Nick Tahou Hots

I love this place. I have been to many places for a garbage plate and Nick Tahous is always the best. One thing that ticked me off was the plates do not say Nick Tahous around the edges any more. WTH?

Change my NPO status from 8 hours to 24 hours, going to take me a while to digest this garbage plate.

Being a college student from New Jersey, the term «garbage plate» was completely foreign to me. When I found out what exactly it was, I was disgusted yet intrigued. I decided if I was going to do it, I had to do it right. I wouldn’t say Nick Tahou’s is a great place to grab food with good company, but definitely the place to go for a garbage plate and an adventure. It has its own feel to it. My brother and I got the Cheeseburger plate and it tasted good. As for ambiance. the place seems very run down and gives off a very melancholy feel. Staff wasn’t the friendliest either. Would go again but only for the experience/​adventure.

Went here for lunch on the recommendation of a local and I am glad I did. Food was good and very filling. I was stuffed and only spent about 10 bucks on the Hots and Tots plate with a soda. It gets really crowded during lunch hour, so be prepared for a decently long line. The cooks move the line through fairly quickly though.

Just visited family in New York and when I inquired about this legendary garbage plate our east, this is the only place they would take me. Now, I know why. The garbage place was all the trash I dreamed of eating on one place. Service was great too.
All around legit experience.

It’s not that Tahou’s is good… it’s that you just have to go in order to say that you’ve been.
I’m from Rochester but came back for Thanksgiving this week. Had a Hots and Potatoes and Cheeseburger Garbage Plate plus the fish sandwich. All of it was perfectly fine, but none of it is terribly great. But it looks nasty on your plate, which is all that matters. The place looks like a death trap before you walk in but it’s fine inside, right down to Tahou’s offering booster seats for kids like my two-​year-​old. Parking out back. And these prices are fantastic, assuming you’ve got cash on hand.
Do it people! Check the box!

It was like I stepped back in time. The place looked exactly the same and the cheeseburger garbage plate with home fries and Mac salad were prepared to perfection. Loved every minute of my meal… Wolfed it down in about 10 mins, while on a conference call, before jumping on a plane home. I remember when it used to cost $ 4.80 with a Coke… Up to $ 10.25 and worth every penny!

While its not the ideal meal for me, because its very unhealthy. It is a Rochester staple and something you have to do if you are in the area. While the restaurant is this old broke down building. Your first reaction to this place is where the heck am I? Walking in it seems like this old depressed run down place. That’s because it is. But that’s what makes this place special in its own way. I got the hamburger plate. It had home fries (potatoes), mac salad, onion, 2 hamburger patties, and chilli. I’m probably missing something. The home fries were great, crispy, and well done. The mac salad was pretty standard, and the patties were cooked well. Over all very tasty and a great bang for your buck. The only reason I didn’t give it 4 starts is because the feel of the restaurant. It didn’t seem hygienic.

If you’re looking for authentic «dive food» in a landmark local dive place, this would be the place to go. They’re know for a thing called the «garbage plate.» I could taste instantly why it has become a Rochester institution.
Service was not only good but rather jovial. We were made to feel at home as soon as walked in to get our carry out order. There’s seating and I really wish I could of stayed to enjoy the true dive atmosphere, but alas that wasn’t to be.
The food was ok. For all that my garbage plate had on it I expected a little more flavor. HOWEVER! I don’t know if the mustard was made in house or purchased, but it was AMAZING! For this alone I would go back again and AGAIN!
The ladies decided to avoid the garbage plate. My wife hade a cheeseburger. Dry and tasteless. They have a limited number of toppings. But like I told her, they’re not known for their burgers.
If you go, get the garbage plate. And if necessary fall on your knees and beg for EXTRA MUSTARD! Feel free to thank me later.

Cheap and greasy goodness, what more can you ask for? There are a lot or imitators, but this is the original home of The Garbage Plate. The garbage plate is a regional food, appreciated by everyone that has taste buds and doesn’t mind their food touching. What is it? Traditionally a layer of home fries, a layer a macaroni salad, then your protein (I prefer hot dogs), a layer of meat sauce and finally onion. I suggest a healthy douse of ketchup on top. So now what? Cut up your protein, and mix it all together… enjoy! Now you have gotten to the stage where your belly is fuller than it should be and there is a little bit left on your plate, it’s time for the bread. Use the bread to sop up any remaining juices and stray pieces of heaven; make room by undoing your button and relax. For under $ 10 bucks for your meal and drink you can’t go wrong. Does Nicks have the best plate? No, but it is a contender. Unlike the Anchor Bar, Nicks is famous for something and does it right. Eat your heart out Unilocalers!

