# Garbage Plate > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Garbage_Plate > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Garbage_Plate.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_Plate > Source revision: 1327541638 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American meat dish}} {{Infobox food | name = Garbage Plate | image = Garbage plate.jpg | caption = Garbage Plate from [Nick Tahou Hots](/source/Nick_Tahou_Hots) | alternate_name = {{hlist|Rochester plate|trash plate|plate}} | country = United States | region = [Rochester, New York](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York) | creator = [Alexander Tahou](/source/Nick_Tahou_Hots) | course = | type = | served = | main_ingredient = [Hot dog](/source/Hot_dog) or [hamburger](/source/hamburger) meat, hot meat sauce, [mustard](/source/Mustard_(condiment)), [onions](/source/onions), Choice of 2: [macaroni salad](/source/macaroni_salad), [home fries](/source/home_fries), [French fries](/source/French_fries), [baked beans](/source/baked_beans). | variations = | calories = | other = }} The '''Garbage Plate''' is an American dish consisting of [hot dog](/source/hot_dog) or [hamburger](/source/hamburger) meat, hot meat sauce, and other [condiment](/source/condiment)s, piled atop a variety of side dishes, typically including [macaroni salad](/source/macaroni_salad) and [home fries](/source/home_fries). It is usually served with a side of buttered bread.{{cite web |last1=Blumberg |first1=Perri |title='Garbage Plates': The story behind a favorite late-night dish of college students, plus how to make a version |url=https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/garbage-plates-story-behind-favorite-late-night-dish-college-students-how-make-version |website=[Fox News](/source/Fox_News) |access-date=21 April 2024 |date=21 August 2023 |archive-date=18 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218124611/https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/garbage-plates-story-behind-favorite-late-night-dish-college-students-how-make-version |url-status=live }} A trademark of the restaurant [Nick Tahou Hots](/source/Nick_Tahou_Hots) in [Rochester, New York](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York), which originated the dish in 1918, the Garbage Plate has become the signature dish of Rochester, now served by numerous restaurants under modified names such as '''Rochester plate''', '''trash plate''', or simply '''plate'''. == History == The Garbage Plate was originated by restaurateur Alexander Tahou, a Greek immigrant who founded the restaurant [Nick Tahou Hots](/source/Nick_Tahou_Hots) under the name West Main Texas Hots in [Rochester, New York](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York), in 1918.{{cite web |last1=O'Dee |first1=Meghan |title=How the Garbage Plate Became a Western New York Icon |url=https://www.eater.com/2017/10/2/16381302/rochester-garbage-plate |website=[Eater](/source/Eater_(website)) |access-date=21 April 2024 |language=en |date=2 October 2017 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421225216/https://www.eater.com/2017/10/2/16381302/rochester-garbage-plate |url-status=live }} In its original form, the dish consisted of "hots"—either standard [hot dog](/source/hot_dog)s, or Rochester-style [white hot](/source/white_hot)s—served with [potato](/source/potato)es, cold beans, and [Italian bread](/source/Italian_bread) with [butter](/source/butter).{{cite web |last1=Memmott |first1=Jim |title=How the Garbage Plate surpassed Kodak as Rochester's signature thing |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/01/23/garbage-plate-rochester-ny-signature-dish-gets-props-jim-gaffigan-conan-obrien-nick-tahou-hots/4540227002/ |website=[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle) |access-date=21 April 2024 |date=23 January 2020 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421225215/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/01/23/garbage-plate-rochester-ny-signature-dish-gets-props-jim-gaffigan-conan-obrien-nick-tahou-hots/4540227002/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Beck |first1=Kellen |title=Garbage plates: The great American dish |url=https://mashable.com/article/garbage-plate-american-food |website=[Mashable](/source/Mashable) |access-date=21 April 2024 |language=en |date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421225215/https://mashable.com/article/garbage-plate-american-food |url-status=live }} The dish evolved over time after Tahou's son Nick assumed ownership of the restaurant in the 1940s and changed the restaurant's name to Nick Tahou Hots. Over time, the restaurant began offering plates with [hamburger](/source/hamburger) meat instead of hots, added other topping options including [macaroni salad](/source/macaroni_salad), and introduced their signature [chili](/source/chili_con_carne)-like hot meat sauce, which came from a family recipe of a Mexican friend of Alexander Tahou's and became an integral topping for the dish.{{cite web |last1=Song |first1=Robyn |title=The Rochester Garbage Plate Is A Delicious Hot Mess |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1533662/rochester-garbage-plate-explained/ |website=[Tasting Table](/source/Tasting_Table) |access-date=21 April 2024 |date=9 March 2024 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421225953/https://www.tastingtable.com/1533662/rochester-garbage-plate-explained/ |url-status=live }} The dish only came to be known as the Garbage Plate as early as the 1980s, when college students would come to Nick Tahou Hots and ask for "that plate with all the garbage on it". After the Tahou family initially resisted the name because "it's food; it doesn’t sound good", the restaurant filed a United States [trademark](/source/trademark) for the name Garbage Plate in 1991, preventing other restaurants from selling the dish under the same name.{{cite web |last1=Greenwood |first1=Marcia |title='Today' show segment escalates into nasty food fight between guest and Nick Tahou's. Here's what happened |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/11/11/nick-tahou-rochester-ny-today-show-segment-garbage-plate-andrew-rea-binging-with-babish/6385710001/ |website=[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle) |access-date=22 April 2024 |date=11 November 2021 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422022429/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/11/11/nick-tahou-rochester-ny-today-show-segment-garbage-plate-andrew-rea-binging-with-babish/6385710001/ |url-status=live }} == Variants == thumb|alt=Junkyard Plate|Junkyard Plate, a variant on the Garbage Plate, from Rochester restaurant Dogtown thumb|alt=Junkyard Plate|Compost Plate, a vegan variant on the Garbage Plate, from Rochester restaurant The Red Fern To avoid [trademark infringement](/source/trademark_infringement) against Nick Tahou Hots, many restaurants in Rochester and surrounding areas offer "copycat" dishes similar to the Garbage Plate but under modified names, such as Rochester plates, junkyard plates, trash plates, hot plates, rubbish plates, sloppy plates, or messy plates.