The glorious ‘garbage plates’ of Rochester have landed in Clinton Hill

Brooklyn Hots, a new restaurant from Radicle Wine owner Brian Heiss, has got the goods

Scott Lynch

It really is a thing of comfort-food beauty, the famous Rochester garbage plate, a mess of a meal usually involving mounds of macaroni salad, a cheeseburger or two, meat sauce, mustard, home fries, french fries, cole slaw, baked beans, and, basically, anything else sitting around the kitchen (minus the sink). For certain moods, it’s the perfect plate of food.

Amazingly though, the dish has been something of a rarity at this end of the state, enjoying a long run at Daddy-O in the West Village (RIP), a shorter run at Buffalo’s Famous in Ditmas Park (also RIP), and… that’s about it? Which is why when word got out that Rochester native Brian Heiss was opening Brooklyn Hots in Clinton Hill, and that garbage plates were set to star the show, Western New York transplants packed the place on opening night.

House plate, with cheeseburgers, home fries, mac salad, onion, meat sauce, mustard. $28 (Scott Lynch)

The name “garbage plate” is actually copyrighted by Rochester landmark restaurant Nick Tahou Hots, where the dish was reportedly invented, so Heiss calls his version a “trash plate” (aliases on menus around Western New York include “collage plates,” rubbish plates,” and “sloppy plates”).

Whatever it’s called, at Brooklyn Hots you can order yours either as a house-suggested combo platter, or go full choose-your-adventure mode and pick from the list of meats, sides, and toppings. All of the usual suspects are here, as well as some ingredients that might be seen as sacrilege—a, gasp!, green vegetable—to hardcore Rochesterians.

“I’m from Rochester. I love Rochester,” Heiss tells Brooklyn Magazine. “I grew up there, lived there for seven years after college before moving to Brooklyn, and still go back a lot. It’s just always been a part of me. And I love garbage plates. But I think in Brooklyn things are a little bit more, I hate to say it, bespoke, and especially in this neighborhood of Clinton Hill, there’s a lot of vegans and vegetarians. So I’m trying to make sure I’m true to the classic Rochester garbage plate, but also want to make sure we serve everyone in this community.”

A.M. plate, with egg, bacon, home fries, broccolini, and, not pictured, meat sauce and franks. $28 (Scott Lynch)

To that end, trash plates at Brooklyn Hots can include vegan Beyond Burgers and spears of broccolini as well as fat Zweigle’s Franks (white or red), cheeseburgers grilled up “smashed” style, runny fried eggs, thick slabs of bacon, chunky meat sauce, two types of fried potatoes (French or home), and, my personal must-have, creamy macaroni salad. At $28 a pop, trash doesn’t come cheap in Clinton Hill, but these plates are pretty massive and can easily be shared, along with maybe a snack, a salad, or a sandwich, to make a complete meal.

Zweigle’s Frank, white; $9 (Scott Lynch)

Heiss told us that, at one point in the planning, he was thinking of only selling sandwiches here, and the grilled and split Zweigle’s franks are great, splayed out over a soft potato roll, covered with raw onion and yellow mustard with a pile of potent house-made pickles on the side. Heiss smashes his cheeseburgers and loads on those same pickles, but though the sandwich is plenty juicy, I’d get a double rather than a single next time, just to amp it up a bit.

Cheeseburger, single; $10 (Scott Lynch)

You can also order a BEC, a BLT, a vegan Beyond burger, or pizza logs, the “official finger food of the Buffalo Bills,” which feature plenty of chewy cheese and a nice hit of pepperoni. Deviled eggs with anchovies are coming soon. Heiss is still waiting for a beer and wine license, but BYOB is encouraged, and he’ll waive corkage fees if you buy a bottle from his Radicle Wine store next door.

Pizza logs, the ‘official finger food of the Buffalo Bills,’ $14 (Scott Lynch)

Really though, the trash plates are the reason you’re coming here. “Anytime around Rochester that you see a ‘hots’ place you know that’s where you go to get a garbage plate,” Heiss says. “I grew up in Penfield, so I went to Penfield Hots. If you’re from Fairport you go to Fairport Hots, if you’re from Webster you go to Empire Hots. Every town has a Hots place.” And now, thanks to Heiss, so does the great town of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Hots is located at 291 Greene Avenue, just west of Classon Avenue, and is currently open on Wednesday through Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (917-791-5035)