433537 Tue Aug 21 11:38:00 -0700 2007 25 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2866432 And what did you think? I ate one once. I thought it was good, but kind of scared to make a regular habit out of it. (For the unfamiliar, a garbage plate is one half french fries, one half macaroni salad, topped with two cheeseburgers, two hamburgers or two hot dogs, with fried onions, boss sauce, and usually served with a piece of bread. Best topped with ketchup and Frank's hot sauce. At least that is what I remember.) Tue Aug 21 11:38:00 -0700 2007 94635 adventuresinbaking 1 2866730 I have ordered a garbage plate, but didn't finish it (so I sadly did not get a free tee shirt). It was definitely an interesting and artery clogging experience. The garbage plate I had, which was called a Rochester garbage plate even though I was in Richmond, Virginia, included two hot dogs, chili and cheese, baked beans, home fries, cole slaw and potato salad. I ate it for breakfast. Tue Aug 21 12:40:13 -0700 2007 2866432 75002 Megiac 1 2866759 Just once. That's all I need. I was in Rochester a few years ago and had a fun night of drinking with my colleague who lives there. We made a late night visit to Nick Tahoe's (sp?) and soaked up the alcohol with all that food. Mine had cheeseburgers on it. The whole experience was a lot of fun - but again, once is enough. Tue Aug 21 12:44:19 -0700 2007 2866432 51406 pellegrino31 2 2866791 Tahoes is the place to go, and once was enough for me as well. However, I did meet some people who ate there as often as once a week. yikes. Tue Aug 21 12:51:36 -0700 2007 2866759 94635 adventuresinbaking 1 2866793 I'm an urban, Banana Republic, gym-bound New Yorker. So when I was stationed in Rochester for work, the obese, garrulous, sweatpanted native I worked with challenged me to a garbage plate eating contest, knowing that he could prove his superiority to we sissies downstate. I had come across them in my research before going to Rochester and actually was kind of obsessed with what was essentially every gross food you can imagine on a styrofoam plate topped with a thick gravy made from more meat. It contained more fat and carbohydrates than I eat in 2 days. I had to have one. The native outweighed me by 50 lbs., he might have been a sasquatch, I'm still not sure, but I would not back down from this challenge. No other New Yorker or urbanite was willing to try a plate. We drove to Nick Taos and I got myself a cheeseburger garbage plate. When I opened the styrofoam treasure chest, my car was filled with the smell of Rochester dorm rooms. We took pictures before the destruction. I took a bite which I found mild at first. Then I remembered that to properly eat a garbage plate, you must swirl everything together to make a "goulash" of it, as they say. So I did as told and found that the improved taste allowed me to finish my garbage plate in 30 minutes flat. The flavor is vastly augmented by the addition of a cold beer on the side. It's an interesting dish, one that I would happily eat again if I was drunk, but not something I would want more than once every few months. I am told I would feel much warmer to it if I had covered it with mustard, ketchup, Frank's and worcestershire sauce before swirling, but I will have to test that theory next year after I finish working off this last experiment. Tue Aug 21 12:51:46 -0700 2007 2866432 68363 JungMann 1 2867034 OMG!!!!! I HEART gargabe plates!!!! I went to the U of R and went to Nick Tahou's all the time at the end of drunken nights at the frat quad or the bars in town! Back then I was a 120lb thing and I could eat a plate quicker than many guys. At first I could only eat them when drunk, but by my senior year I could have one as a snack at any time of the day or night! Ahhh how I miss them! Tue Aug 21 13:43:32 -0700 2007 2866432 67742 HungryRubia 2 2867335 I saw the thread title and said, "Got to be a Rochester/U of R thread!! In my era on campus -- the 60s -- undergrads seemed to be split between the Nick's devotees and Smitty devotees. In fact, as a Smitty's devotee, I have no memories of eating a garbage plate, although I know others who did. I just loved Smitty's combination of barbecued chicken, incendiary hot sauce sopped up by Wonderbread, and macaroni salad. With the demise of Smitty's, Nick has become the de rigeur place to go for late night re-fueling. The garbage plate is so much a part of undergraduate experience, that I don't think I'm imagining when I say I've seen trips to Nick's as part of official Meliora Weekend celebrations, the University of Rochester's combination Renaissance/Homecoming/Reunion weekend. For those of you who attended the U of R and only know pleasures of Nick's garbage plate, here's a recipe which claims to re-create the glory that was Smitty's: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~mckay/food/ Tue Aug 21 15:03:32 -0700 2007 2867034 61567 Indy 67 2 2868086 I'm with you, HungryRubia! It's amazing how we all feasted back in the day. I remember back at SUNY Geneseo (We went to U of R parties all the time though, so we were like family to you guys!) we would party at the