# "Upstate New York" What does it mean to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2007, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681 "2007-12-20T06:17:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/41 "2007-12-20T15:25:24Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] The Can of Worms has been fixed considerably and is no longer the congestion/accident magnet it was once. And Pittsford Plaza is awesome, what you talkin’ about? [/QUOTE] The Can was fixed shortly after I moved away, but was still visiting on a regular basis. Pittsford Plaza was awesome. Seriously, every memory I have of the place is fun and nostalgic. But I have no desire to ever go back. Unless I could be talked into a Dopefest. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/42 "2007-12-20T15:32:27Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] I’m around the Irondequoit/City area. Man, I had no idea so many Rochester people posted on this board. I always assumed it was just me, **OtakuLoki** and **Exapno**. And lately, **Nzinga**. [/QUOTE] Nope, and IIRC, you’re the guy who mentioned going to a college affiliated with NTID, so we went to the same school. Anyone up for Tahou’s (where’s that vomit smiley?)? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/43 "2007-12-20T15:33:38Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] Anyone up for Tahou’s (where’s that vomit smiley?)? [/QUOTE] Never heard of it. Is the Aloha restaurant still around? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/44 "2007-12-20T15:40:34Z")
[Tahous](http://www.patjenk.com/rochester/tahous/). I’m not familiar with Aloha, but it might still be around. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/45 "2007-12-20T15:43:54Z")
This PSA is purely opinion and has no factual support. There is no official upstate NY, just a perceived Upstate. I would consider everything North of the Suburbs of NYC to be upstate. The dividing line could be north of Rockland & Westchester or maybe as far north as part way through Dutchess county. I would consider Millerton to be Upstate, so I would use Putnam or Westchester as the arbitrary border. Albany is clearly upstate and I know residents of Boonville consider it upstate. Cooperstown is also considered upstate AFAIK. **treis** , you are going to be hard put to support your definition. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/46 "2007-12-20T15:44:00Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Never heard of it. Is the Aloha restaurant still around? [/QUOTE] Of course you have heard of it! Maybe you called it “Nick’s”. We used to call it Nasty Nick’s. We would eat their disgusting burgers with that gritty sauce on it at 3 am. Geez, I was a drunk 15 year old girl at the time. Couldn’t pay me to eat that crap now. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/47 "2007-12-20T15:44:35Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] > [@Omega Glory](#): > > Anyone up for Tahou’s (where’s that vomit smiley?)? Never heard of it. [/QUOTE] Nick Tahou’s - the Home of the **Garbage Plate**. For you non-Rochesterians - The place is proud of being the Home of the Garbage Plate. :eek: 😃 On preview - the page that **Omega Glory** linked has a number of shots of a Garbage plate. That’s the food in the styrofoam take out containter in the bottom half of the pictures. I don’t know about the Aloha. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/48 "2007-12-20T15:49:22Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] [Tahous](http://www.patjenk.com/rochester/tahous/). I’m not familiar with Aloha, but it might still be around. [/QUOTE] Wow, that place looks disgusting. But I’d give my left nut for a package of white hots. I don’t think that they exist anywhere else in the universe. A quick google search indicates that the Aloha is no longer there. Too bad. The food sucked, but the atmosphere was great. There was a little pond in the middle with a foot bridge going over it. On our birthdays, we always got to choose a restaurant. My sister and I always chose that place. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/49 "2007-12-20T15:49:24Z")
I grew up in NYC (in Queens). Everything north of the Bronx is Upstate. I was just having this same conversation with my dad (born and raised in the Bronx), where I wondered if we could really call Westchester County “Upstate” and he was emphatic about it–if it’s north of the Bronx, it’s Upstate. Also, the City is always Manhattan, despite the fact that where I lived is part of NYC, and Long Island begins at Nassau County, even though Queens and Brooklyn _are_ western Long Island. As far as I know, everyone who grew up in one of the five boros grew up referring to things this way. ---
**Author:** ![gaucho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gaucho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaucho)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/50 "2007-12-20T15:52:54Z")
Anything that’s not Westchester, Long Island, or the Five Boroughs is “upstate.” ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/51 "2007-12-20T15:58:08Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] But I’d give my left nut for a package of white hots. I don’t think that they exist anywhere else in the universe. [/QUOTE] You do know that [Zweigle’s](http://www.zweigles.com/) is online, and you can order from them, right? ETA: Sorry, not order directly, but through another online retailer. Still you can have white hots mailed to your residence. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/52 "2007-12-20T16:03:47Z")