{{cite web |last1=Process |first1=Allison T. S. Robicelli Taste of Home's Editorial |title=What Is a Rochester 'Garbage Plate'? |url=https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/rochester-garbage-plate/ |website=[Taste of Home](/source/Taste_of_Home) |access-date=22 April 2024 |date=12 October 2023 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422023921/https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/rochester-garbage-plate/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=A Garbage Plate by another name: 19 plates around Rochester |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/picture-gallery/lifestyle/rocflavors/2021/03/17/garbage-plate-variations/6953758002/ |website=[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle) |access-date=22 April 2024 |date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422022418/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/picture-gallery/lifestyle/rocflavors/2021/03/17/garbage-plate-variations/6953758002/ |url-status=live }} The Rochester restaurant The Red Fern offers a [vegan](/source/veganism) variant on the Garbage Plate called the Compost Plate. Restaurants offering variants on the Garbage Plate have spread beyond the [Rochester metropolitan area](/source/Rochester_metropolitan_area%2C_New_York), also appearing in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh), [Raleigh](/source/Raleigh%2C_North_Carolina), and [Denver](/source/Denver), among other cities.{{cite web |last1=Chao |first1=Mary |title=Got a hangover? Why this 'Garbage Plate' may be the cure |url=https://scrippsnews.com/stories/got-a-hangover-why-this-garbage-plate-may-be-the-cure/ |website=[Scripps News](/source/Scripps_News) |access-date=22 April 2024 |language=en |date=4 August 2023 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422023419/https://scrippsnews.com/stories/got-a-hangover-why-this-garbage-plate-may-be-the-cure/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Graver |first1=Kristy |title=A Pittsburgh Restaurant is Now Serving "Garbage-Plate"-style Dishes |url=https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/a-pittsburgh-restaurant-is-now-serving-garbage-plate-style-dishes/ |website=[Pittsburgh Magazine](/source/Pittsburgh_Magazine) |access-date=22 April 2024 |date=12 February 2024 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421195104/https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/a-pittsburgh-restaurant-is-now-serving-garbage-plate-style-dishes/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Byard |first1=Chris |title=ShaWING Is Dishing Up Garbage Plates in Denver |url=https://www.westword.com/restaurants/shawing-food-truck-garbage-plate-17211629 |website=[Westword](/source/Westword) |access-date=22 April 2024 |language=en |date=4 March 2024 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422023419/https://www.westword.com/restaurants/shawing-food-truck-garbage-plate-17211629 |url-status=live }} == Legacy == With its iconic status, multiple news outlets have described the Garbage Plate as an essential symbol of Rochester. Jim Memmott of the ''[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle)'' called the Garbage Plate "Rochester's signature thing," arguing that it even eclipses the prominence of Rochester institution [Kodak](/source/Kodak). Meghan O'Dea of ''[Eater](/source/Eater_(website))'' wrote that "Rochester's plate is so essentially a part of this place that they almost can't be disconnected," adding that, "like Rochester itself, the Garbage Plate has a little bit of everything." The Garbage Plate has also been widely touted as a [hangover remedy](/source/hangover_remedies).{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Melissa |title=This is a Garbage Plate, and it might cure your hangover |url=https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/food-culture/what-is-garbage-plate-where-to-try-hangover/ |website=[USA Today](/source/USA_Today) |access-date=22 April 2024 |language=en |date=27 December 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422023419/https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/food-culture/what-is-garbage-plate-where-to-try-hangover/ |url-status=live }} In August 2017, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Garbage Plate, the [Rochester Red Wings](/source/Rochester_Red_Wings) of [Minor League Baseball](/source/Minor_League_Baseball) briefly changed their name to the "Rochester Plates", with a special promotion offering variants on the Garbage Plate including one called the "Home Plate". The team renewed the "Rochester Plates" moniker in 2018, assuming the name at every Thursday home game, and unveiled a Garbage Plate–themed mascot named Mac in 2019.{{cite web |last1=Cleveland |first1=Will |title=Rochester Red Wings unveil new Garbage Plate-fueled mascot |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/03/29/rochester-red-wings-garbage-plates-new-mascot-mac-frontier-field-thursdays-aaa-milb/3316306002/ |website=[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle) |access-date=22 April 2024 |date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422022419/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/03/29/rochester-red-wings-garbage-plates-new-mascot-mac-frontier-field-thursdays-aaa-milb/3316306002/ |url-status=live }} == See also == * [Horseshoe sandwich](/source/Horseshoe_sandwich), a similar dish from Springfield, Illinois * [Franks Diner](/source/Franks_Diner), a diner in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that serves an egg dish also called the Garbage Plate * [Slinger](/source/Slinger_(dish)), a similar dish from St. Louis, Missouri == References == {{reflist}} {{City of Rochester, NY}} Category:American meat dishes Category:Cuisine of New York (state) Category:Hot dogs Category:Culture of Rochester, New York Category:Meat and potatoes dishes Category:Food and drink introduced in 1918 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Garbage Plate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_Plate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_Plate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.