STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE '12: Food and Entertainment

I remember my first week at college, when the dining hall
seemed like some heavenly, endless supply of food I could just pick up and eat
at any time. That feeling didn’t last. Or, rather, it was replaced by a stomach
ache after a few weeks of sundaes, pancakes, and grilled-cheese sandwiches. It’s
inevitable: at some point you will grow tired of dining-hall food. Thus begins your
exploration of Rochester’s many
awesome restaurants.

But you’re
probably on a college budget, and have to save restaurants for special
occasions. Or maybe coaxing a ride out of an upperclassman with a car is harder than you thought. Either way, if you’re going out
to eat you want to make it count. So why stick with just eating? Those dorm-hall
activities aren’t going to get much more exciting, either, so plan a trip
somewhere that will give you a full meal and entertainment in one place. Music,
dancing, games: you decide. Any option will give you a nice break from campus.
Here are some of the places in Rochester
where you can combine food with fun.

Comedy

The Comedy Club (2235 Empire Blvd., 671-9080,
thecomedyclub.us) offers good, cheap food and comedy shows all year long. This
place has a full food and drink menu, so even if the comedy isn’t tickling your
funny bone you can still leave with a full stomach. Regular comedy acts take
place weekly, usually Thursday through Saturday nights, and they’re not just
your average guy off the street attempting stand-up. Upcoming shows include Ben
Bailey (the host of “Cash Cab”) September 13-15 and Marc Unger, who has
appeared on Comedy Central, in “Friends” episodes, and lately on HBO’s “Veep,” October 4-6. The menu includes all your fried
favorites, like pizza logs and chicken fingers, as well as burgers, salads, and
sandwiches. You can expect to pay about $9 per entrée, and tickets for the
comedy acts run $5-$20.

Blues & barbecue

Barbecue and blues, two staples of the
South that work just as in Western New York.Rochester has
various restaurants that specialize in both. Sticky Lips Juke Joint (830
Jefferson Road, Henrietta; 292-5544,
stickylipsbbq.com) offers multiple live-music shows throughout the week, with
cover charges running between $3 and $10. The musicians might be anyone from
local blues bands to Grammy nominees, and can vary into rock, roots, or reggae.
On the menu you can choose from homemade sides to go with ribs, pulled pork,
brisket, and other sauce-slathered favorites. Food prices range from $9 to $20.

Dinosaur
Bar-B-Que (99 Court St.,
325-7090, dinosaurbarbecue.com) has gotten some national recognition for its
great food, but its music is also worth paying attention to. You can head over
almost any day of the week and hear live funk, rock, or blues bands. You can
order unique appetizers like catfish strips and pulled-pork sliders, or the
usual barbecue favorites. And don’t forget about the sides. If you go to
Dinosaur without trying the macaroni and cheese, I pity you. You can spend
anywhere from $10 on a sandwich to $22 on a custom barbecue plate, but it’s
worth splurging on. And the music is always free.

The Beale
New Orleans Grille
& Bar (689 South Ave.,
271-4650; 1930 Empire Blvd., Webster, 216-1070; thebealegrille.com) also has
both a full menu and live music. You can go there just for fun appetizers like
fried pickles or beer-battered shrimp, but The Beale also serves steak, seafood,
and barbecue and Cajun entrees. Food runs roughly $12-$20. You can also hear
free live blues on select nights at either location. For a
full music schedule check out the restaurant on Facebook.

Live music

Rochester has a
diverse music scene. Many great local bands can be heard at different
restaurants throughout the week. Why go to dinner and then a concert when you
can do both at once? There are dozens of venues that offer live music in Rochester.
Here are a few:

Lovin‘ Cup (300 Park
Point Drive, 292-9940, lovincup.com) puts on
concerts, open mic nights, and other events almost
every night of the week. Most music shows — an eclectic mix of genres,
featuring both local and national artists — will typically cost you $3-$10, although
there’s a free open mic night every Tuesday. Most of
the food ($8-$10) is cleverly named for different songs or bands, such as the
Free Bird sandwich or the I’m Hot For Teacher Panini.
Burgers and pizzas fill the menu as well.

Skylark
Lounge (40 S. Union St.,
270-8106, theskylarklounge.com) is also great for live entertainment and a
low-cost meal. This venue specializes in meatballs. Yep,
meatballs. Skylark has five different types of meatballs — even a
vegetarian one — with different sauces and sides. Side options include deep-fried
mashed potato balls, pasta, and cole slaw. Three
meatballs and a side are only $7.50, and there is usually free live music at
least a few nights per week.

Ever had
macaroni with pale ale cheese sauce? Yes, you can eat it if you’re under 21.
It’s one of Johnny’s Irish Pub’s (1382 Culver
Road, 224-0990, johnnysirishpub.com) special
dishes, along with its famous Reubens and “shamrock”
plates. You can also catch live music and other events there most nights. There
is no cover charge for the music, which ranges from soul and blues to
traditional Irish music. Each entrée runs about $5-$9, more than fair for a
good plate of food and live music.

If you want
a European take on dinner and music, consider Lemoncello (137 W. Commercial St., EastRochester,
385-8565). It offers live music nearly every night along with a menu of Italian
entrees ($12-$25). You can also just stick with coffee and gelato at the café.
There’s nothing like a classy Italian dinner with some jazz in the background
to make you forget about dining-hall food for a while. For
more info visit lemoncello137.com.

Dinner and a movie

The Little Theatre (240 East
Ave., 258-0400, thelittle.org) gives you dinner
and a movie all in one place. Independent and foreign movies play every night,
with additional weekend matinees; admission costs $5-$8. Most of Rochester’s
movie theaters offer the big-name releases but may not screen lesser-known
titles or documentaries. That’s where The Little comes
in. The theater also has includes a café that offers coffee and espresso,
soups, quiches, and sandwiches; prices stay under $10. There are also daily
food specials and plenty of desserts. As an added bonus, the café also hosts
regular live music and art shows as well, with no cover. On any given night you
are sure to find good food and artsy entertainment.

Arcade/mini-golf

Enjoying a show with your food can be fun, but sometimes you
need to actually get up and do something. At ClubhouseFunCenter(70 Jay Scutti Blvd.,
272-7888) you can grab some cheap food while showing off your arcade skills.
The Treehouse Café sells pizza, ice cream, and nachos
to eat while you’re playing skee ball or a giant Fruit
Ninja game. You can get 40 arcade tokens for $10, and the food is your average
mall-food price. The Clubhouse also has mini-golf ($7 per game) and a go-karting
track ($8 per ride).

Rochester is
also home to one of the oldest mini-golf courses in the United States, Whispering
Pines, which is conveniently located next to a nice little diner in the Sea
Breeze section of Irondequoit. Parkside Diner (4353 Culver Road,
323-2710, parksidediner.net) offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner for cheap
diner prices, so you can eat before or after you hit the golf course. Mini-golf
is $6 a game, but be sure to go early in September because it closes for the
winter in October.

Dancing

As a freshman you’re probably still under 21, but that doesn’t
mean you have to dance in your cramped dorm room. Tapas 177 Lounge (177
St. Paul St., 262-2090, tapas177.com) pairs the dancing and food of Spain for a
unique experience. The restaurant specializes in tapas, small Spanish-influenced
dishes such as curried empanadas ($10) or stuffed poblano
peppers ($11), but it also offers entrees as well ($20-$30). The lounge also has
free salsa dancing lessons on Thursdays and hosts live salsa music on
Saturdays.

This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2012.