Taste Test Time Warp:

Unearthing Rochester's Culinary Gems

Were they truly tasty or just nostalgia's illusion?

This is divine!

As I take a stroll down memory lane, of Rochester's dining scene, I got to thinking, You know what?! The Ground Round was a game-changer

What? The Ground Round? You may be asking.

Yes! In 1975-76, I'm a high school senior waving goodbye to my favorite job at Madonna Towers and saying hello to the glamorous life of a waitress at Ground Round. Why? Tips, baby!

Oh boy, looking ahead to my restaurant career.

The Ground Round placed itself smack in the middle of Crossroads Shopping Center, basically where Newts South sits, that in itself is kind of weird omen. CORRECTION: The Ground Round was were Outback is right now. Dang, I knew that!

Crossroads boasted Sears, Snyder Drug, Piggly Wiggly, Face the Music and Andy’s Liquor to name a few. So it was bustling. There was also a 3.2 bar nestled in there.  For those of you unfamiliar, 3.2 beer is lower alcohol beer, well wait, this is MN, you can get it now at the grocery story. Lame. But back then some bars just has licenses for that. And the bar at Crossroads was Dooleys. Yep! sound familiar?

Sears at Crossroads in the 70s. Hey! I drove a 1970 AMC yellow Hornet. I must be at work.

photo courtesy of Post Bulletin

Anyway, the Rochester restaurant scene was a bit of a snoozefest. We had Michael's, the classic steakhouse and a bunch of knock-offs. There was The Chanticleer Room at the airport, The Town House, and whatever the current restaurant was at The Holiday Inn downtown. All boasted a full bar, so you could get your surf and turf plus a daiquiri or gimlet.

Our other dining choices were pretty much diner/family restaurants – Wades Broiler, Carters Family Restaurant, and Embers. Burgers were on the menu, but forget about washing them down with anything more exciting than a cup of coffee or a coke. Fast casual? Nope, not a thing. Yet.

Remember the Embers. Emburger royal and a cup of coffee please.

And then, bam! The Ground Round hit the scene – burgers, beer, sangria, and a full-on bar. The waitlist? Longer than the list of excuses I had for skipping geography. Weekends? We'd still be on a wait at 11 pm. Rochester responded and we were crushed.

The menu was unheard of, something for everyone. Burgers were the star with The Ground Round and Ground Round Jr., but there was also corned beef sandwiches, a couple of steaks, and the Twin Catch, oblong cod/haddock fried in basket —a mysterious favorite. There was one short lived menu item – lobster tails, battered and fried. Why didn't I warn those poor souls? Every time I brought one to the table, I braced myself for the complaints. But sangria made everything ok. Because…

Let's get real the real MVP – the booze. Pitchers of beer, whiskey sours, and carafes of sangria. I can still smell the cocktail pick up area with muddles of beer inter mixed with everything else, There was my 18 year old self, juggling handwritten wet tickets and spearing oranges and maraschino cherries for garnish. I lugged probably thousands of those ever so popular sets of sweet fruit wine on sticky little bar trays.

Recreating this menu was a hodge podge!

The vibe? Trader Joes advertising paper and Chucky Cheese have a love child that sings country western 70’s hits.

If we (the waitresses) were in charge of the juke box music, Good Hearted Woman written by Willie Nelson but sung by Waylon Jennings (who, surprise, both were total heartthrobs) played several times a night. One of the girls had met her soul mate in the GR bar, and this was “their song” and our anthem. But the juke box was silenced when Rochester legends hit the stage, Les Fields and the Turkey River All Stars, featuring banjo and piano music. It got old for us but never the crowds.

The place was an instant sensation. Every one realized they loved peanuts. All you can eat, shuck them yourselves and throw the shells to the floor. I don’t think peanut allergies was a thing, I never heard of such a thing. Oh and popcorn! No other restaurant had popcorn yet! .

Section 2 always had the popcorn machine as clean up duty and it was a great sections for tips but the popcorn machine was a devil to clean. Each section swept their own mounds of peanuts shells.

Kids' meals were calculated by weight – a penny a pound. We had a big scale in the lobby, but don't worry, we weren't scarring the kiddos for life. They loved it! We even had Bingo the Clown and later a table-to-table magician – The Ground Round was magic for everyone.

Eventually, I bid Ground Round adieu and ventured into opening The Bank Restaurant. Classy joint, no fast casual here – just giant peel-and-eat shrimp bowls and the promise of fatter tips.

