The Best of Greater Rochester 2002

In this issue, City Newspaper unveils the winners of
the 2002 Best of Greater Rochester poll. Over the past few months, City readers have sent in their ballots,
voting for the restaurants, stores, people, places and things that they think
make this region a great place to live, and it’s time to announce the winners.
The City poll is a true and honest
reflection of readers’ interests; no ballot stuffing is allowed here.

And
in our critics’ picks section, City writers have contributed their ideas about what constitutes the Best of Greater
Rochester. Our writers share tips on some of their favorite stores, food and
drink, interesting people, outdoor pleasures, and local innovations. You may
agree with the City writers’ choices,
or not; some of them will be familiar to you, and some you’ll be learning about
for the first time.

City Newspaper remains Greater Rochester’s favorite forum for the exchange of ideas. Read on,
and as always, let us know what you think.

City Newspaper’s readers have voted, and the
results are finally in! Here are your picks of the Best of Greater Rochester…

TIME
OUT! THE BEST…

Live music club: Milestones

Neighborhood bar: Johnny’s Irish Pub

New nightclub: Tied- The Montage Grille
and Tilt

Closed nightclub: GQ

Gay bar: Muther’s

Band: Uncle Plum

Musician: Tied- Gap Mangione and Jeff
Tyzik

Drag performer: Darienne Lake

Non-professional theater: Blackfriars

Small art gallery: Tied- The Elizabeth
Collection and the Oxford Gallery

Movie theater: The Little Theatre

BEST
RESTAURANTS

Chinese:  Golden Dynasty

Indian: India House

Italian: Mario’s Via Abruzzi

Thai: The King and I

Middle Eastern: Sinbad’s

Vegetarian selections: Aladdin’s

Coffee bar: Spot Coffee

Best place to have your last
meal: Rooney’s

Best place to eat outside: Aladdin’s

Best spicy food: The King and I

Best meal under $10: Aladdin’s

BRIGHT
IDEAS …

Category to get rid of next
year: Drag
performer

Category to add next year: There was no clear winner
in this category. Readers’ ideas included “best place to meet single gay men,”
“best day trip,” “best sushi,” and “best martini.”

Best reason to live in
Rochester: The people (also the weather, the cost of living, and cultural life)

BEST
FOOD & DRINK

Pizza: Chester Cab Pizza

Bakery: The Little Bakery

Burgers: Bill Gray’s

Fish fry: Pittsford Seafood

Desserts: Phillips European
Restaurant

Wings: Jeremiah’s

Local beer: Genesee

Beer selection: MacGregor’s

Margaritas: Mex

Cheap breakfast: James Brown’s Place

Donuts: Krispy Kreme

PEOPLE
…

Best bartender: Karrie Laughton at Lux
Lounge

Best school principal: Tied- David Paddock of Fairport
High School and Edward Witaszek of School #15

Best Public Market vendor: No clear winner for this
category, but our readers like “the cheese guys,” “the banana guy,” and the
Mennonite vendors.

Politician you trust most: Mayor Bill Johnson

Politician you trust least: County Executive Jack Doyle

Next job for Jack Doyle: Top votes included
“retirement” and some type of caregiving position at the Seneca Park Zoo. Other
suggestions: CEO of Enron, governor of Florida, fast ferry captain, and anything
out of state.

Next job for
Clifford Janey: Janitor, with teacher coming in a distant second. One
reader complained that this category was mean-spirited, and he’s probably
right. No such complaints were lodged about the “Next Job for Doyle” category.

Most annoying public person:
Jack Doyle

Funniest person: Tommy Mulé, WCMF

BEST
SPORTS

Professional team: The Raging Rhinos

Golf course: Oak Hill Country Club

YMCA: Carlson MetroCenter

Downhill skiing: Bristol Mountain

Local sports web site: Tied- Red Wings and Raging
Rhinos

BEST
STORES & SERVICES

Record store: Record Archive

Book shop: Barnes & Noble

Computer store: Comp USA

Clothing store: Kauffman’s

Shoe store: DSW

Hardware store: Home Depot

Video rental store: Blockbuster

Home furnishings store: Tied- Pier 1 and Arhaus

Adult toy shop: Show World (Readers’ other
great ideas included Mann’s Jewelers, John Holtz, and Dan’s Crafts and Things.)

Salon massage: Scott Miller Salon

Best place to buy an unusual
gift: Parkleigh

Most honest auto repair: Craig Autometrics

PLACES
& THINGS

Best public library: Central/Rundel

Park: Highland Park

Festival: Park Avenue Festival

Place to view the skyline: Cobbs Hill

Best new use of an old
building: Spot Coffee (formerly the Hallman’s Chevrolet building)

Swimming hole: Durand Eastman

Regional winery: Casa Larga

Worst street to walk across: Top votes included Ridge
Road and Jefferson Road. A frightening number of readers voted for Route 490,
and we ought to point this out: you’re not supposed to walk across 490.

Most culturally diverse
neighborhood: The Southwedge

Most socially conscious
business: Wegmans

MEDIA:
THE BEST …

Morning radio: WCMF

Best radio station: WXXI

Best weather forecaster: Kevin Williams

Critics’
picks

After
careful deliberation, the City writers have selected their picks for inclusion in our 2002 Best of Greater
Rochester issue. The selections here are highly subjective and deeply personal,
and cover everything from the best Turkish-style coffee to the best method of
waking up in the morning in Rochester. Contributing writers Dave Cross, Tim
Goodwin, George Grella, Susan Herman, Jeffrey O. Jones, Jennifer Loviglio, Th.
Metzger, Cindy E. Mindell-Wong, Ron Netsky, Chad Oliveiri, Jon Popick, Jack
Bradigan Spula, Michael Warren Thomas, Warren Wightman, and Adam Wilcox are
using this opportunity to point out the little things that make Rochester a
wonderful place to live. Read on and enjoy.

