12 essential experiences for Rochester students before turning the tassel
A Rochester-style “plate”—most famously, the Garbage Plate—is arguably the area’s signature dish. Take two cheeseburgers or hot dogs, add home fries, macaroni salad, some baked beans, and a chili-like meat sauce, and serve with white bread. No late night on the town is complete without one.
The original Garbage Plate was created at Nick Tahou Hots downtown. Through the years, competitors have put their own spins and nicknames on the classic dish: trash plate, rubbish plate, junkyard plate, Rochester plate, and more.
In 2020, comedian Jim Gaffigan tried the famous Garbage Plate and discussed the experience a week later on a late-night TV appearance with Conan O’Brien. “There’s obviously no health department in Rochester,” he joked, “but it was delicious.”
Vegetarians needn’t miss out on this uniquely Rochester dish. The Red Fern, a vegan and gluten-free eatery in the trendy Park Avenue neighborhood (on the University shuttle system’s route), offers its own version dubbed “the Compost Plate.”
