You may have seen Effortlessly Healthy’s blue and pale green truck at the Public Market’s food truck rodeo. Long lines have snaked back from the truck, filled with people hungry for seared ahi tuna-topped salad, chicken pesto and Portobello mushroom wraps, or the number one seller: the chicken, bacon, and avocado healthy trash plate. “People […]
Restaurant News
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Monroe Avenue bistro gets a new concept
Monroe Avenue patrons remember Lola, the candlelit cocktail bar and bistro that closed earlier this year. In early November, Lola reopened as Turcott’s Taproom (630 Monroe Avenue). “Lola had run its course,” says Chris Diamantopoulos. “Monroe Avenue has been going through some changes and we wanted to come up with something new.” Turcott’s is owned […]
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Black Sheep taps rock history
On a recent trip out West, a guy asked where I was from. After divulging that I was from Rochester, he immediately shouted out, “Wegmans! Kodak! Lou Gramm from Foreigner!” Lou Gramm is Rochester’s favorite son, so it is only fitting that his own son, Nicolas Grammatico, recently opened a restaurant in Corn Hill Landing […]
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AJ’s adds a Cajun twist to steakhouse fare
The Comedy Club in Webster has been hosting an impressive line-up of national comedy acts as of late, with recent performances from Tom Green, Andrew Dice Clay, and Marc Maron — in fact, Maron called The Comedy Club “the real deal” on his popular “WTF” podcast. AJ’s Tap and Steakhouse (2235 Empire Boulevard) is connected […]
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Pub 235 has some shoes to fill
Having grown up in Webster, I felt a pang of sadness and nostalgia when I heard the news in 2014 that Hank’s Ice Cream and Grill had closed — some places you just expect to always be there. Needless to say, when Pub 235 opened its doors in the old Hank’s location at 235 North […]
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Bubble tea and sushi are at the center of Bubble Fusion
The origin of bubble tea goes back to the late 1980’s, when a product development manager for a teahouse in Taiwan poured her tapioca dessert into a glass of cold Chinese tea. The drink — which is usually tea mixed or shaken with fruit and with tapioca balls added, or some similar variation — has […]
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Italian restaurant Fiorella finds fresh home in Public Market
If you’re opening a restaurant that focuses on fresh and local ingredients, is there a better location than the epicenter for fresh and local in town, the Rochester Public Market? Gino and Allison Ruggiero didn’t think so when they opened Fiorella (5 Rochester Public Market), a new, casual, Italian eatery. Gino worked through the kitchen […]
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Upper crust
If there is one thing Pizzeria Favo (3400 Monroe Avenue) owners Suzy and Gene O’Donovan are experts in, it’s good crust. The O’Donovans opened the first Montana Mills Bread Company in 1996, eventually branching out to include 31 locations. After selling the Montana Mills business, the O’Donovans opened Yotality, a frozen yogurt shop that now […]
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Roots in Pittsford
“Organic.” “Local.” “Sustainable.” There are certain buzz words that pop up for pretty much every restaurant that opens these days.
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Sushi and the sunset
Let’s just get this right out of the way: The view of downtown Rochester from Hattie’s Restaurant at the Strathallan (550 East Avenue) is not to be missed, especially as the sun sets. Standing on the rooftop — a cocktail in hand is optional — and gazing at our fair city as the day ends […]
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Going back to Greece
The “coming home” theme is a common one when it comes to telling the story of where people decide to open restaurants. Mark Chiarenza grew up in Greece and after being involved in opening and running various establishments in Rochester (Murphy’s Law, Nikko, Char at the Strathallan), he decided he wanted to open his next […]
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Nouveau Italian 101
The name Del Monte has long been synonymous with hospitality in Rochester, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they have opened a restaurant in College Town in the new Hilton Garden Inn. Grappa (30 Celebration Drive) opened on June 30 and features “upscale, casual, modern, Italian cuisine,” according to Erica Standish, the restaurant’s director […]
