Iconic Upstate New York Staple Named “Weirdest Dish” in America
A beloved dish that is tasty as it is historic shockingly ranks as the strangest food in the entire country.
We know New York has plenty of haters out there. Countless studies have said not-so-kind things about the Empire State and love to turn us into a national laughing stock.
Last month, a "study" claimed New York has some of the most unhinged drivers in the nation, which complemented a national survey that rated New York drivers as being the most incompetent.
Not only that, a recent study by Orkin crowned 2 cities in New York among the most bed bug-infested places in America. The exterminator also said our state is home to the 6 most rat-infested cities in the entire country.
Read More: NY Home to 6 of America's "Rattiest Cities"
The hate train chugged along with another report slamming the Empire State for having the nation's worst tippers, while another found us to be the worst state for low-income workers.
Our educational systems also aren't left unscathed, with a recent controversial national survey ranking four colleges in the state among the top 10 "most dangerous" campuses in America.
Read More: Upstate NY College Named America's 2nd "Most Dangerous" Campus
Honestly, the latter felt like a hit piece because of how many New York institutions made the national roundup versus other states. There's no way New York is really that terrible.
So, it should come as no surprise when a new "national ranking" decided to take another jab at New York by making us seem basic.
LoveFood released its ranking of the "weirdest dish" from every state that apparently no one else understands. Some of their picks were right on the money, like Connecticut's white clam pizza (which is very tasty, by the way), or Oregon's gooseneck barnacles.
So, instead of highlighting our state's true oddities like the famous Peppermint Pig from Saratoga Candy Co. or Central New York's very own Turkey Joints - they picked what many New Yorkers, and people nationwide, consider a normal meal.
So out of all the best kept secrets New York has to offer, they picked a dish that even people overseas know of and enjoy... the Garbage Plate.
Out of all the foods that only true New Yorkers "get," why did they claim the Garbage Plate is our biggest oddity?
LoveFood goes onto write the dish was invented at Nick Tahou's Hots in Rochester, which opened in 1918.
The plate was said to be originally called "hots and potatoes" until it earned a new moniker in the 1980s when college students asked for a plate "with all the garbage on it."
Said the food blog:
New York’s weirdest home-grown dish is simple, yet effective: ground beef, sausage, steak, or chicken (your choice) is crumbled over a hefty pile of home fries, French fries, macaroni salad, and baked beans, then topped with a drizzle of hot sauce.
Honestly, garbage plates aren't all that weird. While they were invented in New York, they're no longer unique to the state. So disappointing that even roundups of the nation's weirdest foods make the Empire State look totally mundane.
At least it's tasty, right?
What dish should LoveFood highlighted instead? My vote is for Utica Greens - I still don't understand them and I've lived here for a year.
Let us know what dish you'd vote for by using the chat feature on our station app.
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