A Quest for "Plate" Perfection

Call it what you will but, there is nothing like a well prepared combo plate of burgers or dogs, mac salad, potatoes, and beans to satisfy that craving we all get from time to time.  Like many Western New Yorkers, I was introduced to "the plate" via the originator; "Nick Tahou's" in downtown Rochester, NY and I shall forever be grateful to my father and his dad for opening my eyes to this epicurean delight!  I have since re-visited "Nick's" many times but it has changed over the years, mostly since Nick himself has passed and it just hasn't been the same for a while now.  And thus, the quest began....................

Star Diner - Waterloo, NY

(Here sits my most recent find in the quest.)

If you happen to be traveling through the Finger Lakes on Route 5, it's pretty easy to miss "Star Diner" just West of Waterloo.  It's a small place on the North side of the road and is not that far from a much more well known eatery in the area, "Mac's Drive-In".  In fact, I wouldn't have stopped here myself on a recent visit to Geneva if Mac's hadn't been closed (I forgot they aren't open on Mondays, LOVE their root beer!).  Upon perusing the menu, I was intrigued by the; "Gitsis Original Plate".  Until they closed recently, Gitsis was a late night dining institution on Monroe Avenue in Rochester, and their plates rivaled anyone's in the city.  

I ordered one, hoping for the best but was prepared to be disappointed, as I have been so many times elsewhere.  It arrived and I was more than pleasantly surprised.  My cheeseburgers were not only cooked perfectly medium rare as ordered but were hand-pressed, another good sign.  The mac salad is made in-house (packaged is an automatic failure to the quest).  The home fries were nicely browned with some caramelized diced onions.   It was slathered with a very tasty meat sauce, topped off with some diced raw onion, and came with two slices of fresh Italian bread.  

Everything was absolutely dee-lish!  The meat sauce had just the right amount of bite, not overwhelming at all and it was cooked down so as not to be really watery.  The burgers were fresh and quite flavorful, especially  with the melty cheese on top.  Their mac salad is made with mayo (not a fan of salad dressing) but not swimming in it either and the home fires were just about perfect.  All in all, a successful quest gastronomical experience.  I will certainly be making another trip out to Waterloo very soon and for lovers of a good "plate", I suggest you make a point of visiting there as well.  

Sam's Diner - Holley, NY

My Favorite Local Diners

Small, locally owned diners dot the landscape here in Western NY.  They seem to be everywhere.  Many of them are very good, while there are others, not so much.  I've made a point of trying just about all of them in my travels over the years and as a result can say without question there are a select few that truly stand out above the rest.  These are the places I eat at whenever the opportunity arises and would not hesitate to recommend you try them as well.  In no particular order......

Sam's Diner - Holley, NY

One of the things I enjoy most about our Facebook Contests that are "foodie" related is reading the rave reviews from everyone, rooting for their favorite place to eat whatever we happen to be featuring, especially the ones I previously was unaware of.  It was during our recent "tell us about your favorite place to go for a fish fry" contest that I learned of "Sam's Diner" so we went for breakfast one morning and found out for ourselves why everyone was so adamant about the place.  It is located in the middle of the village of Holley at 55 Public Square, which is just off route 31.  They are open seven days a week, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner from an incredibly large and varied menu.  

There is nothing quite like a great diner breakfast and I was not disappointed.  As soon as our very pleasant waitress brought my teeming plate it didn't take long for me to know I had found a new favorite to add to my short diner list.  Eggs over easy as ordered, check.  Quality breakfast sausages, check ("Brown & Serve" are a huge no-no).  Correctly prepared hash browns or home fries (my wife ordered them), check.  Krista's bacon was also very good, crispy and delicious!  On a return visit several weeks later I tried one of their ham and cheese omelettes with a side order of home fries, another success.  I'm hoping for the trifecta of yummy breakfast foods the next time we go and will be ordering their corned beef hash.        

                                          

My Favorite Local Diners

Small, locally owned diners dot the landscape here in Western NY.  They seem to be everywhere.  Many of them are very good, while there are others, not so much.  I've made a point of trying just about all of them in my travels over the years and as a result can say without question there are a select few that truly stand out above the rest.  These are the places I eat at whenever the opportunity arises and would not hesitate to recommend you try them as well.  In no particular order.......

The Cozy Kitchen - Caledonia, NY

Located on W. Main St. adjacent to the Fire Hall, the Cozy Kitchen has been one of my "go - to" places for breakfast for a very long time.  In fact, they set the standard by which I measure all other diners' breakfast fare.  The place is pure Americana inside, the menu choices are incredibly varied, the staff is friendly, and most importantly, the food is pure bliss!  They accept credit cards as well as cash and their prices are quite reasonable.  They are generally only open for breakfast and lunch.  

They offer all three breakfast meats but, I'm a breakfast sausage kind of guy.  "Brown and Serve" is not for me and that's one of the reasons I like it here so much.  They use a locally made breakfast sausage patty (OK Meat Market - Churchville, NY) that is really delicious. So delicious in fact, I always are an extra patty to enjoy since I never know how long it will be before I'll be visiting again.  

Another benchmark are their home fries which are prepared correctly and cooked to perfection.  I'm constantly amazed at how many diners fail when it comes to serving good breakfast potatoes.  It's not that hard folks!  They start with left-over baked potatoes that are peeled and cooked to a golden brown on the grill-top and seasoned lightly.  Nestled between the sausage and home fries are some eggs cooked to order and, the other big reason I love coming here - HOMEMADE WHITE BREAD toast!!  I have nothing against regular white toast, and am fond of rye or raisin toast whenever they're offered but, take my word for it.  If you eat breakfast here, you want to order the homemade white bread toast.

Welcome!

Hi there!

Kevin K. here, owner of "ACO".  One of the benefits of doing what I do is that it allows me the opportunity to travel around quite a bit in Western & Central NY.  Whenever possible, I make a point of visiting the various attractions during my travels as well as trying out the various eateries throughout the area.  

It is my hope that by sharing some of the first-hand experiences I've had it will help you as you plan for a visit to paddle with us.  Feel free to add your own comments or ask me a question.  

Have a Blessed Day,

Kevin - ACO