Growing up on Long Island, “upstate” was anywhere north of Westchester. Now that I live in Schenectady, “upstate” is anywhere north of Westchester. If we have to refer to Buffalo, we’ll say “western NY,” which is a subset of “upstate NY.” The Adirondacks are “the Adirondacks” and are another subset. Officially (i.e., according to the NY State Dept. of Tourism), the state has [11 regions](http://www.iloveny.com/MapsRegions/Default.aspx): Long Island New York City Catskills Hudson Valley Capital Saratoga Adirondacks Thousand Islands-Seaway Central Leatherstocking (you can tell a bureaucrat came up with these) Finger Lakes Greater Niagara Chatauqua In my experience, “Capital Saratoga” is always called “Capital District.” I would guess no one in the area uses “Central Leatherstocking,” either. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/53 "2007-12-20T16:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] You do know that [Zweigle’s](http://www.zweigles.com/) is online, and you can order from them, right? [/QUOTE] I think I am going to cry. True beauty is rare, but that’s what you’ve shown me. Thank you! Santa Claus been very very good to me this year. Between that and currently going through the third blizzard of the week, it’s almost like I’m back home. I don’t suppose you could summon up Wendy from the 8th grade, could you? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/54 "2007-12-20T16:13:57Z")
When I lived in Queens, I considered everything above the Bronx “upstate.” When I lived in the Hudson Valley (Ulster and then Columbia county), I considered everything from Albany and north (AND west) to be upstate. The Finger Lakes and Buffalo were definitely Upstate. That is still my general definition of upstate: the line of demarcation runs along the northern PA border, cuts northeast along the northern edge of Catskill State Park, and runs across to meet the eastern half of I-90. Above that line is “Upstate.” Below that line is the Hudson Valley, the City, and off on the side is Long Island. (Staten Island always seems like New Jersey to me.) Now that I live on the West Coast, I now tell everyone that I used to live in Upstate New York, because no one has any idea what the Hudson Valley is. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/55 "2007-12-20T16:22:22Z")
Anyone in this thread ever go to the 4-H camp in Canadaigua? ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/56 "2007-12-20T16:31:28Z")
The problem is that New York is not so much a state, as a collection of people who might not belong on the same planet as let alone the same country. Buffalo – Is clearly in Canada. It is Toronto’s little sister city. Rochester – Is a decaying suburb with no city to go along with it. Suburb of what? I dunno. Binghamton, Elmira, et. al. – There is nothing in the southerntier that is vaguely New York. I think this is outer Pennsyltucky. Syracuse – IS central NY. Long Island – Is an island nation that just happens to use the US dollar and a language loosely related to English. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/57 "2007-12-20T16:31:33Z")
I’m proud to say that I never – not once while I was in Rochester – went to Nick Tahou’s. Never had a Garbage Plate. I do, however, miss Smitty’s, Country Sweet, and other such Chicken a Ribs places. I’ve gone so far as to order Smitty;s Sauce long distance. Smitty’s is gone, but you can still get Boss Sauce by the case. Nobody outside Rochester seems to know what that kind of sauce is. Oh, and not to leave out Binghamton, I’ve got an industrial-sized jug of Spiedie Sauce, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/58 "2007-12-20T16:35:16Z")
Didn’t even know there was a 4-H camp in Canandaigua, and I’ll be there the day after Christmas to visit my dad. (Then again, it’s not as if the Finger Lakes region is something you have to research to find great outdoor places, just go anywhere and you’ll find something. I found [Clark Gully](http://www.terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=12&Z=18&X=386&Y=5908&W=3), the best little gorge I’ve ever been in, by looking at a topo map and saying to myself “yanno, I bet this would be an interesting hike!” ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/59 "2007-12-20T16:38:28Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] Of course you have heard of it! Maybe you called it “Nick’s”. We used to call it Nasty Nick’s. We would eat their disgusting burgers with that gritty sauce on it at 3 am. Geez, I was a drunk 15 year old girl at the time. Couldn’t pay me to eat that crap now. [/QUOTE] Yes, it’s where drunk teens and college kids go when everything else is closed. The food is terrible, and the building filthy, but it’s tradition. I didn’t knew Country Sweet and Boss Sauce were local, but didn’t realize they weren’t found everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681/60 "2007-12-20T16:42:50Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I’m proud to say that I never – not once while I was in Rochester – went to Nick Tahou’s. Never had a Garbage Plate. I do, however, miss Smitty’s, Country Sweet, and other such Chicken a Ribs places. I’ve gone so far as to order Smitty;s Sauce long distance. Smitty’s is gone, but you can still get Boss Sauce by the case. Nobody outside Rochester seems to know what that kind of sauce is. Oh, and not to leave out Binghamton, I’ve got an industrial-sized jug of Spiedie Sauce, too. [/QUOTE] Can’t forget the Chiavetta’s chicken marinade. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upstate-new-york-what-does-it-mean-to-you/430681.md?page=4)