BEST
RESTAURANTS

Best
low-budget succulence

Victor
Grilling Company’s $10 meatloaf

At
most high-end restaurants, you’d be lucky to spend only $10 on dessert and
coffee. At the Victor Grilling Company (75 Coville Road in Victor;
585-924-1760) you can buy one of the best dinners you’ll find in the area for
that price. The VGC’s grilled meatloaf hits the trifecta: it’s meat, it’s
grilled, it’s affordable. And it ain’t your mother’s meatloaf. The VGC prepares
this dish with ribeye trimmings. Depending on the time of year, you might find
it sitting atop a thick slice of bacon and a pile of mashed potatoes, or
smothered in a homemade Worcestershire sauce with sautéed mushrooms. Try it the
next time you’re jonesing for something high-end and low-budget. (CO)

Best
trucker’s breakfast

Mount
Hope Family Diner

No,
you won’t see any 18-wheelers parked outside. There’s no room. But seven days a
week, the Mount Hope Family Diner serves up a breakfast that any cross-country
knight would appreciate. It’s hard to find grits in Rochester restaurants, but
here they’re plentiful. Indeed, the Mount Hope serves more grits than any place
in the city. If you’re hauling freight, you’ll need sausage gravy and biscuits,
too. And you won’t be disappointed by the diner’s version of that, either.
Affordable, greasy, hot and filling: just what the road doctor ordered. The
Mount Hope Family Diner is located at 1511 Mt Hope Avenue; (585) 256-1939. (TM)

Best
cheap lunch

Mr.
Shoes Pizza

Living
paycheck-to-paycheck? Lucky thing that English degree you spent years reading
for can easily disguise itself as the record store degree or the hardware store
degree. Mr. Shoes has a damn fine large cheese pizza for six bucks. Feeds four.
And Mr. Shoes’ sauce can’t be beat. Since the math graduates can afford bigger
plates at swankier joints, we’ll run the figures for you: a buck-fifty each.
Hey, use that spare change for a soda. Now that’s tummy-rubbing good. Mr. Shoes has several locations around town, including 4364
Culver Road; (585) 323-1700. (TG)

Best
restaurant bathroom

The
Rio Bamba

Although
I cannot claim to have checked all restaurant bathrooms (women’s as well as
men’s), the Rio Bamba spent some serious time and money making theirs a
destination rather than just a necessity. Have a companion or one of the wait
staff check the other bathroom, so you can take a peek at both. The carved
stone sink in the men’s room and the counter in the women’s room are the
highlights. What does all this have to do with food? Restaurants that care
about their bathrooms usually care about their kitchens. After several years as
sous chef to David Bouley in NYC, Jay Cohen gives Rochester a big city dining
experience at the Rio Bamba, 282 Alexander Street; (585) 244-8680. (Honorable
mention honors go to Soccer Sam’s Pizza & Pasta Café on Empire Blvd. There
is a locker room motif with jet black fixtures; I’ve never before seen a black
porcelain toilet.) (MWT)

BEST
FOOD & DRINK

Best
coffee drinks

The
Olive Tree and Oasis

One
of my running gags in my “Gut Instincts” column is that I hate everybody’s
coffee. My preference runs for deeply-roasted, single-source beans, and it’s
hard to find that in town. Often I try espresso, only to be disappointed by its
bitterness and, surprisingly, lack of depth. But for years I’ve been in love
with the preparation method that results in Turkish coffee. You start with very
fine grounds put directly into water in a small pot called an ibrik. Boil until it foams, then stir it
down. Repeat twice, then pour carefully into demitasse cups. Depending on your
taste, it might be cooked with sugar or various spices.

            Typically, just about every
Mediterranean culture claims to have invented Turkish coffee. Thus, at the
Olive Tree Greek Restaurant (165 Monroe Avenue; 585-454-3510), it’s “Greek
coffee,” and owner Joanne Gekas can read your fortune in the grounds when you
finish. At Oasis (687 Monroe Avenue; 585-473-0050), “Lebanese coffee” is made
with lots of strong cardamom and is a bit sweeter. It’s not a drink for the
faint of heart, unless you’re trying to get that faint heart pounding. (AW)

Best
bison dish

Bison
Bolognese

While
there are not many bison dishes on Rochester menus, the Bison Bolognese at the
Grill at Strathallan also qualifies as one of the best pasta dishes I have ever
had. A little grated Asiago over this Central Italian based sauce is the final
touch. The Bison Bolognese is available on the lunch menu. The owner of the
Grill, Mike Tadich, recommends a hearty Chianti or Barbera with the bison.
Another bison dish on the dinner menu rivals the Bolognese: Bison Carpaccio
with truffle oil. Health-conscious diners might be interested to know that
roasted bison has less fat and 500% more iron than roasted skinless chicken
breast, and nearly half as much fat as lean pork tenderloin. I have not seen
bison available in the supermarkets, but there are two local herds
(CrowfieldFarm.com and Wildside Beef in Bloomfield) and Barry Kucker of Fare
Game carries it at the Rochester Public Market. The Grill at Strathallan is
located at 550 East Avenue; (585) 461-5010. (MWT)

