A newly opened restaurant is bringing Rochester-style trash plates to Geneva.
James and Holley Brown opened Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes at 481 Hamilton St. in Geneva, behind Ling Ling Chinese Buffet. The couple also owns Simply Jimmy’s Family Restaurant in Seneca Falls, but James Brown said that opening up a restaurant serving trash plates has always been a goal on his list.
And the name, “Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes,” had been swirling around his head for a while.
Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes: What’s a Rochester-style trash plate?
Brown, a Rochester native, grew up around the city’s famous Garbage Plates. He lived on Saratoga Avenue, only a few minutes’ drive from Nick Tahou’s Hots on West Main Street, where Garbage Plates originated.
Local lore is that one late night, college students came into Nick Tahou’s and asked for a plate with “all the garbage on it.” By the 1980s, the dish became a major hit, and the name “Garbage Plates” was born. Nick Tahou’s trademarked the name in the early ’90s.
For those who have never heard of it, a plate is a dish that includes a choice of meat, such as hot dogs, burgers, or steak, served over French fries, home fries, baked beans, or macaroni salad. The dish is usually topped with hot meat sauce and other toppings.
These delicious but not necessarily pretty dishes have become not only a Rochester classic but can also be recreated around the country, often under the name “Rochester Garbage Plate.” Brown said he knew growing up that he would one day want to open a shop.
Though many restaurants in the Rochester and Finger Lakes areas incorporate trash plates, Brown and his wife’s new spot is one of the few places explicitly dedicated to Rochester’s signature dish.
After securing their spot in Geneva, the couple remodeled and installed everything in their new restaurant.
“The place has got the coolest vibe inside, I just love it,” Brown said. “I get excited to go there.”
The customers in Geneva have also been very excited about the new joint. Since its opening, Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes has been extremely busy, and the local customers have been eating it up — both literally and figuratively.
“People in Geneva are just so welcoming, and they’re just so pleased that I’m there,” he said. “When I see my customers happy, it makes me know I’m doing something good.”
Running two restaurants
Brown and his wife run both of their restaurants themselves, so they often work 100-hour weeks back and forth between Seneca Falls and Geneva. Having a late-night dining experience at Straight Plates allows them to get all of their work done at the Seneca Falls restaurant during the day before heading out to Geneva to feed the nightly crowd.
Brown also grew up working at 24-hour restaurant joints, so he’s grown fond of the nighttime atmosphere.
“I love the vibe at night,” he said. “People are just so much more happier.”
Their menu consists of Roc City Plates, wings, sandwiches, burgers, subs, and wraps. Brown said Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes is distinguished from other places by its hot sauce.
According to Brown, the menu favorite since opening up has been their Philly trash plates, a twist on the beloved Philly cheesesteak.
“I’ve been going through four boxes of my Philly a week. It’s unbelievable,” Brown said. “We have tickets for five hours straight for nonstop business over there and DoorDash is off the wall.”
Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes: Hours
What: Straight Plates of the Finger Lakes
Where: 481 Hamilton St., GenevaHours: 5 p.m. to midnight Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Details: Visit the new restaurant’s Straight Plates of the FLX Facebook page or call (315) 325-4044.
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who covers breaking and trending news for the Finger Lakes Region. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New late-night trash plate spot opens in the Finger Lakes
Reporting by Madison Scott, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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