Did you know that Adidas is now branching out and making feminine products for «that time of the month.» I hope they will be better than those awful «Nike Tampons» that were released last year. Speaking of better than Nike Tampons… welcome to Nick Tahou’s.
What to get: Garbage Plate if you’re hungry, White Hot if you’re not.
What else: I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name. But that’s another story.
The original and second best. Nick’s invented the Garbage Plate, which is Rochester’s reluctant gift to the world. Additionally, Rawrchester (I had to do it) invented the White Hot, or at least popularized it, usually the Zweigle’s version, which are used here.
There’s a really cute place next to that big lake on the Nevada-​California border near Truckee, Reno and Carson City. It’s so cute that they named it after how cute it is, and after the lake of course. It’s called «Nice Tahoe’s.» This is not that place.
The food is probably the worst thing in the world that you could eat in health terms, but if you’re into late night drunk college food, it’s absolutely delicious. A Garbage Plate basically combines hamburger patties and/​or hot dogs with any combination of mac salad, hash browns, beans, coleslaw, you name it. And it covers the whole thing with delicious spiced wet meat sauce — the more, the better. It’s greasy and it’s enough to stop your heart. Some people love it, a lot of people hate it. Few are indifferent to it. I personally love them, though I never eat them.
If you do a lot of sunning on the beach (not naked, unfortunately), then you’re more into Nice Tanlines than Nick Tahou’s. Understandable.
By the way, they have good White Hots too. A White Hot is basically a Zweigle’s «Brat» type sausage, cut in half, on a bun, with onions, and completely smothered, covered, dripping in meat sauce. They’re really very good, and about one-​eighth the size of a Garbage Plate, so perfectly sized for a snack.
If you prefer watching hot people get surgery on TV, then you might like Nip/​Tuck mor than Nick/Tahou’s. Hey, it’s your life.
The key is in the meat sauce, and the flavour of Nick’s original meat sauce is delicious. They may have the best meat sauce in town, but there’s one place that does a better, wetter, cheaper, and open-​more-​laterer garbage plate and that is Wimpy out in the West of the 585.
If you like oil trucks that have a very specific and quirky design, then you probably prefer Niche Tankers to Nick Tahou’s.
However you simply have to visit Nick’s. It’s in a low income area just West of downtown, and the owner is the guy that started it all. Steve T’s, which is a popular version of Nick’s also out west, near Wimpy and open 24 hours (or used to be?), actually are family of Nick’s, arising from the same place. There was a big legal battle between the two over naming and such, which is a shame really because they’re both good… but this original place is better. Sadly, Nick’s had a new location in Henrietta that now closed down. But this one is still here, and who knows for how much longer… so come and give it a try.
If you see underdressed cute girls at a Trent Reznor concert, that’s what I call «NIN Tarts.» If you prefer NIN Tarts to Nick Tahou’s, well I guess I don’t blame you.
Please keep this place open, Rochester. And anyone coming to the area, if you’re going to try a Garbage Plate, please try this one (the original) because it needs the business and it tastes great! And also try Wimpy which I think is the only one better.
And if you know a girl that likes to be with 2 guys at the same time, then please get in touch with me. Because I’m all about Nymph Tag-​teams, even more than I am all about Nick Tahou’s.

I hadn’t been here in about five years, and since I’ll be moving to Seattle in a few months, I just HAD TO stop in. The food is actually pretty disgusting (mac salad, hot dogs, potatoes, meat sauce) if you think about it, but somehow the odd combination works.
I don’t think much more has to be said about this place. If you go there, you probably know what to expect – you’re eating a plate of «garbage,» albeit, a very tasty plate of garbage. So, don’t expect anything gourmet, don’t expect to feel well afterwards, but do expect to enjoy yourself as you eat the disgusting combination.

LOVE THIS PLACE!
The food is so plain and simple, no nasty burbs, so clean, so yummy!