PS- tips at The Ground Round were decent. In the kitchen on a top shelf we all lined up styrofoam cups with our names on it and each trip in the kitchen we emptied our pockets in our tip cups. The coin was heavy, our cups were beat up. I got pretty good at rolling change and paying for things with quarter rolls. (The license bureau lady really frowned on that. But that woman frowned at everything).

As the Rochester dining scene kept evolving, we welcomed Tinkers, the Green House, and the mighty Henry Wellingtons.

Tinklers, oh boy, that place was something else. Back in about 1981 or so, Tinklers was located in the First Bank Building on Second Street, that cool space that most recently was a sushi joint.

Tinklers 1980 or so…

Fun fact time – JZ and Mike Currie had their eyes on the Bank Restaurant landing there, but you know how deals go – it fell through like a house of cards. Fate had other plans, though. Thank goodness or maybe I wouldn’t be telling this story.

For us, the crew at The Bank Restaurant (including JZ and me during our lovey-dovey dating years), Tinklers was our post-shift watering hole. Known for their legendary Bloody Marys, served with a spectacle of salts and big dill pickle garnish and anything else you may want a dash of, like worcheshire sauce. And the food? Oh, it was a foodies paradise for the day. Tinklers introduced Rochester to matzo ball soup, the Plaza Burger with sour cream, and skin-on fries that were cut so fresh they practically still had dirt on them. Revolutionary stuff! Karen, one of the BR waitresses, had a sweet tooth for the hot fudge sundae – pure enchantment in every bite.

Brunch at Tinklers? My personal fav. The omelets were awesome. There was always a rotating special, and my pick was the zucchini with pepper jack cheese – pretty out there for the budding culinary trend seekers of Rochester, AKA me, of course!

Now let’s talk about the Greenhouse. This was all I could find left of it!

Now, let's talk about The Green House. Picture this – the ultimate fern bar, seed packets stuck to tabletops, and cocktails served in flower pot style glasses. It was located in The Kahler Hotel where Victoria's is now. Packed to the brim with plants and eager customers, you could practically taste the anticipation in the air. Long waits? You betcha. I ended up working the front desk at The Kahler and became a regular at The Greenhouse. The Bloody Marys there too had a fan club, they came with a piece or two of shrimp! But, pitchers of beer was our go-to. And we loved chips and cheese – not actually nachos, nor even referred to as. Picture tortilla chips loaded with cheddar cheese and sliced jalapeños, microwaved to gooey perfection. It was served on two plates so you didn’t sear your fingers on the one just removed from the microwave. It was our first dance with jalapeños, so we played it safe, but man, did we go all-in on flavor. I even brought my little sister once, and JZ, the storyteller, convinced her that these chips came with "Mexican pickles." She loaded up, got hit with some heat. Second trip in with her, just for fun, he told her the same story and she fell for it again. This story became an instant family favorite.

And about those microwaved chips and cheese – nostalgia hits hard. Soggy, drippy, oil-drenched cheesy chips stuck to the plate – a flavor I can still totally get into today. Served with a very thin taco sauce. We had not even heard of pico or salsa yet, just taco sauce.

Just add Mexican pickles

But let's spill the beans on the true game-changer – Henry Wellingtons. More on that wild ride in the future.

By the end of 1982, our hands-down favorite spot was, drumroll please, and not even in Rochester, TGI Fridays. Yeah, you heard me right. Back in the day, we'd even embark on a road trip to the cities just to savor it, kinda like Spoon and Stable – only well, not. But it was the benchmark to us for all things cool in the current restaurant world. We were terrified one would come to town and it would be over for at The Bank Restaurant. But hey, when it waltzed into Rochester years later, it was a far cry from how it began. In our world, we'd say when a big chain hits Rochester, it's on its last legs – Rochester is the chain restaurant dying grounds. Remember Macaroni Grill, anyone? So for those daydreaming of The Cheesecake Factory or Chili’s, be careful what you wish for. The restaurant jungle can be a tricky place.

So, here's my parting bite: Rochester's dining scene in the 70s and 80s wasn't just good— it was legendary. Shortcuts? Nope, not really, back then. Or maybe it's just the sweet seasoning of nostalgia that makes those memories extra delicious. Could go either way. Here's to savoring all the good stuff out there. Until the next trip down memory lane, bon appétit!

Until the next bite.