Best ‘happy birthday’ to you

The
Oven Door Bakery

It’s that magical combination of butter, chocolate, and of course,
love, that makes a cake really special. When Betsy Hutton took over the Oven
Door Bakery last year, she poured generous portions of all three ingredients
into the Bushnell’s Basin bakery. Okay, so it’s a long haul to get there from
the city, but the flaky puff pastry and fresh fruit pies alone are worth the
trip. The Oven Door Bakery is located at 665 Pittsford-Victor Road in
Bushnell’s Basin; (585) 248-5749. (JL)

Bacon
of the gods

Heiden
Valley Farms

Rick
Austin can be found most Thursday nights outside the Abundance Food Coop
selling his poultry, beef, lamb, and pork. Raised outdoors, grass-fed, with no
hormones and no routine antibiotics, the meat that Austin produces is amazing. Best
of all is the bacon. Imagine a fine slice of marbled pork with the perfect
flavor of hickory smoke. Since buying Austin’s exquisite side-meat, we’ll never
be able to go back to the store-bought stuff, which now seems like gristly
scraps soaked in fake smoke flavoring. Surely in heaven, BLTs are made with
Heiden Valley bacon. (TM)

Best
selection of weird stuff

Lee’s
Oriental Food

To
get a full appreciation of Lee’s Oriental Food & Gifts, 900 Jefferson Road,
you need a guide. City writer Th.
Metzger and I got a guided tour from our friend Yuko Matsukawa a couple of
years back, and it was astonishing. You want 20 types of tofu? A nebula of
noodles? It’s all there. Yuko took us up and down the aisles, pointing and
explaining, sometimes throwing her hands up in the air. When we saw the bin
labeled, “pork uteri,” we asked, “Are those pork uteri?” Yuko answered, “Well,
that’s what the sign says.” I never want to know for sure.

            It’s become a regular stop in my
far-flung shopping, and being located in the Genesee Regional Market, it’s
close to other interesting places like Tadco, Lori’s Natural Foods, and Palmer
Seafood. But Lee’s is the draw for me. I buy rice, noodles, Thai curry pastes,
Asian vegetables, Thai basil, kafir lime leaves, oils, rice vinegar, and fish
and hot sauces. Of course, it’s also the source for strange, jelled sweets for
my three-year-old. Phone: (585) 272-7020. (AW)

Most
delicious altruism

The
School of the Holy Childhood pies

Apple
pie with a crumb topping, pecan pie, blueberry, cherry, cran-apple walnut, and
the fabulous “bumbleberry” pie: at restaurants all over town you’ll find these
excellent pies from the School of the Holy Childhood’s Special Touch Bakery on
the menu. It’s much easier to rationalize ordering dessert when it’s in support
of a good cause, and this is a great cause. The bakery provides workplace
training and income to adults with developmental disabilities. You can also
arrange to buy whole pies directly from the bakery, or order a gift-pie for a
friend. Most varieties are $7-$8 per pie. If there’s a better treat for
Thanksgiving, we haven’t found it. The School of the Holy Childhood is located
at 100 Groton Parkway; (585) 359-3710. (SH)

Best
adult slurpee

“Suffering
Bastards”

Show
up at the Cathay Pagoda at 488 East Main Street on any given evening and you’ll
likely be able to have a whole room to yourself. Sure, the atmosphere’s a tad
surreal. But the drinks, particularly the Suffering Bastard, are bound to make
you feel right at home in no time. Some ungodly combination of hard alcohol and
partially frozen fruit juices will approximate the best frozen slush drink
you’ve ever had. But this one bites you back. Lightweights might need to have
their drinks diluted (more fruit, less burn). But if you can handle it, you’ll enjoy
the fruitiest buzz you’ve ever had in Rochester. Phone: (585) 325-5540. (CO)

Best
peppermills

Le
Lemongrass

In
even the fanciest restaurants, you will seldom, if ever, find actual
peppermills on the tables. As everyone with even the most passing interest in
food knows, ground black pepper and freshly ground black pepper are practically different spices. No amount of the ground
variety will provide the aromatic pop that pepper lovers crave. Often, a waiter
will proffer a totemic mill when serving salad, but your opportunity for a
grind is gone in a moment, and what of the entrée?

            But stay, oh pepper people, at least
one establishment bucks the trend! Le Lemongrass
chef-owner-carpenter-mason-hair-stylist-visionary Huey Luong is on our side.
Each table gets its own matched salt and pepper set, with a clear, 8-inch mill
with wooden top and bottom, and a high-quality grinding mechanism. Nothing
beats a coarse grind atop Huey’s spectacular pho, or perhaps a bit over the
bun. The point is, it’s up to you, and wouldn’t it be nice if more restaurants
would follow Luong’s lead? Le Lemongrass is located at 942 Monroe Avenue
(585-271-8360). (AW)

Best
soup and bread combo

O’BagelO’s

It
has to be the oyster-artichoke bisque at O’BagelO’s, 165 State Street, Rochester:

fresh-shucked
oysters and succulent artichokes in a rich and creamy, beautifully seasoned
broth. It’s a high falutin’ dish at a down-home price. A cup is $3.65, but go
for a bowl at $5.95 with homemade bread or bagel accompaniment. (Kalamata
olive-and-bell-pepper bread offers an especially nice balance.) Owner-chef John
Vito’s pasta e fagiole ($3.65 per bowl) is also worthy of a white-tablecloth
restaurant. To feed the brain, don’t miss the Daily Almanac, a blackboard
posting of epigrams, historical notes and philosophical observations. Phone:
(585) 232-9070. (JJ)

