5 Feelings That Can Compare To Eating A Garbage Plate

Rachel Dorgan

Garbage Plates. A.k.a Rochester’s very own mascot. If you’re not from Rochester and you hear that term, you might think “That sounds...interesting.” For those of you who aren’t familiar with garbage plates, it is typically a plate full of two cheeseburgers, mac salad, home fries, meat sauce, and ketchup. Cut that bad boy up, mix it together and you have yourself a garbage plate. After moving to New York City, I have heard my fair share of reactions when describing what a garbage plate is to friends. Some common responses are…

“So you’re like...eating garbage?”

“That sounds disgusting.”

“Wait, mac salad has mayo in it and I hate mayo. Sounds gross.” (This one is more common than you think)

It’s very hard to convince people to try a garbage plate based off of the name and ingredients, however I have had a few success stories of friends who tried garbage plates and loved them. They were all long, tiring processes but well worth it.

So what makes a garbage plate so magical and majestic? Is it the meat sauce? Is it that it’s a original rochester favorite? Is it because of how you feel when you eat one? (Besides feeling a touch bloated afterwards.)

Here are 5 feelings that I believe can compare to what it’s like when eating a garbage plate.

1. Taking your bra off at the end of the night (no, but really.)
2. Nailing that one Nicki Minaj verse you’ve been practicing in your bedroom for months (only me? okay.)
3. Getting an uninterrupted 8-9 hours of sleep (A true hallelujah moment.)
4. Having the whole row to yourself on a plane (anti social people, unite!)
5. Finally getting that stubborn popcorn kernel out of your tooth (victory is mine!)

There are many things I miss about being home in Rochester. But right next to my family are garbage plates. After that, Wegmans. Now go to Nick Tahou’s and eat a garbage plate for me, while I sit in my room counting down the days for next time I go home and have one myself.