Food is OK. Go for the experinece and customer service! Know what you want before order or risk getting a look (if you’re lucky) or a scolding (if they’re having a bad day). Just imagine that you’re ordering from the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld.

Love the gentlemen working during mid days — so nice and personable. I got a grilled cheese plate and White Hot Plate take-​out today. Called ahead and ready when I got there. Grilled cheese plates are topped with 2 basic sandwiches. I had asked for the meat sauce on the side which they did but they gave me such a small amount! Literally a tiny plastic cup sized. I guess I wont do that again. I asked for French fries and got homefries but thats no big deal. I wish the homefries were crispier though. The french bread was fresh and tasty. You can get a huge platstic jug of soda for 2.75 with tax and cheap refills — although realized my cup had a hole in it and was leaking when I got home. All in all I love the taste of garbage plates — how could you not! But sadly I have had better plates elsewhere.

I moved out of Rochester many years ago and I must say, one if the few things I miss includes Nick Tahou’s! When I try to explain the food and the atmosphere to outsiders, I just get blank stares and «Gross!» If these people just once waited in a drunken and hung over crowd at 2 or 3 in the morning, they’d understand!
Nothing will ever match the smell of hamburger patties, hash browns and mac salad smothered in hot sauce.
This should rate as one of the best dives in the country. Sad they won’t ever franchise in Denver or even Boulder, CO! A definite must for any college town!

Garbage takes on a whole new meaning.
There are a few foods that Rochester is known for. The garbage plate is close to the top of most people’s lists. When the boyfriend came to visit, we had make a stop at the birthplace of this dish.
They recommended the cheeseburger as the one to try for a first time, and we got it piled on top of home fries and macaroni salad, and smothered it with hot sauce (meat sauce) and the works.
Despite how gross the plate looks, it’s just so magically tasty. There’s no surprise as to what’s in it, but the combination of those flavors just hits some secret spot. Maybe the picnic foods remind us of summer. Maybe there’s more than meets the eye. Either way, we devoured the plate in minutes (don’t think I could handle one on my own).
Don’t be fooled by the very plain diner feel. The interior doesn’t look like it’s been updated in decades, but the plates are just as good as ever.

Okay I’m not a big fan of this food. 2 stars for the overall taste but I’d give it 4 stars for the experience overall. It was oddly a disgustingly good dish. How do I explain this? It looks super unappetizing. But it’s the thing to do in Rochester! So why not try it?
I mean nothing… absolutely nothing about the dish on a whole goes together well — potatoes, cold and bland macaroni salad, beef, and cheese? My friend and I had to smother it in ketchup to get it to taste slightly good because it was very underseasoned. The beef looked about a hundred years old.
But … oddly it was disgustingly tasty? How is this possible? My tastebuds are tantalized by the confusion…
Bottom line: I wouldn’t get it again but I’m glad I tried the local food.

Brought a friend from out of town here for a taste of Rochester. Convenient that this location is super close to the Susan B Anthony house, and that ir opens at 8am. (Yes, we did garbage plates for brunch.)
We got the cheeseburger garbage plate. Not a particularly attractive or appetizing-​looking dish, but it’s really hard to go wrong with taste when it’s meat, fries, and macaroni salad all mixed together. The plate was very lightly salted, if at all, so we asked for additional onions, and smothered our plate in ketchup. Very satisfying. (Dude, I’m already eating garbage plate at 10am– no judgment.)
As you can imagine, not the most fancy of places. Kind of cafeteria style tables going on. You order at the counter, no table service as expected.

There’s no place like home! And when my brothers and I are home, one of the first things we do is get a garbage plate. This particular garbage plate was devoured on New Years eve of 2013.
For those who have not experienced this culinary delight– The Garbage Plate is a Rochester, NY institution. It is a bed of potatoes and Macaroni salad piled high, a hamburger or hot dog on top of that, and a greasy ground beef sauce and on top of that. Add to the mix your own dousing of Frank’s Red Hot sauce, and now its time to roll up your sleeves and mow down. Nick Tahous is the original and the best. There’s no better way to give up 1664 calories in one meal. That’s right ladies– 1664 CALORIES!!! You better enjoy it because after putting down a garbage plate, you will be doing the walk of shame to the tread mill for a week to recover from it.