Gus's Restaurant - Plattsburgh, NY

Posted By Michael Stern on January 10, 2007 4:37 AM

A Michigan is a small, juicy frank bedded in a trough-shaped, cream-soft bun and topped with mustard, onions and a vivid fine-grind beef sauce. Where do you find one? Only in New York: upstate in the North Country between the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain, primarily in Plattsburgh.

In the same phylum as the Coney Islands of the heartland and New York systems of Rhode Island, Michigans are primarily summertime food, but Gus's serves them year around. As to why they are called a Michigan, our waitress at Gus's didn't have a clue. Some people thing it was a cook from Michigan who came to Clinton County by way of Coney Island who invented them. Others say it was a Michigander who used to sell chili dogs to local restaurants with the sales pitch, "I'm from Michigan, would you like to try one of our chili dogs?"

Nomenclature aside, Michigans are addictive little porkers, and Gus's is a good place to try them. It started as a dog stand in 1951, but it has grown to a three-meal-a-day restaurant with a full menu that boasts, "The restaurant features just about everything [even Lake Champlain perch], including their famous 'Michigan red hot,' which they invite you to try while dining." One Michigan costs $1.85 and is presented in a cardboard boat. The heft of the sauce contrasts with the fluffy bun and fatty frank, and while each separate ingredient is inarguably ignominious, the combo is taste-buds magic – especially when topped with a judicious line of yellow mustard and a scattering of crisp, chopped raw onions.

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Posted By Beth Morgan on February 20, 2010 9:34 PM

The Michigan is definitely the way to go: the meat sauce is delicious, and piled so high you think there's no way you can possibly eat the thing with your hands. Pay the extra fifty cents to get the Glazier Redskin in place of the standard wiener, though; as our waitress said, "It's a little snappier." This refers to the texture, not the flavor. The skin is a bit more firm so it has a nice give. Also, if you get two wieners they come in a basket with two sides for $7.95. I got the coleslaw and the macaroni salad but they were kind of redundant. Next time I would get the slaw and the fries that my husband got with his club; they were lightly battered and crisp.

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Posted By Dave Mullins on March 26, 2007 5:18 PM

Gus's has always been a favorite stop of mine on the road to Montreal. Gus' is located on the edge of Cumberland Bay State Park on the Plattsburgh, NY side of Lake Champlain, off Interstate 87. The 24-hour, year-round ferry across the lake from Grand Isle, VT to Plattsburgh, NY is a 20-minute trip and docks right down the street.

Gus' is a great place to grab a couple of Michigans and a drink for well under ten bucks, and jump right onto I-87 north, and within 20 minutes you are at the Canadian border. This establishment is a true Roadfood gem, and has been serving their version of Michigan Red Hots since the late 50's.

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