Nick Tahou Hots
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| Nick Tahou Hots | |
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| Restaurant Information | |
| Street address | 320 West Main Street |
| City | Rochester |
| State | New York |
| Zip | 14608 |
| Website | www.garbageplate.com |
Nick Tahou Hots is a Rochester, New York landmark restaurant famous for its Garbage Plate. The restaurant was founded by its namesake, Nick Tahou, who died in 1997 after running the establishment for over 50 years. Despite the many regional variants all based on the same theme (such as Penfield, Fairport, Henrietta, and Perinton Hots), Nick's is widely regarded as the original Garbage Plate (and, as holder of the trademark, the only restaurant able to use the name).
A Garbage Plate is a carefully organized combination of one selection out of (cheeseburger, hamburger, steak, hot dogs, white hots, Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, fish, fried ham, Grilled Cheese, or eggs), which are placed on top of a choice of two out of four sides (home fries, French fries, baked beans, or macaroni salad). On top of that are the options of mustard and onions and the signature ingredient: Nick's "hot sauce" - a hot sauce found only in western NY. The primary ingredient may be from ground beef but the flavor comes from a secret blend of spices. The garbage plate also comes with a side of starchy white Italian-style bread and butter. Most patrons typically smother this in ketchup, mustard or a hot sauce, particularly Frank's Red Hot. A1 Steak Sauce is also usually available.
One famous charitable tradition is the Nick Tahou's Garbage Plate Run sponsored by Sigma Phi Epsilon at the University of Rochester. Held annually in the spring, this three-man race begins at the UR River Campus, where runners go through the city for 2.2 miles to Nick Tahou's. Upon arrival of the first runner, a second teammate consumes a garbage plate as fast as possible. Once completed, a final runner runs back to campus completing the race. Some one-man teams attempt to finish all three tasks alone in a race appropriately titled the "Iron man." All proceeds collected from sponsors and entering contestants are donated to CURE. It is also a tradition for many Rochester Institute of Technology students to buy a garbage plate and eat it at Nick Tahou's grave site on his birthday.
On a similar note, the Roberts Wesleyan College Male Cross Country team also has an annual tradition. The team runs 7 miles to Nick Tahou's, consumes a garbage plate, and then runs 7 miles back to campus. The only objective for this run is for each person to make it back to campus while still holding down the garbage plate, building both team unity and a strong stomach.
Since 1979, there were two Nick Tahou Hots restaurants in Rochester: one located in downtown Rochester and the other satellite restaurant located on Lyell Avenue in the Rochester suburb of Gates. In 2007, Steve Tahou and his sister Joanne Tahou-Demkou, the children of Ike Tahou (Nick's brother), assumed full ownership of the Lyell Ave. location and renamed it "Steve T. Hots and Potatoes". Steve has returned to using Rochester-based Zweigle's hot dogs and Italian sausages, which were used in the original garbage plates at Nick's. The original West Main Street location will continue to use the trademarked "Nick Tahou" and "Garbage Plate" names, and will keep using the Nick Tahou Hot Dog branded dogs in their plates. While previously open all night, the downtown restaurant began closing at 8 P.M. in 1998 due to a spate of disturbances. Steve T.'s remains open twenty four hours a day. Peak times of business occur during the weekends shortly after 2 AM, when local bars close.
There was also a short-lived Nick Tahou's operation in Oswego, New York, but not much is known about the location or its history.
Nick's has been featured on Food Network's Unwrapped episode titled "Funny Foods" as well as the City in a Box Monopoly based board game showcasing famous Rochester landmarks. The garbage plate was also highlighted in the July 2007 issue of the US Airways in-flight magazine.