frat houses and then 6 of us would jump into my friend's beatup 87 Cavalier and head to the Nick Tahous on Lyell Ave. Always got a cheeseburger plate and loved every bite! It's amazing how much abuse our stomachs could take back then! Tue Aug 21 19:14:47 -0700 2007 2867034 59004 Sra. Swanky 1 2868060 Brings back memories for this Rochester native. The garbage plate is fine, but "boss sauce" belongs on Country Sweet chicken wings: nothing beats that sweet, sticky, chokingly vinegary sauce on the deep fried wings, dipped in blue cheese dressing, sitting atop a slice of white bread to soak up the chicken grease, sauce dribbles, and blue cheese drops. Tue Aug 21 19:06:45 -0700 2007 2866432 10032 david kaplan 2 2868107 Yum, david! How I miss those! I'm gonna go to sleep with visions of Country Sweet wings prancing around in my head!! Tue Aug 21 19:22:03 -0700 2007 2868060 59004 Sra. Swanky 1 2868228 I remember them very fondly as a U of R alumn. Always the cheeseburger plate, and always with hot sauce. In fact, our fraternity cook made them for us a few times at our request. Tue Aug 21 20:18:27 -0700 2007 2866432 101545 lost squirrel 2 2869497 When were you at U of R? During my time there (Class of 98) SAM had the best chef....Larry was his name...I think. Made awesome cheese steaks! Wed Aug 22 09:20:19 -0700 2007 2868228 67742 HungryRubia 3 2890892 Larry was still there at the time I graduated but I was a Psi U. Our cook actually played drums in a rock band and traveled Europe a few weeks every year. Odd Tue Aug 28 17:15:45 -0700 2007 2869497 101545 lost squirrel 4 2891020 Ha thats funny. When I was there, Psi U had a priest that used to randomly hang around at parties and on D-Day. Very random. Tue Aug 28 18:06:25 -0700 2007 2890892 67742 HungryRubia 5 3023993 He's still there, or at least he was when I was. He actually got initiated into the brotherhood at the same time as I did. Nice guy, he sure takes a lot of ribbing from the less religious guys (all of them!) Wed Oct 10 22:54:49 -0700 2007 2891020 101545 lost squirrel 1 2868234 I'm loving hearing you folks reminisce, but I have to admit I don't know if I could hold this stuff down at 2am after a night of drinking. Not to mention if I was drinking this ... http://www.geneseecreamale.com/ Looks great though (image) : http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~burrows3/garbage%20plate.jpg Anyone here remember the Hershey squirts that came with drinking too much Genesee? Ewe! Tue Aug 21 20:21:56 -0700 2007 2866432 10609 Cheese Boy 2 2868260 LOL! Cheese Boy - how could I forget the "gift" we all get from too much Genesee?! :o) I remember we stocked our off-campus apartment's fridge with about 50 cans of it - it was the only beer we could afford in mass quantities! (Labatt's would've hit the spot, but of course, we were all short on $$$!) Tue Aug 21 20:30:18 -0700 2007 2868234 59004 Sra. Swanky 3 2868698 It's been so many years that I don't remember whether the actual advertising tag line for Genesee beer was "Brewed from the waters of the Genesee" or whether that's what we made up to explain the vile taste. Wed Aug 22 03:50:39 -0700 2007 2868260 61567 Indy 67 4 2869784 I think that was the tagline!! And it sure explained that vile taste! I used to go whitewater rafting in that river! Beer made from the same source can't be the best thing for you! It could've been worse though. The tagline could've been, "Brewed from the waters of the Erie Canal!" Yuch! :P Wed Aug 22 10:20:11 -0700 2007 2868698 59004 Sra. Swanky 2 2869253 Hershey squirts? Is that the topping in the photo? Ewwww ;) Wed Aug 22 08:19:05 -0700 2007 2868234 18288 janethepain 3 2879223 No, I don't think you'd actually top food you were planning to eat with hershey squirts, at least not with what the adolescent boys I know call hershey squirts. Fri Aug 24 16:39:14 -0700 2007 2869253 32586 revsharkie 2 2869492 Ohhhh CheeseBoy! How you tease me with your culinary pinup!!!! I almost started licking the screen! I was partial to the Nick's on Main...Lyell Ave was for sissies! I got to eat my first plate for free because I made Jimmy blush by telling me three VERY dirty things in Greek. Wed Aug 22 09:18:50 -0700 2007 2868234 67742 HungryRubia 3 2871888 Some more pinups (with prose) ... RF: http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=218 NTH: http://www.garbageplate.com/ Also: http://patjenk.com/rochester/tahous/ Wed Aug 22 19:42:17 -0700 2007 2869492 10609 Cheese Boy 3 2875357 And to think I passed up the U of R for Johns Hopkins. Look what I missed out on! Thu Aug 23 15:45:08 -0700 2007 2869492 12829 Bob W 4 2878331 I went to Hopkins too! The funny thing is, I'm a huge fan of big, messy platters of trashy food. But I don't know if I can handle a garbage plate. Fri Aug 24 12:21:22 -0700 2007 2875357 18288 janethepain 1 2869802 next time you are in Hawaii stop by Rainbow Drive-in and order a loco moco or hamburger-steak plate lunch (gravy all over) - a couple of blocks from waikiki beach. You can sub fries for the rice, get an extra scoop of mac salad. If you are really bold get a mix-plate. Wed Aug 22 10:25:24 -0700 2007 2866432 57890 KaimukiMan