McSweeney’s Red Hots

My wife is from Champlain, NY, just up the road from Plattsburgh. So when ever we would visit her folks, we would stop at Gus’s Red Hots for Michigans. A couple of years back we decided to try McSweeney’s instead and I was hooked. I have to stop here every time we come through. Love their sauce and their home cut fries are a treat. Though to be fair, my wife still likes Gus’s sauce better.

Not my cup of tea.
This was my first experience with «Michigan’s»…so I went in with an open mind.
The good: the place seemed pretty clean.
The rest:
–The hot dogs have a soft, mushy texture. Perhaps it’s by design, but they’re a bit gray in color…
–The meat sauce is OK, I guess… very finely ground meat… had a bit of a kick but again… the texture was soft/​mushy
–The bun of the hot dog is «steamed» according to the menu… but we’re back to texture… there was nothing to the bun. It felt/​tasted like paper towels.
So — no teeth required. Again — not my cup of tea.
Someone at the table also had a hamburger — it had some bone/​gristle in it so that was pretty gross. Fries — meh.
Sorry…I know this is a north country favorite, but I don’t plan on hitting the «red hot» scene again.

After all the rave I heard about McSweeney’s, I was definitely underwhelmed when I ate here.
They do a nice Michigan, there’s no dispute there. But their fries and burgers are mediocre.
The staff was friendly and helpful, and one of the servers sampled fries for me which was very nice.
For the feel and food quality though, I’d just as soon go to Clare and Carls, which is more fun and feels like your really truly supporting locals.