Best
Italian food fix

Lombardi’s
Gourmet Imports

Lombardi’s
stocks all kinds of wonderful imported Italian foods, specialty oils, cheeses,
and homemade pastas and sauces. We like to drop by Lombardi’s to pick up squid
ink fettuccine or tiny striped ravioli, a quart of fresh sauce and bread for
dinner on Sopranos nights. The store
also carries gift baskets loaded with imported Italian treats, as well as
china, cookbooks, and cookware. Lombardi’s is located at 124 North Main Street
in Fairport; (585) 388-1330. (SH)

PEOPLE
…

Easiest
entrée to cool

Boo
Poulin’s jewelry

Invariably,
whenever you wear a piece of Boo Poulin’s jewelry around town, a stranger will sidle
up alongside you and sigh dreamily, “You’ve got a Boo Poulin!” Poulin’s
elegant-industrial designs are immediately recognizable, drawing the eye with
perfect, engaging simplicity. Trying to describe one of her pieces (a slim loop
bracelet, say, embedded with three tiny metal disks and one pearl) is like
trying to describe the moon as a big white circle hanging in the sky: the
poetry gets lost in translation. Poulin’s jewelry is sold at the Memorial Art
Gallery store, 500 University Avenue; (585) 473-7720. (SH)

Most
eclectic voice teacher

Colleen
Liggett

One
day she’s playing banjo with a Dixieland band, the next she’s a cantor at St.
Anne Church. Following this, she might be leading her Gregorian chant group,
Schola Feminarum, or singing American folk songs with hammer dulcimer
accompaniment. Colleen Liggett’s specialty is medieval and Renaissance vocal
music, and in these areas she’s one of the best around. But as a vocal
instructor, she’s reached a much bigger clientele: rock musicians who want to preserve
their voices, country singers who want a more plangent twang, folks interested
in show tunes or choral music. One of her students, for instance, went from the
Goldfinger theme to Hank Williams’ “I
Saw the Light,” and Liggett had lots to say to make both performances shine.
(TM)

Best
subterranean musician

Chris
Zajkowski

A
long time ago in a basement not so far away, somewhat in reaction to the XTC
psychedelic side project, The Dukes of Stratosphere, former Essentials drummer
“Christopher Earl” Zajkowski dubbed himself the Squire of the Subterrain and
started making tapes full of wonderful, off-beat, four-track psychedelic pop.
That’s right, tapes, folks. After six of those, including classics like Admiral Albert’s Apparition and Royal Slumber, the Squire put out a
retrospective on CD called, fittingly, Pop
in a CD.

            In the last year, he’s released all
the original Squires material on CD, and just this past month, a new
collaboration with original British Invasion legend Pete Miller, titled Big Boy Pete Treats. If you miss wild,
low-fi, pop experimentalism and serio-comic lyrical witticism along the lines
of Ray Davies, look no farther. Check out www.squiresofthesubterrain.com for
more info on all the esoterica available from the Squire. (AW)

Best
Thursday night drone
Feadan Or
Do you think I’d have moved into my house here in Penfield if I knew a
25-member bagpipe band was going to practice every Thursday night out back
behind my house? Probably. Can these cats ever blow! Even though they play over
a third of a mile away, I can still hear those ancient melodies clearly over
the hill, the haze, the heat and the hoards of happy kids screaming on the
playground of the schoolyard they practice on. Drone on, Feadan Or, drone on!
Visit www.feadanor.org, or call (585) 234-1465. (DC)

Best chance to say “Gabba Gabba Aaah”

At
the office of Scott Stein, DDS

At first glance, Scott Stein seems like, well, just another
orthodontist, but looks can be deceiving. Instead of the usual light chitchat
about the weather between rinse-and-spit commands, Stein conducts a rock world
commentary worthy of its own E! segment. He reviews recent concerts, comments
on changes in band line-ups, and, although he’s too humble to admit it, he’s
friends with some of the big-name acts who come through town. Let’s just put it
this way, if Phish had an overbite, Stein would be the man to fix it. Scott
Stein’s office is located at 20 North Main Street in Pittsford; (585) 586-4080.
(JL)

BEST
STORES & SERVICES

Best
humidor
The Havana Room
If you’re looking for the right place to pick out something special for
that “big game” and you don’t want to look at a wall of bongs when
you do it, you want the Havana Room. It’s located at 1220 Fairport Road (behind
the Abbott’s Frozen Custard) and you might not see it unless you really look.
The selection of cigars here is completely top-notch: they cover all the top
lines, styles, lengths, and ring gauges in premium condition. There’s no kid
stuff at the Havana Room, baby, they only sell cigars, no monkey business. The
kicker is the back room. (I mean, you can’t smoke in your house, right?) If you
ask the manager, he might just let you have a look; it’s near the school
locker-sized humidors (all connected to the main humidor room) that are available
for rent. They do have smaller set-ups, in case you’re not a trust fund baby.
Phone: (585) 385-4420. (DC)

Most
entertaining auto ER

Roosevelt
Service

At
Roosevelt Service at 305 Roosevelt Road in East Rochester (585-586-5573),
veteran vehicle surgeon Sparky is the spark that fires the spirit of inspired
mechanical fixes. This is more than a repair shop: you’re likely to get
generous dollops of personal advice along with the needed automotive
transformations, like, “Why don’t you clean out your car more often?” Ouch!,
but right on, and forgivable, because his touch with your car is outstandingly
deft. Many amenities nearby if you’re waiting. Appointments advised. (WW)

