First Prize Mike's — Restaurant in City of Schenectady

I have been coming here since I was a kid and I used to love this place but over the past few years it has gone very down hill. The staff is very dismissive and acts like they do not want to be here, there is always something missing from your order or they give you something completely incorrect. There is one counter girl who is never wearing gloves when she is handling the food and is constantly on her phone or making rude or inappropriate jokes. After my most recent experience I will not be coming back. I had food missing from my order and when I asked about it the same girl was very rude about it. When I received my drink there was something floating in it. When I received my food she had dropped it off after touching it with her bare hands and actually had to wipe her hands off because of the food on them. I am never one to send food back at a restaurant but my hot dog and burger were literally crunchy. To her credit the waitress did remove it from the bill and offer to replace the food which I did appreciate but it wasn’t worth it for me at that point. I hate that I’m leaving this review, especially since this was a place I used to love coming to but there are so many unhealthy practices here I’m genuinely surprised they haven’t been shut down by the health...

I really dig this place. It's an old Schenectady staple and the fact that its been open for over 70 years is impressive. The staff is genuinely friendly, and not that "fake friendly" you get because a modern business is afraid of a bad review. It's kind of refreshing. The environment inside has that old school vibe that takes you back in time, but not too far back. And the food is not only cheap, but actually better than what you would expect from a local greasy spoon. In fact, I specifically get the occasional craving for their hand cut fries, their little double cheeseburger, and the fantastic breakfast they serve.

From reading other people's reviews, some people really dislike whatever changes were made to the hotdog meat sauce. Personally, I don't think it merits an overall low score, because it's a single element of a main dish. So it just comes across as unnecessary bashing and makes the reviewer look petty. But then again, I really dislike meat sauces in general. So what do I know? In any case, I'll be regularly enjoying Mike's food (without meat sauce) for as long as they...

Do you like counter service griddled cheeseburgers with lightly toasted buns on a paper plate with a side order of fresh cut fries in a very unassuming Tom's Dinner experience? If you answered yes to the above question, you will love this place. It's not fancy and they don't pretend to be. It's a quick, fun burger and fries place. BTW I saw lots of hot dogs going over that counter as well. Some loaded with Chilli, some with sauerkraut and mustard. Very old school counter service milk shakes on hand too!

They serve breakfast too. Eggs, pancakes etc.

The crew is buzzing around you at high speed keeping up the pace of a busy luncheonette, it's fun to watch the griddle and the food being cooked as they drop fries in the fryer and pour the soft drinks. The fries btw appear to be fresh cut, and they are quite good. Two sizes. We had a small fries, which was plenty to share for 2 of us, but the large was impressive for just a...