a half pound of the famous chicken tenders, a cup of honey mustard dipping sauce, a side of coleslaw and a slice of toasted garlic bread. This amount of food is just enough, almost too much. If you can’t finish all of it, reheated Tully’s chicken is just as good.

Tyler: The thing that makes the tenders is the batter. It’s crispy and golden on the outside, while spongy and yellowish on the inside. My dad said the interior reminded him of a sugar waffle. Tully’s homemade honey mustard has just the right mix of sweetness along with traditional mustard taste, making it the perfect condiment for the tenders. I also got a bowl of Baked Potato Soup, which was better than a similar soup I ordered at the more upscale Hose 22 the following night. There were several large potato chunks and crispy bacon bits, adding great texture to the creamy soup.

Most of the group ordered tenders, but there were a few other interesting dishes consumed by our party.

Joe said his Firehouse Burger, topped with pepper jack cheese, spicy mayo, salsa and jalapenos was good, and stood out because it was unique and not just a generic burger because of its toppings. Chad said his Basic Burger was generic, but then again his didn’t have any toppings.

Kameron said his loaded fries were “amazing.” He, Colin and Ryan each ordered various burgers and enjoyed them. Kameron said the chicken tenders were some of the best he has ever had in the area.

Greg wasn’t blown away by the chicken tenders, though that may be because he ordered his Buffalo style. He didn’t really get a chance to enjoy the classic tenders with honey mustard. Poor guy.

Tully’s is a small chain with nine locations, all in New York state. There is another Tully’s nearby in Batavia, plus two (soon to be three) in the Buffalo area, four in the Syracuse area and one in suburban Binghamton.

The general consensus was Tully’s had good food and perhaps an even better atmosphere. Tully’s is more interactive and family friendly than larger national chains like Chili’s, Applebee’s or T.G.I. Friday’s, and more of an aesthetic charm to it.

There is a ton of random/awesome/interesting memorabilia all over the wall and even on the tables. Also, there are TVs all over the place and plenty of arcade games to keep kids of all ages busy during the wait, which isn’t long.

Tully’s serves typical bar foods/appetizers plus soups, salads, a number of burgers and sandwiches, pasta and a few delicious-sounding desserts. Joe was very pleased by his Baked Ziti he got at Tully’s during Lent last year, and I have taken down “The Tully,” a delicious hot ham, turkey and cheese sandwich multiple times in the past.

“It was bombastically fun with finger-lickin’ good food… you can quote that,” Joe said. “(It) has a great atmosphere that’s great for all occasions. You could stop by for a (drink) and watch the game or your whole family for a fun evening.”



The service is fast and friendly, and the prices are pretty similar to the aforementioned large chains. Oh, and you get free popcorn while waiting.

Tully’s is easily our favorite sports bar in the area, and we look forward to going back for some good times and food (especially the tenders).



Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Fast and friendly service. Great family-friendly sports bar atmosphere that keeps you adequately entertained while feeling right on top of all the sports action. Perfect stop on the way to or from sporting events.

Food: As good as the big chains, with a few items (namely the chicken tenders) that set it apart from similar restaurants. If we haven’t stressed it enough, TRY THE TENDERS.

Value: Decent for a sports bar. All of the items are in a similar price range, with nothing too expensive. If it appears expensive, it’s because of the large portion sizes.

Overall: Our favorite sports bar in the area, and we love our sports bars.

Grade: A-

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