Grooviest
vinyl venue

Analog
Shock

Plenty
of record haunts have a good selection, occasional live performances, and a
friendly, helpful staff, but only one combines these attributes with a floor
plan that actually allows a plus-sized patron to turn around without completely
destroying the section formerly known as “Le Tigre through Mudhoney.” Instead
of raking you over the coals on trade-ins, the staff at Analog Shock seems
genuinely concerned about your desire to unload your entire Butthole Surfers
collection (yes, Weird Revolution was
that bad). Plus they have vinyl! Analog Shock is located at 674 South Avenue;
(585) 742-2860. (JP)

Noblest
craft-supply store

The
Recycle Shop

Local
businesses and manufacturers donate their clean cast-offs at the Child Care
Council’s Recycle Shop, and you can buy most of them by the bag, from $1.50 to
$5.50, depending on the size. You keep the office paper supplies, packing
materials, and crafty scraps out of the landfill, and all proceeds support the
not-for-profit Child Care Council, Inc., at 595 Blossom Road, a child care
resource and referral organization. Stock changes often and you never know what
you’ll find. A recent visit found reams of printer paper and three-foot-high
clear plastic bottles, each selling for 75 cents. Call the shop at (585)
654-4791. (CEM)

Best
genuine hip hop experience
Hip Hop World

I
really have to show my appreciation for Hip Hop World at 413 Lyell Avenue.
Despite some slight setbacks recently realized from a neighboring fire, the
store really goes for an all around hip hop experience and carries CDs, videos,
DVDs, posters, pagers, cell phones, and there’s even a recording studio out
back. Hip Hop World owner Steve King is working hard to create a positive
environment for the neighborhood, bringing local talent to light, and letting area
kids get their hands on computer and recording technology: all big ups. Phone:
(585) 458-6827. And an honorable mention also has to go out to Eddie Colon’s
Spot Records at 116 Lyell Avenue, which has a nasty selection of 12″
singles, mix tapes, and CD’s you are definitely not going to find at the mall.
(DC)

PLACES
& THINGS

Best
sea-shore-at-a-gas-station

The
Lobster Trap

The
Lobster Trapat the corner of
Fairport and Marsh Roads has everything but sand. All the seafoods you can
name: Live lobsters personally selected in Maine and transported in Steve
Jacobs’ own refrigerated trucks; king and soft-shell crabs; shrimp and clams in
season, and other delicacies freezer-fresh. The Trap has tools too, to crack
claws and extricate hidden morsels, plus shore stuff like carved wooden
sea-captains to augment the ambience. Sea gulls wheel and keen in the adjacent
plaza. Hand-painted signs contribute to the aura of natural informality that
beach life never quite can shed. Phone: (585) 586-9980. (WW)

Best
bike-side banter

Freewheelers

After
decades on Culver Road, Freewheelers bicycle shop moved to 1757 Mt. Hope Avenue
a few years back. But the relocation hasn’t changed owner-mechanic Roger Levy’s
style. Waist-deep among beautiful machines and accessories, Levy and customers
share actual conversations. It’s like the mythic barbershop, or other small
businesses whose stock in trade includes character and tradition: There are
comments on the news, dreams about sane transportation policy, or debates on
the technical merits of assorted bike parts. And on warm days, the action
centers on Levy’s outdoor workstand and toolbox, clearly visible from the mad
rush on the street. Phone: (585) 473-3724. (JBS)

Best
68 seconds in a movie theater

Dryden
Theatre

The
difference couldn’t be more obvious. As you wait for a film at the
MultiGenericPlex you’re subjected to an endless string of obnoxious trailers.
Booming bass, explosions, empty hype, T and A: It’s all the same. But in the
final moments before a movie starts at the Dryden Theatre, you get to see a
gorgeous gold curtain ascend. It’s almost hypnotic to watch the heavy cloth
fold and pucker and rise. It’s quite peaceful, like watching a waterfall in
reverse. Now, if the Eastman House would dump the spoken introductions, we
could go back to a nearly perfect pre-film experience. The Dryden Theatre at
the George Eastman House, 900 East Avenue; (585) 271-4090. (TM)

Best
city farm

Greater
Rochester Urban Bounty

Most
people don’t realize there is a farm within several blocks of the Rochester
Public Market. There are several acres of vegetables, grape vines, and fruit
trees. The produce from the farm is available at the Public Market in the GRUB
(Greater Rochester Urban Bounty) stall near the Railroad Street entrance. You
can also buy the produce from the front of the warehouse along the edge of the
Market (Commission House Row, just East of Rich Ports Bakery and Java Joe’s).
This farm is beginning a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) project, where
participants pay a set fee and receive a mixed bag of produce each week during
the harvest season. Another option is to work several shifts on the farm to
reduce the CSA fee. Last year I bought the best tasting tomatoes of the season
at the GRUB warehouse. (MWT)

Best
poem written in the vicinity of a local Great Lake

“By
Blue Ontario’s Shores”

It
has to be Walt Whitman’s “By Blue Ontario’s Shores,” (apparently the lake
really was blue 150 years ago), which throbs with the great poet’s
characteristic drum beat of vigor and hope for the nation and its people. As he
writes, “These States are the amplest poem,” and in 20 long stanzas calls for
the American poet to take up great tasks and responsibilities, to sing the
great hymn of America, to instruct its citizens in the lessons of democracy and
brotherhood, even in fact to lead the nation in peace and war. Noble sentiments
nobly inspired: “Thus by blue Ontario’s shore,/While the winds fann’d me and
the waves came trooping toward me,/I thrilled with the power’s pulsations, and
the charm of my theme was upon me …” Walk in Whitman’s footsteps — blue or not,
the lake may still possess the potential for truth and inspiration, with or
without the fast ferry. (GG)

