Dogtown Review II

This is the beginning of a series I’m calling, “I revisit a place to give it a second look.” (I’m still working on the name.) I had the chance to check out Dogtown (again) after a long hiatus. I’ll say up front that I’m a huge fan of Dogtown. I didn’t think it was possible, but their plate has gotten better with age. A second visit has re-affirmed my belief that they have one of the best plates in Rochester. A few things have changed that are worth noting:

• The plate now costs $10.26 (up $1.62 from $8.64 in July of 2017)
• The mac salad is different; and better.
• The home fries are better.

Other than those few items, I can say that it’s the same great quality that you’ve come to expect from Dogtown. There’s a reason that year after year they win (or are nominated) [for] the “Best Place for  Rochester ‘Plate’“. Let’s break it down:

HEALTH INSPECTION NOTES:

There were a few non-critical issues when they had their last inspection on 11/2019. Of those issues the one that stood out to me was:

Insects, rodents present

Which is a bit gross. Other than that there isn’t really anything I find worth mentioning, and I would feel comfortable eating here again.

“Meat” (Cheeseburger/Dog): 4

I got a split plate with a burger and a hot. As I expected the burger was quite good and the hot was also enjoyable.

Meat Sauce: 5

Not much has changed with the meat sauce, it’s still one of the best meat sauces in Rochester.

Potato Side (Home Fries): 5

As I mentioned above, the home fries are a bit better than I remember them being. It isn’t clear to me if they’ve just upgraded from the Sysco baseline home fries to the “luxury” home fries but they were quite good; and seasoned well.

Mac Salad: 5

The mac salad here is a lot better than I remember it being. It was one of the few weak points of their plate that I mentioned last time I did a review here.

Bread: 4

The bread hasn’t changed, it’s a bit bland, but quite fresh and I do love me some fresh bread.

Portion Control/Composition: 5

You can’t really do much better than the Dogtown plate. It’s a standard in the annals of plate history. It’s genuinely one of the best plates I’ve ever had and every ingredient complements every other ingredient. The synergy is very real and they give you a ton of food.