Schaller’s Brighton Review

Schaller’s Brighton; we’ve all seen the sign. The creepy chef throwing up gang signs on W. Henrietta Rd. I hadn’t been here before. I’d somehow overlooked this place for the last ~10 years. That all ends today. The “Schaller’s Plate” will cost you $9.61, which is on the higher end; but it’s worth it. The quality of the food was great with the quality and taste profile of this plate.

The downside of this plate was thee excessive grease that permeated the bottom of the plate. I don’t have a great analogy here as I’ve already used the Exxon Valdez to describe the Henrietta Hot’s plate. Maybe I can use the BP Gulf oil spill? Sure, let’s go with that. When it was all said and done there was a pool of viscous liquid at the bottom of my Styrofoam to-go box; it was gross. Let’s talk about what I did like:

Meat: 5(!)

My first five! Thus far I haven’t had the occasion to award a five on the meat quality but the burger was cooked well and wasn’t tough at all. I wouldn’t mind eating one of the burgers on its own; that to me is the true test. You shouldn’t have to drown the burger in other things to make it taste good.

Meat Sauce: 5

Yet another five! The meat sauce was unique and had an almost buttery texture to it. It didn’t have any real kick to it but it almost tasted like they put some sort of curry flavoring in it. Whatever it is; I love it.

Potato Side (Crinkle-cut French fries): 3

The fries were a bit disappointing. While I do love the choice of crinkle cut, it seemed like they were not fresh and were almost stale. I bet if the fries were fresh I would have awarded them higher.

Mac Salad: 3

What’s a bit interesting about the mac salad here is that they put carrot in it. It comes as a bit of a surprise; you’re enjoying your meal and suddenly a rogue vegetable appears. Like, “wtf are you doing here veggie? I’m trying to get heart disease!” That said, the mac salad is mediocre.

Bread: 3

While the bread was fresh it was a dinner roll; you know the kind I mean and you know exactly how they taste. I don’t love dinner rolls.

Portion Control/Composition: 4

The only reason they lost points here due to the fact that the plate was beyond greasy. The portion control was good and there was a healthy mix of fixings.

Overall Score: 3.83

A surprisingly good plate; one of the better ones I’ve had. It’s always refreshing to walk into a place you’ve never been before and enjoy a fine plate. Schaller’s should be better known than it is; and you should eat there.