Nick Tahou Hots is a restaurant in Rochester, New York best known for a dish called the Garbage Plate. The restaurant was founded in 1918 by Alex Tahou, the grandfather of the 21st-century owner (also named Alex Tahou), and named for Nick Tahou, the founder's son, who operated the establishment until his death in 1997. While there are other Upstate New York variants, Nick Tahou's is the originator of the trademarked Garbage Plate. Garbage Plate Nick Tahou Hots's best known dish is the Garbage Plate, which consists of a selection of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans and French fries topped with meats of the customer's choice. The dish can be garnished with mustard, chopped onions, ketchup and the venue's signature hot sauce, and is served with bread and butter. The Garbage Plate is typically mixed together by the diner before being eaten. Tahou first created the dish as two hamburger patties with a selection of side dishes. The dish has spawned several imitators with similar names in the Greater Rochester area, including Fairport Hots' "The Hot Plate", Tom Wahl's "55 Junker Plate" and Mark's Texas Hots' "Sloppy Plate." In 2010 Health.com named the Garbage Plate the fattiest food in the state of New York. Philanthropy A charitable Garbage Plate Run is sponsored by the University of Rochester's Sigma Phi Epsilon. Held annually in the spring, this three-man race begins at the U of R River Campus. The first of the team members run 2.2 miles through the city to Nick Tahou's. Once they arrive, the second teammate eats a Garbage Plate as quickly as they are able, then the final teammate runs back to campus to complete the race. In a race titled the "Ironman", one-man teams attempt to complete all three tasks alone. The Mount Hope Family Center is the recipient of all proceeds collected during the event, including sponsor funds and contestant's entry fees. Other locations In the mid-1950s, Nick Tahou's hot dog stand was located in a smaller building just to the west of its longtime location. From 1979 to 2007, there were two Nick Tahou Hots restaurants in Rochester: one in downtown Rochester and a satellite restaurant on Lyell Avenue (NY Route 31) in Gates. In 2007, Steve Tahou and his sister Joanne Tahou-Demkou, the children of Ike Tahou (Nick's brother), assumed full ownership of the Lyell Avenue location and renamed it Steve T. Hots