12 places for over-the-top Tater Tots
Ore-Ida Tater Tots (it's a trademark) have been a hit with kids since the 1950s, when F. Nephi Grigg invented them as a way to use up shavings left over from making french fries. Within the past few years, though, the barrel-shaped nuggets have caught on with chefs, who are adorning them with creative toppings and even creating their own versions from scratch.
Josh Hunt, chef and assistant brewer at Roc Brewing Co. explains why chefs like tots: "They're easy to do. They're quick. They're versatile." With their relatively neutral flavor, they are suited to a range of different approaches. And everybody loves tots, especially while they are drinking beer.
Here are a dozen examples of the many next-level creations offered at area pubs and restaurants.
1. Roc Brewing Co.: Loaded Tot Waffle ($9)
Three years ago, Roc Brewing decided to offer food to go along with its beer. The challenge was that the brewery was built without a kitchen in mind. Chef Hunt, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, dreamed of dishes that paired well with beer and could be prepared in a small space with bare-bones kitchen equipment.
► MORE: Best beers to pair with Tater Tots.
The brewery offers four versions of tot waffles, in which tots are smashed in a waffle iron and cooked until golden and crispy, and then slathered and sprinkled with various toppings. The loaded tot waffle, for example, has taco beef, nacho cheese, sour cream, diced tomatoes, olives, pickled jalapenos and scallions. Other options include a pulled pork, poutine and Rochester tot waffle; the latter is topped with meat hot sauce, cheddar cheese, sour cream and scallions.
Coming up: Hunt will show off his culinary chops on "Tot-co Tuesdays," which will feature a new tot waffle special each week.
Roc Brewing Co is at 56 S. Union St.
2. Playhouse Swillburger: Fantasy Tots ($4.49)
The combination burger spot, cocktail bar and arcade where Swillburg meets the South Wedge added tots to the menu when its kitchen was overwhelmed by the time-consuming, multi-step process for making fresh-cut fries. While it still offers fries, tots offered a quicker alternative, as well as a canvas on which its chefs could create.
"We try to get playful with them — have a little bit of fun," said chef Christian Simeone.
One example of the Fantasy Tots, which change weekly: peanut coconut curry tots, drizzled with a vegan coconut curry sauce and topped with pickled red onions, pickled carrots, pickled scallions, crumbled peanuts and cilantro. A recurring special is Old Bay tots, tossed with Old Bay seasoning and topped with a vegan Old Bay remoulade and a caper salsa.
Playhouse/Swillburger is at 820 S. Clinton Ave.
Cheap Eats: Burger and fries at The Swillburger
3. City Grill: City Grill Tater Tots ($8)
City Grill, which serves American food with a modern twist, gives tots an upscale twist. Its tots are formed from mashed potatoes, coated in cornstarch and fried, giving them a delicately crispy outer shell. They are served with bacon, aged white Cheddar cheese, scallions and an orange-chile aioli.
City Tavern, its sister restaurant in Victor, offers potato croquettes, which are made in a similar fashion, but are coated in panko breadcrumbs for a more crunchy, crumbly exterior. They are tossed with thyme and parsley, as well as Asiago and Pecorino cheeses. They are available as a side dish and also come with its popular meatloaf entrée.
City Grill is at 384 East Ave. in the East End. City Tavern is at 7635 State Route 96 in Victor, just down the road from Eastview Mall.
4. The Penfield Pour House: Cheesy Hot Tots ($6.95)
The low-key restaurant and watering hole in Penfield makes several things well, including a tasty house-made pepper jack beer cheese sauce and its mildly spicy meat hot sauce. Both are ladled atop its Cheesy Hot Tots, which are also dusted in its signature "sass" spice. Its Haccamo Plate ($10.45) subs tots for the usual home fries, but stays true to the classic with a homemade mac salad, burgers or hots and meat sauce.
The Penfield Pour House is at 1665 Penfield Road in Penfield.
Review: Penfield Pour House a congenial gathering spot
5. Marshall Street Bar and Grill: Untidy Tots ($7)
You know a place is fun when it has board games, darts, pool, a giant Jenga game and a huge Connect 4 game. It's not surprising, then, that it would have a playful tot creation. Its Untidy Tots are a bowl of tots topped with meat hot sauce, queso and its sweet-and-spicy Marshall wing sauce. Its creative bar menu, which has many vegetarian and vegan options, is served until 2 a.m. daily.