Best
pre-schooler happy hour

Barnes
& Noble storytime

The
cheering and singing you hear as you enter Barnes & Noble may be loudest
from the accompanying adults, but be assured that the kids they’ve brought to
the second floor are having a great time, too. Every Wednesday morning at 9:30
and again at 11 a.m., staffmembers offer a children’s hour of participatory
entertainment. They read specially selected books, invent games and songs
related to the stories, and then turn the kids and their adult companions loose
at teeming craft tables. Kids go home with funky headgear or creations to hang
at home. The early session includes a sign-language interpreter. Barnes &
Noble Booksellers, 3349 Monroe Avenue, Pittsford; (585) 586-6020. (CEM)

Best
place to feel like a kid

The
Seneca Park Zoo

Let’s
get over all the drama and just talk about how much fun the zoo is. Big
animals! Little animals! Swimming animals! Funny-looking animals! Did you know
the zoo has the only African elephants in all of New York State? Plus giraffes,
butterflies, alligators, and there’s nothing like hot dogs, popcorn, and a
laughing Hyena. When’s the last time you were face to face with a swimming
polar bear, separated by a few inches of plexiglass? The Seneca Park Zoo is
located at 2222 St. Paul Street; (585) 266-6846. (TG)

Best atelier for your little Picasso

Creative
Workshop

Of course your ankle biters are geniuses, but how to bring out
their talents for all the world to see? Take ’em to the Creative Workshop,
where they can roll clay, smudge oil pastels, and cover acres of butcher paper
with patterns. The teachers are talented and patient and, best of all, they
think your kids are geniuses, too. The Creative Workshop is part of the
Memorial Art Gallery at 500 University Avenue; (585) 473-7720. (JL) 

BEST
OUTDOOR PLEASURES

Best
“big sky” bargain

The
Alabama Swamp

The
Alabama Swamp, as it’s popularly known, covers thousands of acres mostly in
northern Genesee County, 40-50 miles west of Rochester. The area is also one of
Western New York’s prime wildlife habitats, particularly for migratory birds.
And most of the swamp is protected public land, in three big chunks: the
federal Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the Oak Orchard and Tonawanda
state wildlife management areas.

            This being a wetland, the landforms
are low, almost flat over great expanses. And that means distant horizons and a
“big sky” effect like few you’ll find in these parts. Travelers taking the back
way from Buffalo or Toronto to Rochester late at night will discover this as
they pause for a few minutes in the wildlife refuge parking areas along Route
77: stars, planets, and more stars, with little interference from the lights of
Buffalo to the west, Rochester to the east, or nearby Batavia. (JBS)

Best
alternative front yard

282
Winchester Street

Joahn
Fox has been gardening in the city for 40 years. A City Newspaper article several years ago chronicled her goats and
mini-city farm. Although she no longer keeps goats, rabbits and chickens, Fox
has continued to grow all kinds of vegetables and fruits. There are plum, peach,
apricot, five apple and two pear trees, along with grapes, raspberries, rhubarb
and strawberries. The vegetables are in about 14 5′ by 15′ raised beds and
produce corn, potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, beans, peas,
carrots, onions, tomatoe,s and much more. A hedge makes the garden at 282
Winchester Street a bit difficult to see from the road. And Fox has very little
mowing to do! (MWT)

Best
place to contemplate infinity

The
Upper Falls

“Who
looks upon a river in a meditative hour,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “and is
not reminded of the flux of all things?” Few cities can boast a waterfall in
the middle of their downtown, so anyone drawn to Emersonian meditation should
take advantage of Rochester’s special opportunity and stand on the Pont de
Rennes to gaze at the Upper Falls of the Genesee. The endless northward flow,
the precipitous drop, the crash of the water, the spray and spume, make it the
best place in Rochester to discover the truth of Emerson’s perception, and
understand perhaps that in that stream of bright falling water, we exist in a
moment of light between two eternities of oblivion. (GG)

Best
place to consider human folly

The
Charlotte Cemetery

Again,
the Upper Falls of the Genesee, followed by a short drive up to the Charlotte
Cemetery. At the first, the legendary Sam Patch, a genuine folk hero of the
19th century, who had already jumped off the Passaic Falls in New Jersey in
1827 and Niagara (really) in 1829, met his end on Friday the 13th of November,
1829, on his second leap off Rochester’s cataract. His modest motto, “Some
things can be done as well as others,” remains a true, if homely and unheroic,
statement of ideals and intentions. Patch is buried in the cemetery in
Charlotte, where a gravestone marks his permanent resting place, but like
Homer’s heroes, he may have attained his true immortality in a poem, William
Carlos Williams’s Paterson. (GG)

Most
whimsical garden

“Florawood”

 “Florawood” is located at the corner of
Roosevelt Road and Westfall Road in Brighton, next to the vine-covered Cape
Cod-style house of creator Janice A. Baylis (or her horticultural alter-ego,
Flora Jardain). Inspired by the celebrated Monet Gardens of Giverny, France,
this garden juxtaposes tidy sections of mowed lawn with great tufts of wild
grasses and riotous hedges, found-object sculptures, and a beautifully wrought
cupola gate. It sits comfortably at the boundary between chaos and art. (JJ)

