Rudy's doesn't usually look like this from the outside. Usually, people are jostling for seats at these picnic tables on some prime real estate overlooking Lake Ontario, in the town of Oswego.
But it was downright cold when we visited last week, with a whipping wind to boot. I like my food piping hot and so does my friend, so we grabbed a booth inside, conveniently close to a heater that was cranked up, and dove in to our red plate (haddock, $7.95) and pink plate (shrimp, $6.79) without shivering.
Rudy's is a seasonal stand and a lakeside magnet attracting droves of diners for its classic summer stand menu. It's common for a line to snake out the door, and it's the type of place, like Heid's in Liverpool, where people chat with their neighbors in line while they wait.
Members of the Livesey family have operated Rudy's since 1946, making it not only a stand but a landmark, not only a landmark but an institution. Read the "guestbook'' at the Rudy's website and you'll see lots of entries from transplanted Oswegonians longing for a taste of Rudy's food and atmosphere.
A trip there is a rite of spring or summer, and on warm summer days they go through gallons of ice cream and hundreds of cones. Warning: Gulls are drawn to Rudy's, too, and they will drop in for any food morsels you might leave on those tables.
A Rudy's "red plate'': Haddock pieces with fries.
The place specializes in simple fare: hot dogs, hamburgers, fried haddock, clams, shrimp and other seafood; "guppy plates" for the little ones. Suzanne had the shrimp plate and I had the haddock, which is served in pieces rather than one big slab. Plates come with "chips" (fries) standard and your choice of a second side: macaroni salad, applesauce or coleslaw.
He wasn't able to join us Friday, but my "other,'' who used to live in Oswego and ride his bicycle to Rudy's, recommends their Texas Hots: hot dogs topped with Rudy's special hot sauce, made with ground beef, onions, tomato sauce and a special blend of spices and seasonings. The spice mix is sold by the packet, so you can make Texas, white (coney) and fish "hots" (people do it, I'm told) at home.
The next time I go to Rudy's, the temperature is going to be at least 70-something, and I'm going to time my visit for taking in a spectacular Oswego sunset -- or a return trip to Ontario Orchards Farm Market, down the road. Or both!
In season, Rudy's is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. It's a couple miles outside of the city Oswego, just west of the college campus. From Route 104, turn on Fred Haynes Boulevard and follow to the end.
The gulls will show you the way there.
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