Lipuma's Coney Island — Restaurant in Rochester

CASH ONLY

I've driven by this place a million times but never stopped in because there was always a line wrapped around the building, and let's be honest, I'm not standing in line for food, especially in the elements. LOL.

Well, I was driving today and finally had the time to stop in and realized it wasn't busy and were just opening. Parking here's kind of tight and they have signs that if you aren't there for the restaurant or the realtors office, you'll be towed. Yikes! Good to know though.

Walking in the place is kind of small but they have outdoor seating that's covered along with heat lamps for this time of year. The place is pretty old school with a really basic menu and the letters you have to manually put up one by one.

Their pricings really good. About $3 to $3.50 a hot dog, $3 for a drink, etc. They have a great selection of dogs to choose from and I asked a lot of questions before I ordered. The guy behind the counter gave me a ton of info and was really super helpful.

I went with the Texas dogs which came with coleslaw and a pickle on top. I got two, but probably would've been okay with one and I got a drink as well. Total was just under $10. Not to bad, but they don't accept cards! WHY! It's 2022 and you could at least have a card reader and require a minimum. I docked a star for this because there's no reason in this day and age to not accept cards.

Also, they don't do breakfast! I asked why and they said it's because they want to be an authentic Coney and just offer dogs and such. Okay, fine, I learned my lesson. So, lunch and dinner only here I guess.

Overall a really solid place and worth a stop if you have time. Just go when it's not busy so you can dine inside and not wait in line or have to take your food...

I finally made it to Lipuma's. It was a cool experience. The service was great and the food was excellent. I had the Coney, the Chicago Coney, and the Texas Coney. All three were good, but the Chicago Coney was by far the best. I'd definitely return.

Like many class restaurants, they don't take any form of payment except for cash. They don't do Uber Eats, DoorDash, or any third-party ordering apps. There's an ATM machine on their deck if you're not carrying cash.

Also like many classic restaurants, there's a specific system that they use to take orders, so be aware of ensuring that you stand in the right place when you enter the front entrance. I'm a systems person by profession, so I always like to analyze how restaurants execute unique, internal systems. You have to stand in the order that you arrived when you enter the restaurant. I had to enter through the patio because I had to get cash. Had I gone behind the last person in line, I would've had to open the door and stand outside because there's not much room inside and I would've crowded the gentleman in front of me who had just placed his order. One of the guys working there asked me to switch places with another guy who had just taken my order because of this. It makes sense, but it isn't intuitive if the restaurant is crowded and you have to enter through the patio because you have...

OKAY. This place is SO cool! It’s such a gem in downtown Rochester. I had a craving for bean soup and not a whole lot of restaurants do bean soup in their weekly rotations so it can be challenging to get. I went on their site, saw that they have it among the soups they make, and I also noticed that part of their restaurant is they treat everyone like a friend. I doubted it because I thought it was just a business thing trying to draw people in- I called and turns out that had bean soup for today and I ordered a 12oz. I went in and the atmosphere is SO COOL. Very tiny dine in place but how everything looks reminds me of childhood! I love that they support our troops, and all of the guys behind the counter are SUPER nice. It wasn’t just a business slogan they treated me like a new friend. ALSO the soup is SO GOOD. You may just have a new...