Rochester's most defining dish: two starches (home fries and macaroni salad), two proteins (white hots are canonical), meat sauce, mustard, and raw onions. Nick Tahou Hots trademarked the name in 1991.
Nick Tahou opened his hots stand at 320 W. Main St in 1918. The plate that would become the Garbage Plate took shape over decades as workers requested everything combined on one dish. Tahou trademarked the name Garbage Plate in 1991 (USPTO registration 1708448). The version served today remains the standard: two starches, two proteins, house meat sauce, yellow mustard, and chopped white onion.
2 editor picks for Garbage Plate in Rochester, ranked by editorial score. All Rochester signature dishes · Garbage Plate across every city.
Nick Tahou Hots ★ 4.4
downtown · 320 W Main St, Rochester, NY 14608
Nick Tahou Hots on W. Main St in Rochester has served the original Garbage Plate since 1918, the dish that defines the city's food identity.
Dogtown ★ 4.0
monroe-avenue · 691 Monroe Ave, Rochester, NY 14607
Dogtown on Monroe Ave in Rochester serves 18 varieties of gourmet hot dog with German-style franks in locally-baked rolls, each named after a dog breed.