At the recent Wilco concert at Highland Bowl, Jeff Tweedy made a reference to how cool Rochester is because of the Garbage plate. His comment went something like “Hey Rochester, any town that is famous for the Garbage Plate must be a pretty cool place. I had one today!” Yeas, a few cheers and mixed applause went up. We all felt loved.
Rochester is a pretty cool place, but not because of a rude pile of carbohydrates and nitrates.
Some of us cringed at the reference, however. Rochester is a pretty cool place, but not because of a rude pile of carbohydrates and nitrates. Rochester is cool because we have so much music, great universities and colleges, fantastic weather (it’s true!), the Public Market, George Eastman (and his music school and old house), the once great Kodak that made photography accessible to billions of people (yes, with a “B”), Lake Ontario, great parks, the Genesee River, terrific restaurants and clubs, a vibrant City Center and beautiful suburbs. Obviously, that just scratches the surface.
Rochester is still the “Flower City” even though it rightly, and more accurately, should be the Image City. Why then do we have the repulsive Garbage Plate as our culinary icon? I know I risk coming off as an elitist when I say the garbage plate is gross. For the record, I spent more than a couple of bleary eyed, hiccupy late nights stuffing down the debris piled on a Garbage Plate to help stem my beer induced vertigo. I’m no virgin to the GP. I know its greasy powers of seduction.
It would be hard to find an example of a serving of food that is worse, in all respects, for the body of the consumer.
But, let’s be honest. The Garbage Plate is an awful, calorific, carb and fat laden pile of junk: artificially sweetened canned beans, macaroni drowning in a commercial mayonnaise dressing, grill fried potatoes, all suffocating some horrifying red tubers made from God Knows What scraps of discarded meat.
What needs to be said aloud is this: It would be hard to find an example of a serving of food that is worse, in all respects, for the body of the consumer. The Garbage Plate should be animated with a scary, bloated, red potato face with some hideous swollen hot dog arms and legs and become the poster child for the American Congestive Heart Failure, Death by Diabetes and Obesity Organization. They could run PSA’s on TV featuring the “Mr. Garbage” dancing like the Pied Piper, beans dropping from his butt, with little children falling happily in behind. As they prance down the street the children swell enormously and then begin to suddenly drop dead from exploding livers and collapsing hearts.
Ok. It’s a little over the top. The point is, Rochester is a cool town, a sophisticated town that deserves a better culinary identity. Maybe what we need is a contest. Get all the local press involved. Invite all the chefs and restaurants to devise a simple, delicious, unique and healthy meal; one anybody could make at home. A dish that all restaurants could adopt and modify for their own. Call it the Eastman Plate or the Flower Bowl or the Roc City Platter or whatever. Naming could be part of the contest.
It is time to scrape the remains of the Garbage Plate onto the historical compost pile and create a new dish that enhances our city’s identity. A dish that we can be proud of, one that is attractive, delicious and HEALTHY.
Written by: Pete Tonery
Tags: rochester, garbage plate, healthy eating, nick tahou’s, flower city,
17 Comments
-
Oh, and did you see what Rochester Subway posted on Facebook this morning? The ROC garbage plate is spreading across the country: The Garbage Truck Brings Rochester Trash Plates to L.A.
-
Hilarious! I remember the best burrito I ever had came off a dingy Mexican cart somewhere in East LA…but the Garbage Plate in LA?? Who knows? I agree that it would have a much better shot in NYC, they’ll eat anything!
-
The primary purpose of the eating the garbage plate was to replace the alcoholic quantam with grease,cholesterol,sodium and other unmentionable debris in your system from a night of maximum partying. An occasional GP is good for the psych!!!
-
I’d actually like to see some stats on how many women versus men consume garbage plates.
-
Renee, i would guess that the percentage of males to females eating the famous GP is 80/20 and the majority of those males in the 18-25 range. My estimate is based on several visits to Nick Tahous at 3:00am after an evening of heavy social interaction.