Marshall Street Bar and Grill is at 81 Marshall St., just off Monroe Avenue.
6. Edibles Restaurant and Bar: Truffle Tots ($9)
Edibles drizzles its tots with truffle oil, sprinkles them with sea salt and serves them with chipotle aioli. It started offering this upscale take on tots about eight years ago; since then, they have become the restaurant's top selling appetizer. It also occasionally offers a version called Tots 2.0 as a bar special; they are topped with cheddar, bacon, sour cream and sriracha.
On Tuesdays, you can get the truffle tots as well as all of the restaurant's appetizers for half price in the bar.
Edibles Restaurant and Bar is at 704 University Ave.
7. Richmond's Tavern: Totchos ($9)
Richmond's is well known for its wings, slathered with your choice of 13 or so different sauces, but perhaps you might want to branch out to its totchos. Tots are given the chili cheese fry treatment, with a blanket of gooey ale queso cheese atop a layer of bean and spicy meat chili. Sour cream and salsa come on the side for your dipping or spreading enjoyment.
Richmond's is at 21 Richmond St., near East Main Street.
Review: Richmond's known for wings, comfort food
8. Scotland Yard Pub: Tater Bombs ($10)
This cheery English-style pub on St. Paul Street stuffs its homemade tots with cheddar cheese, fries them and tops them with bacon, scallions and more cheddar cheese. They are served with a side of Cajun bleu cheese dressing. Other tater-rific creations include a classic poutine and Irish nachos (fries topped with house-made queso fundido and habañero jack cheese, bacon, black beans, pico de gallo and chive sour creme). It also offers delivery through Grubhub.
Scotland Yard Pub is at 187 St. Paul St.
9. Good Smoke BBQ: Cheesy Cajun Taters ($6.29)
The many plaques and trophies crammed into the cozy Good Smoke BBQ demonstrate that the folks at Good Smoke know their smoked meats, but the cozy East Rochester establishment knows good food in general. Its Cheesy Cajun Taters are golden tots that are dusted in a spicy Cajun seasoning before getting a drizzle of melted nacho cheese topping.
Good Smoke BBQ is at 326 W. Commercial St. in East Rochester.
10. American Burger Bar and Beer Boutique: Colony Cup ($5.99)
With 20 creative burgers on its menu, from a peanut butter burger to a pierogi burger, it's no wonder that this place would put a twist on a plate. In this case, it's the Colony Cup, which layers tots, mac salad and meat hot sauce in a clear quart-sized cup, perfect for portability. It's even free on your birthday. Another tot creation: Loaded Tots, topped with queso, jalapeños, bacon and chipotle ranch dressing, for $8.99.
The American Burger Bar and Beer Boutique is at 3208 Latta Road in Greece.
11. Acme Bar & Pizza: Cajun Taters ($4)
This Monroe Avenue bar and pizzeria is known for darts, pool tables and its bumper-sticker adorned coolers with a rotating stock of beers. Where food is concerned, it's best known for its New York-style pizza, but it also has a cult following for its tots, particularly its Cajun Taters. Even better: you can get them until 2 a.m.
Acme Bar and Pizza is at 495 Monroe Ave.
12. The Landing Bar and Grille: Tater Tot Poutine ($8.95)
An unassuming bar on Fairport's Main Street, The Landing Bar and Grille puts an American twist on a Canadian classic with its Tater Tot Poutine. Crispy Tater Tots are smothered with melted mozzarella cheese and gravy.
The Landing Bar and Grille is at 30 Village Landing on Fairport's Main Street.
Honorable mention: Although the Smokin Petes food truck has followed the flight of the snowbirds to its winter digs in Florida, it deserves an honorable mention for its loaded tots. The toppings change from event to event, but one memorable example loaded tots with gooey cheese, chunks of smoked meat, a drizzle of barbecue sauce and a dollop of sour cream. Here's hoping the truck returns with the robins reappear in the spring.
TRACYS@Gannett.com