Best
local sounds of silence

Mt.
Hope Cemetery

Rochester’s
Mt. Hope Cemetery is best of the best in various categories. But one of its
prime qualities often goes unnoticed, probably because it’s necessarily
undemonstrative. That quality is quiet. The cemetery, built over part of the
post-glacial Pinnacle Range, is sliced by small dry gullies — vales, we might
call them, apropos of Mt. Hope’s Victorian design and ambience. At the bottom
of each vale is a zone of blessed isolation, cut off acoustically from Mt. Hope
Avenue and other noisemakers nearby. Yes, planes taking off and landing at the
airport across the river do intrude. But overflights will getcha even on the
most distant mountaintops. Come to think of it, the somber recesses of Mt. Hope
are much quieter than the peak of Mt. Marcy. (JBS)

Best
public roof-top garden

Tonic

Have
a drink at Tonic on East Avenue and enjoy the view of Rochester from the
roof-top patio. Each year, more flower pots and containers are added. This past
summer, general manager Joe Prattico installed a trellis/planter system in one
corner and the gardener has requested more. The gardener responsible for the
oleander, roses, herbs and perennial sunflowers is the restaurant owners’
mother. Phil and Charlie Fitzsimmon’s mother, Julie, does the flowers for the
dining room indoors as well as all the planters outside on the patio. The
bathroom entrances on the patio are disguised with big pots filled with
ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals. Of course, the herbs on the patio
are a great source for the chef, Dan Eaton. Tonic is located at 336 East
Avenue; (585) 325-7720. (MWT)

Best
little bridge that could

Red
Creek Bridge

In
Genesee Valley Park, just a stone’s throw north of River Road, a low-profile
concrete bridge crosses Red Creek, connecting a wide-open field and picnic area
to the more restricted golf course. The paved surface of the bridge, though, is
anything but a thoroughfare: Barriers now prevent motor traffic from crossing,
and a rough-looking snow fence completes the effect on one side. And on the
other side, beside the golf course, there are unsightly piles of sand covered
by tarps. Altogether a different effect than the one sought by park designer
Frederick Law Olmsted. But back to the Red Creek bridge: Like others in the
park, it has special charm, though it’s less graceful than the vaulting
foot-bridges over the Erie Canal not far away. But it’s well worth a stroll to
check out — and it’s a good place to contemplate what a structure like this could be. (JBS)

Best
view of Mont Sainte-Victoire

Ayrault
Road

In
Perinton, go north on 250 from Route 31, and turn left on Ayrault Road.
Suddenly on your left is a near replica of Cézanne’s favorite scene:
rectangular slabs in the foreground, the mountain rising behind. A
lightning-white steeple stabs heavenward (an accent not included in the early
cubist’s vista). Paint the mountain 60 times and you qualify as a true
disciple. On your right, the concrete wall has even more paint-overs to cover
the snaking graffiti that periodically grows back like moss. (WW)

Best
movable bridge

The
Lift Bridge

The
2003 Erie Canal navigation season is only six months away. When it comes,
hasten to Lift Bridge Lane in Fairport, and wait for a tall-enough vessel to
trigger the mechanism of the eponymous span. A good place to wait is the deck
of the canal-side Lift Bridge Café, where you can nibble a sandwich while
studying the structural details of the bridge. Note the design of the stairs
which provide pedestrian access whether the bridge is low or lifted. (JJ)

Best
gathering of eminent Rochesterians

Mt.
Hope Cemetery

Mt.
Hope Cemetery, where one can stroll through a picturesque landscape among
graves of both the good and great as well as the bad and obscure. Prominent
historical figures – Frederick Douglass, of course, among them, noted poets
(Adelaide Crapsey comes most immediately to mind) and hundreds of politicians,
community leaders, veterans of far too many wars, and ordinary decent people
lie there under the sheltering trees. Consider their lives, the final democracy
of death, and remember that the paths of glory lead but to the grave. (GG)

Best walk on the moon

Lake
Ontario

In the dead of winter, when you’re sick of shuttling dully between
car and work, head out to the Lake. Slog down to the water’s edge, where you’ll
be transported to an eerie landscape where hulking ice floes roll back and
forth, sometimes piling up in bizarre formations. These gray sculptures of foam
and snow are straight out of some sci-fi flick about life on other planets.
It’s an out-of-this-world escape right here in our own backyard. (JL)

Best
natural light show

Schoen
Place

Visit
the area around Schoen Place in Pittsford as viewed from the Pittsford Library
parking lot: mid-afternoon on a sunny autumn day is a fine time to savor how
light plays along the facades of the granaries, warehouses, shacks, and barns
that are remnants of the Port of Pittsford’s heyday. Cross over the canal to
the shops in Schoen Place, grab an ice cream cone, and get a close-up view of
the textured surfaces of these delightful structures before they get gussied
up. (JJ)

MEDIA:
THE BEST …

Best
tunes

WDKX’s
Memory Lane

Tired
of hos, bitches and the incessant bleeping sounds you hear blocking out the
obscenities in the current crop of tunes? Did I say tunes? There are no tunes!
Turn off the radio until Saturday when Memory
Lane brightens up the airwaves from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 WDKX-FM.
You’ll find André Marcel and Tony Boler playing songs from the heyday of Rhythm
and Blues: The Spinners, the Chil-Lites, Sam & Dave, James Brown, Betty
Wright — they’re all back, sounding as great as ever along with friendly chat,
phone calls, joking around, and the run-down on what’s happening in Rochester.
(RN)

