Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle on November 18, 2007
If you choose to eat at Food at Fishers Station, you will wait in a line. Absolutely, no doubt about it, you will. If it's your first time, and you let that be known, you'll receive all kinds of info from your fellow standees: "they always have a special called 2-2-2, which is supposed to be two pancakes, two eggs, and two sausage patties; when it arrives there are usually way more than two pancakes, and they're the best pancakes you'll ever have"; "oh, great, now it'll be even harder to get in" when we let slip that we might write about it on the net; "everything they make here is fantastic." It's all true.
They call them "meltaway pancakes", and they are thin, tender, and several large steps above standard hash house flapjacks. They always have a breakfast sandwich available, and it's served on a fluffy, feathery, flour-dusted homemade roll, piled so generously that picking it up in your hands never occurs to you. Not finishing every crumb never occurs to you either. Along with the sandwich you receive terrific crunch-crusted home fries. A frittata special of sausage, cheddar, peppers, and onions is packed to the max with cheese and flavor. A casually listed homemade muffin is simply a perfect cranberry nut muffin with a crunchy sugary crown.
Fishers Station is run by a trained chef and his wife, and the training is reflected on the plate; like the man on the line said, everything really is fantastic. Somehow, in ways that aren't quite clear to us, everything is dense with flavor and perfectly prepared. This is not frou-frou dining; nothing served would seem out of place at your local diner, except for the fact that the food is so darn good. The room is loud; it's crowded; it's bustling and hectic. There's an utter lack of pretense. And the facts that the coffee is so-so and they don't use real maple syrup, while curious, don't significantly change our opinion of the place.
Food at Fishers Station occupies a modest, unobtrusive house in the midst of what looks like office parks. All that indicates what's going on in this house is a small lawn sign, and the incongruously large number of cars parked in the vicinity, as if someone's having a neighborhood party. And while the town of Victor is a southeastern suburb of Rochester, few people in the big city even seem to be aware of Food at Fishers Station. Those that do praise the lunches even more so than the breakfasts. Awfully hard for us to believe. Food at Fishers Station is the kind of Roadfood eatery we dream about.
Note: Food at Fishers Station has VERY limited hours. Lunch and breakfast are served, as of this writing, three days a week, although not the same three days. Also, they are located just a couple of minutes off the NY State Thruway, at exit 45.
Overall: Worth planning a day around
18 out of 20 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?
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"A breakfast special of raisin French toast couldn't have been any better."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"This day's homemade muffin selection included a cranberry-nut, with a crisp sugared crown, that was well-nigh perfect."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"The regular menu lists a breakfast sandwich made with sausage, but today's specials menu listed one made with sweet and salty ham. The roll is homemade."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Another breakfast special, today's frittata was a luxuriously cheesy plate of eggs."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Perhaps the signature breakfast item at Fishers Station, the perpetual special called 2*2*2 is supposed to include two eggs, two sausage patties, and two pancakes."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Was it a coincidence or our waitress' sense of humor? Of the four of us dining, the 87-year-old received this mug."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"All breakfast specials are $6. They're a bargain."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Dining at Fishers Station is like a party in someone's home, especially if you find yourself seated with others at the long table next to the kitchen. Better yet, try to snag a counter seat."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Waiting on the patio is part of the ritual of dining at Fishers Station."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Food at Fishers Station has very limited operating hours; three days a week for lunch, three days a week for breakfast."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Yes, that house is what you'll be looking for."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
