Ahh, The Garbage Plate . . . if you’re new to Rochester, I can imagine your reaction upon hearing the name of this Rochester delicacy for the first time. It doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? For many Rochesterians who move away though (taken from experience), it becomes the taste of “home” that we long for.
If you’re not sure about it, I bet if you keep an open mind, there will be a version of this dish somewhere around the Rochester area that you’ll find you LOVE. Come along with me to explore the history of Rochester’s Garbage Plate, find out what in the world this dish is, and where to find one you’ll crave!
The History of Rochester’s Signature Dish: The Garbage Plate
In 1918, a Greek immigrant named Alexander Tahou opened a restaurant called Hots and Potatoes. One of the dishes he offered consisted of hot dogs, potatoes, and cold beans, with a side of Italian bread. One fateful evening, as the tale goes, college students came into the establishment and ordered “one of those plates with all the garbage on it.” Thus, “The Garbage Plate” was born and eventually became an official menu item (though not without initial pushback from the Tahou family because of the sounds of the name).
Tahou’s son, Nick, immigrated in the 1930s and started working with his dad. Hots and Potatoes eventually became renamed to Nick Tahou Hots. In 1991, “The Garbage Plate” became a trademarked term by the restaurant. While the future of the original Tahou’s building and establishment is a bit unknown currently, it will forever go down in history as the “Home of the Garbage Plate.”
So What Is a Garbage Plate?
The Garbage Plate has evolved, but the original plate is told to have been two cheeseburgers, home fries, and macaroni salad, topped with onions, mustard, and hot meat sauce. These days, restaurants all over Rochester (and beyond) offer countless versions that patrons can customize to their liking.
Now this is a BIG PLATE. So if you’ve never had one, know that it is (often) a gloriously greasy piling of foods. Make sure you dive into it HUNGRY . . .
First, choose your base of side dishes. This is typically any combination of home fries, French fries, brown beans, macaroni salad, or other offerings at the restaurant you’re at. Then choose the type of meat for the next layer. Often this is hot dogs or burgers, but many places now offer choices such as steak, pork, and chicken tenders. Lastly, all of this can be topped with the Rochester-style meat hot sauce, onions, mustard, ketchup, or other condiments. A slice or two of buttered bread on the side completes the plate.
Where to Get a Garbage Plate
Since The Garbage Plate is a trademarked term, restaurants that serve a similar dish call it all different things. You may come across this dish as simply a Plate, a Great Plate, a Junker Plate, a Trash Plate, or a Famous Plate to name a few.
Many Garbage Plate lovers express that you can’t go wrong with any place serving up this dish, as long as the meat hot sauce is good! Finding your favorite restaurant for a Plate will depend on your personal tastes and customization preferences. So if you find you don’t like something about it at one place, try it somewhere else!
Other than Nick Tahou’s downtown, here are some crowd-sourced favorite establishments around Rochester (including notes as to why they’re a favorite) where you can satisfy a craving for this type of meal.
- Steve T Hots & Potatoes (Gates): a second location by the Tahou family!
- Bill Gray’s (many locations): a chain restaurant, the hot sauce here is more spicy and less meaty
- Blu Wolf Bistro (Rochester): for a classy, unique take
- Burger Xpress (North Chili): for flavorful meat sauce, great home fries, and everything tasting fresh
- Dogtown (Rochester): for the veggie version
- Empire Hots (Webster): comes highly recommended
- Fairport Hots (Fairport): for a “Junior Varsity” half-sized plate option
- Heintzelman’s (Ontario): for smoked burger and beans, and option of two meats
- Henrietta Hots (Henrietta): for next-level customization
- Highland Park Diner (Rochester): for the Diner Plate Benedict
- Hungry’s Grill (Pittsford): for a plate in wrap style
- José Joe’s (Greece, Hilton, Charlotte): for a different take as a Garbage Bowl
- Malarkey’s (Hilton): for quality burgers, and a clean (less sloppy) plate
- Spencerport Hots (Spencerport): for sweet potato tater tots, great customer service, and the ability to order online
- Tom Wahl’s (many locations): a fast-food chain in our area, cheese curds are a base option here
- Wimpy’s Burger Basket (Gates): for the best mac salad (not sopping wet, and not too dry), and tater tots instead of home fries
Making a Garbage Plate at Home
As someone who lived down south for a decade after having grown up in the Rochester area, eventually, I found myself missing the garbage plate! Luckily, I found some great recipe options online for the Rochester-style meat hot sauce, and the macaroni salad (which needs to be a bit on the dryer side, made a day ahead of time). Once those two parts are made, it’s easy to whip up the rest of the pieces you want on your plate right at home!
For out-of-towners to experience our Rochester delicacy, or have a fun, classic dish for casual entertaining — check out these recipes for the essence of the Garbage Plate at home:
- The Life Jolie: Garbage Plate recipe
- The Life Jolie: Meat Hot Sauce recipe
- Savory Experiments: Rochester Garbage Plates recipes
- All Recipes: Garbage Plate Sauce recipe