Best
wake-up call

Simon
Pontin’s birds

Those
of us who cherish our sleep probably don’t spend much time being lucid before 6
a.m. But one thing makes the very early morning a very worthwhile time to be
awake: Bird sounds. Particularly, the brilliant field recordings played at 5:58
a.m. by host Simon Pontin at the beginning of his Sunshine Show (6 to 10 a.m. weekdays on 91.5 WXXI-FM). Many of the
bird sounds come from a wide collection of CDs that Pontin has collected over
the years: Environments 2: Dawn and Dusk
at New Hope, Pa; Dawn Chorus; Songbirds at Sunrise. But some of them
come from recordings which Pontin himself made in Malvern, Worcestershire,
England. “I particularly love the songs of British birds heard during my
youth,” he says. Pontin’s inspiration? The late Robert J. Lurtsema, who used
birds as the opening to his show, Morning
Pro Musica, in New England for many years. (CO)

Best
beats and diva action
The slowFlow Show
How is your morning office ambience? Need some new air? Try joining host
jaythreeoh as he puts down his thing every weekday morning from 9 am to noon on
89.7 WITR-FM, right there on the left of your dial. The beats are fresh and the
flow is always a thrill as jaythreeoh mixes up the hip hop and r ‘n b with his
own unique sense of humor. (DC)

BEST
INNOVATIONS

Best
street seat

Along
the ARTWalk

When
Doug Rice began organizing ARTWalk it seemed like a pipe dream: take a long
neglected strip of University Avenue near Goodman Street and use the work of
local artists to make it into a showpiece of urban design. Now that it’s done,
you can sit in the colorful hand-bench by Karen Iuppa and Brian and Walter
Morey, the Art Deco bench by Michael D. Thompson, the copper checkerboard bench
by Laurie A. Grieco, the coffee cup benches by Kevin J. Doyle, and more. Or you
can follow the red brick road past the mosaic lampposts to the 14-foot steel
sculpture by local artist Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez. (RN)

Happiest
first anniversary

Gallery
15

Opening
a new gallery is never easy. Installation problems — track lighting and
divisions of space — can be tricky enough, without the daunting task of
attracting enough customers to stay open beyond a year. Gallery 15, located in
an attractive old house at 15 Prince Street, has just entered its second year
thanks to the dedication of former Rochester Institute of Technology sculpture
professor James Thomas and his wife, Gail. Exhibitions of work by artists like
Arch Miller and Thomas himself have made the gallery one of the primary destinations
on the art trail. Phone: (585) 256-2310. (RN)

Best
party-house alternative

Artisan
Works

If
the conventional Rochester party house isn’t classy enough for your next do,
Artisan Works will drop your jaw and thrill your guests. A former factory located
at 565 Blossom Road, the 40,000-square-foot space is crammed with a huge
collection of original artwork, and the decorated rooms are all for rent. Book
the rooftop garden for starry cocktails, the Japanese dining room for a cozy
dinner party, or the massive museum showroom for a riotous reception. Rental
costs vary by room and range from $200 to $2,000. Tempt yourself at
www.artisanworks.net or call (585) 288-7170. (CEM)

Best
swing

The
Rochester International Jazz Festival

The
Rochester International Jazz Festival swung into town last spring with seven
days of music at the highest level. With the three-day Swing ‘n Jazz festival —
featuring John Faddis, Freddy Cole, Fred Wesley and others — as a prelude, the
RIJF brought the brightest stars — Sonny Rollins, Joe Lovano, Diane Reeves,
Norah Jones and Aretha Franklin — to town and awakened downtown streets,
restaurants, and hotels on an unprecedented level. For one week in June,
festival organizer John Nugent made Rochester the place to be. (RN)

BRIGHT
IDEAS …

Best
way to feel smart

Attending
local theater

The
phrase “local theater” has an unfortunate one-horse-town ring to it, bringing
to mind Christopher Guest’s scathing parody, Waiting for Guffman. But in Rochester, the words translate to first-quality
theater that challenges, surprises, and delights. Savvy audiences look forward
eagerly to every season of the Shipping Dock Theatre, the Downstairs Cabaret
Theatre, Blackfriars, the JCC’s Hart Theatre, and regular performances by a
dozen other, smaller groups. (SH)

Best
reason to get cable TV

Local
sports venues

From
the gloriously musty, partially renovated Blue Cross Arena, where scoreboards
loom like giant sacks of wet cement, threatening to crush fans and players, to
the soon-to-be partially renovated Frontier Field, (home to a baseball team
that receives financial rewards for drawing small crowds, a soccer team that
desperately wants to leave, and a lacrosse team completely shanghaied by local
political appointees), it’s no wonder that attendance is declining across the
board. Heck, let’s just forget about our teams — there’s enough coverage of the
Bills and Sabres to quench the thirsts of local sports fans, isn’t there? (JP)

Best
pandering

The
St. John Fisher College billboards

You’ve
seen them along the expressway: Tenacity:
we teach it. Courage: we teach it. These billboards look like a hybrid of
the old United Colors of Benetton ads and the US Army’s “Be All That You Can
Be” campaigns (not that there’s anything wrong with that). The St. John Fisher
College advertising campaign seems to say more about flattering alumni into
opening their checkbooks than it does about the quality of academic life on
campus. (SH)

Best
yelling drive

Lake
Ontario State Parkway

People
deal with aggression in different ways. Abercrombie-types get drunk and bang
their shins on stuff, then punch stuff. If the girl you’ve been pining for
gives you the ax, take a late night drive west on Lake Ontario State Parkway.
It’s one long-assed expanse of road that doesn’t further depress you by taking
you to Buffalo. Pop in your favorite angry CD or cassette (may I suggest
something from the Violent Femmes’ or Nine Inch Nails’ catalog?) and get
hoarse. (TG)

This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2002.