When traveling to new and bigger cities from our little slice of podunk heaven it is often hard to figure out where to stay without getting raped, mugged, or killed. It is also hard to find said places without emptying out the bank account as well.
Rochester, NY is a city with some heavy crime areas, but there are also some beautiful and well kept areas as well. We went up there this weekend to see a show at The Main Street Armory. The area north of this venue seemed a bit hairy so I decided to check Zillow to see what the real estate market is like for the city. This is a great tool when you aren't buying a house because it gives you median incomes, crime rates, and locations of interest in that neighborhood. This was exactly what we needed.
We stayed at The Strathallan Doubletree in the East End. This is an unassuming hotel on the outside that is nestled in streets lined with old brick and Victorian mansions. The inside of this hotel is gorgeous and modern. They give you free cookies when you check in and the staff were very helpful with ideas for restaurants and bars. They even arranged for us to have a free shuttle ride to the venue and pick up if the show was out before 11 pm.
On our drive to Rochester, NY we stopped in a suburb called Brighton for a quick and delicious lunch at our favorite burger joint, Tom Wahl's. This location of the restaurant was much cleaner and the staff were more friendly than the one in Canandaigua and it is right off the highway so it was easy off and easy on.
We were too early for check in still and decided to take a stroll around the Memorial Art Gallery which was only a block from our hotel. This is a gorgeous old building that reminded me of the Toledo Art Gallery in its dimensions and viewing rooms. This particular museum had it's quirks. The front desk staff were a bit snooty and some were a bit brash, but the guards wandering around the viewing rooms were very pleasant and informative. I won't go in to detail about the exhibits we saw there as I will share them on Friday in the Art Bomb section, so look for it!
After checking in to the hotel and relaxing a few minutes, we walked two blocks on East Ave and came to Alexander Street. There are a great number of places to eat and drink in this little 4 block section. There are two Irish pubs, Murphy's Law and McGregor's, as well as a traditional British Pub called The Old Toad. There are several hipster looking bars/restaurants called One, Mex, and Vinyl. If you are down for some quick eats they also have a local pizza place as well as a Subway.
We settled on Murphy's Law. We had a few pints of Guinness and then some local brewed IPA to go with our Loaded Nachos. They have a traditional bar food menu, but also have some full entrees if you desire. They have daily drink specials as well. After the show, we liked this bar so much that we returned and stayed until about closing which is 2 am. They have a nice selection of beers, liquor, and Irish Whiskeys. We had one we had never heard of before called Teeling. It was quite amazing and went down smooth....too smooth.
We had wanted to go to The Old Toad for dinner, but they weren't open when we walked by so we missed out. I'm sure we will go next time as I have a hankering for a traditional fish 'n chips.
On our way out of the city, the hotel clerk was nice enough to point us to a cute coffee shop called Starry Nights on University Ave. They have good strong coffee and delicious fresh baked items. They do offer some gluten free options as well. It is a cozy corner shop in a nice, quaint neighborhood.
If you make it up to Rochester, NY the East End is a great place to stay. If nothing else you will enjoy the rich and beautiful architecture of this city's East End. There are several other museums and places of interest that we hope to see next time we make it up there. Have fun!
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