-
That’s scientific enough for me.
-
I don’t think it would be hard to find food worse for you than the Garbage Plate. How about the Philadelphia Cheesesteak? Chicago Deep Dish pizza? The Primanti Brothers of Pittsburgh feature a sandwich topped with fried eggs and (gasp!) french fries! In fact, name me one signature dish associated with an American city that would be considered healthy? You’re right. You sound like an elitist.
-
Wow I could not agree more! I have lived in Rochester my entire life and never had a garbage plate. No thank you 🙂
-
Funny.. Me either… I really have no desire.
But I kinda respect that it’s a “thing” for so many people.
-
I can’t agree with this one. Garbage plates are truly a treasure and some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in my entire life, I promise you! I definitely don’t think people should eat them as much as they do, but in moderation they’re an amazing treat. This is coming from a health guy too. I do the whole green drink thing, I exercise for about an hour or longer daily, I walk wherever I can, I count every calorie. Garbage plates however, are my weakness 🙂
-
Wow. I never thought I’d read “green drink” and “garbage plate” in the same sentence. LOL
-
I’m with Justin. (Although I have never nor probably will ever eat a garbage plate, but probably would have at some point had I grown up around here.) It’s a hometown thing; and maybe it’s a culinary delight for many. I don’t know anyone who eats them regularly. Yet, there are plenty of people who eat fast food ickiness everyday all across this country.
-
I was born and raised in Rochester, NY and have never had a garbage plate and have never had a desire to do so. The thought of them makes me cringe! Maybe it was the super healthy upbringing or the fact that my father is and was a marathon runner but I have always viewed food as fuel and nourishment for the body. My heart hurts just looking at those things! With the obesity rate in this country, maybe all of the cities should start rethinking their “signature” dish. Garbage Plate food groups are 1.grease 2. Saturated fat 3. Trans fat 4. Carbohydrate…the makings of a heart attack and high cholesterol. No thanks!
-
I can tell you as a chef in this city that yea there are many other things we could be known for like Chicken French Which was created here or other random things but the garbage plate was created to be meat and potatoes at a cheap and affordable rate for people during the down times in rochester and it has served its purpose well so no im not disgraced that the garbage plate is what we are most known for and think that GP should be shared with the world like buffalo and there chicken wings
-
For you health nuts, you might want to try the COMPOST PLATE. It’s an alternative to the garbage plate at the Mooseberry Cafe in Penfield *GPS it at 2555 Baird Rd, Penfield 14526), an out-of-the-way cool little cafe with vegan & vegetarian cuisine. The compost plate includes a handmade veggie burger and a big plate filled with roasted veggies, grains and salad. Really delicious.
-
This post is hilarious! I have to agree with Renee that I have never had a garbage plate, even though I’m a native Rochestarian. It does seem to be a guy thing, but don’t be fooled; I know a few girls who can shovel down a garbage plate (or 2) just like the boys.
I agree, it’s a little depressing to be known for a greasy hangover cure (or inducer) instead of all the wonderful things our city has to offer. But it’s cool to be known for something unique, and I can’t tell you how many friends of mine, from Buffalo to Australia, (yes Australia), feel the need to try a plate at least once in their life. As if it’s the filet of unforgiving junk food…
Okay, first of all, this post has my all-time favorite Pete quote ever: “I spent more than a couple of bleary eyed, hiccupy late nights stuffing down the debris piled on a Garbage Plate to help stem my beer induced vertigo. I’m no virgin to the GP. I know its greasy powers of seduction.” Picturing the Pete I know who grows his own veggies and brings us delicious homemade low sugar jam as a beer guzzling garbage plate eater totally made my day.
Here’s the tricky part — isn’t attacking the garbage plate blasphemy around these parts? I’m not a native Rochesterian and have never eaten a garbage plate (for health and rational reasons). I do wish the city was famous for some of its better culinary offerings. But isn’t the GP a piece of Rochester hometown pride?