Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods, Travel Channel) did an episode on The Mighty Erie Canal. The show featured Chesterfield Restaurant and Caruso’s Pastry Shoppe in Utica, and The Caboose in Lyons. After watching, I was inspired to find out what other amazing Rochester-area restaurants have been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel.
Day Trips Around Rochester, New York
Best of Rochester Award-Winning Book for Best Published Literary Work of 2023 and #1 Amazon Best Seller.
This is a list of the ones we’ve uncovered so you can dine at restaurants and fairs that Zimmern, Bourdain, Fieri and others have enjoyed. Bon Appétit!
Rochester
- Nick Tahou’s
- Champi’s
- Simply Crepes (Canandaigua location featured)
- Sticky Lips
- The Caboose in Lyons (closed)
- Dinosaur BBQ (Syracuse location featured)
- Duffs Famous Wings (Buffalo location featured)
- Bill Gray’s (Buffalo location featured)
Rochester is often overlooked as a food destination, but we know better. We would love to see our list of Rochester locations grow. Wouldn’t it be great to see Nick Tahou Hots featured for the Garbage Plate instead of Bill Gray’s in Buffalo?
Buffalo
- Anchor Bar
- Lake Effect Diner (closed)
- Schwable’s
- Ted’s Hot Dogs
- La Nova
- Paula’s Donuts
- The Silo
- Sofia’s
- Blackthorn Restaurant
- Mulberry Italian Ristorante
- Grover’s Bar & Grill
- Ulrich’s Tavern
- Riverstone Grill
- Charlie the Butcher
- Erie County Fair
- National Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival
Syracuse
- Heids of Liverpool
- Pastabilities
- Empire Brewing Co.
- Funk n Waffles
- Kitty Hoynes
- Byblos Mediterranean
- Eva’s European Sweets
- Mother’s Cupboard Diner and Fish Fry
- New York State Fair
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Which Rochester restaurants would you like to see featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel?
Your insights and experiences are valuable. Please share them in the comments.
People often ask me if I get free access to places while exploring. The answer is no unless I’m invited to previews or granted behind-the-scenes access as part of my media role. Generally, I don’t mention my project, Day Trips Around Rochester, NY, because I want the same experience you would have. I create and share content simply because it brings me joy. I would appreciate your support—a cup of coffee or two to help fuel future field trips—if you have found valuable information here that has helped you explore the Rochester area.
Of all the incredible local restaurants, chefs and culinary gems in our area, it amazes me that the go-to destination for lazy food writers is Nick Tahoe’s and the garbage plate. Can we PLEASE move on from this?
100%
What a F’ing lame Article! It was all about resturaurants in The Roc featured, but alas, only 4, YES 4 out of the list were really featured in the Rochester area.
Bullshit being able to pay Google to push your lame article to the top of a search inquiry.
You’re completely right on! It is lame that Rochester only has 4. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth mentioning though. So happy to know the article has good SEO since I definitely would not have paid Google to rank this article higher. Like you pointed out, it’s lame!