Coney Detroit

Coneys for Breakfast

I stopped by at American Coney Island for two with everything yesterday and met up with race Keros. She was replenishing the donuts -- a morning draw -- and introduced me to the new a.m. attraction: her new Coney Breakfast Sandwich.

She is a creative businesswoman who is always looking for the latest wrinkle. Two Mondays ago, on Dec. 8, she tried a number of variatons before she came up with a new sandwich that she thinks will work for breakfast. It is sausage patties, scrambled eggs and cheese in a hot dog bun. Keros wanted to keep the bun to give it a Coney dog feel. Links did not work out as well as patties, despite their resemblance to dogs.

American serves the same ingredients in a toasted English muffin.

 

Coney Flats -- a New Twist

Leave it to Michigan, where Coney Island is a food and not a place, for people to innovate and invent with one of the favorite local foods.

We have seen (and eaten) Coney dogs, Coney pizza, Coney tacos and Coney Island potato chips.

In East Lansing, we found another variation at a place called Flats Grille, "Home of the flat sandwich."

The eatery is located at 551 E. Grand River Ave., just next to Flat, Blackand Circular, a record store, at 541.

In Flats Grille, you can order all manner of sandwiches and a pretty good shake.

The Coney Flat is unlike anything we've seen before. It is basically a cut-up hot dog with a beany chili inside a folded flour tortilla. The concoction is cut into wedge-shaped pieces and looks for all the world like a quesadilla at a Fourth of July picnic.

We gave Flats points for creativity and initiative and suggested that, for true Detroit authenticity, they find a beanless chili. Onions and mustard would help. too.

Another Coney Taco

Zeff's in Detroit's Eastern Market serves a Coney Taco: a steamed bun piled with a dog, chili, onions, lettuce, diced tomatoes and cheese (though the menu doesn't mention the cheese).

Help me out here.  Do other cities have Coney Tacos? I have now encountered them on about four menus in the Detroit area -- and Duly's near Holy Redeemer says it will make one, though it is not listed.

Have you seen them in other places?

Coney Dog Casserole Recipe

You'll find a bunch of practical recipes on the Kathy Calculates food blog.

Here's one that she said is a crowd pleaser in any family.

1 box corn muffin mix such as Jiffy
6 hot dogs
1 can chili of your choice
Optional extras:
Grated cheese
Chopped Onion
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare muffin mix according to package directions.
Slice hot dogs and stir into muffin mix.
Pour batter into greased 8" baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cornbread tests done.
Cut into squares and serve with heated chili poured over the top. Garnish with any of the optional extras you care for.

Check out her other recipes, too!

Sausages and Midwest Food Traditions

The Coney Dog was to get a nod this weekend at the inaugural Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance conference in Chicago. The topic was "Stuffed: A Journey of Midwest Sausage Traditions."

The Chicago Sun-Times reports led its advance coverage with the "mother-in-law," a south-side-of-Chicago mashup of a  corn roll tamale in a hot dog bun, sometimes topped with chili or other condiments. It gives the Chicago dog a run for its money.

We take one issue with the article, and that's where it refers to, "the Coney Dog, a Flint, Mich., creation with roots in the Macedonian community there. Elsewhere, it would be called a chili dog."

We would not source the Coney to Flint, or even Michigan, though Michigan does more with Coneys than anyone else.

A Koegel's Contact at Hermanoff

Life is funny.

A friend invited me to a party her bosses at Hermanoff & Associates threw for their 22nd birthday. Who  should be there but the people who  handle Koegel's PR. There's my hookup.

They say that Koegel's is THE sausage supplier to lots and lots of Coney Island restaurants.

This will come in handy.

Of course, the swell buffet table featured Coney Dogs.

A Craving for a Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog

The Mona's Apple blog has a good illustrated story of how a serious Coney Dog craving was satisfied with a Nathan's and all the trimmings.

Check it out.

Sauce Makes the Chili Dog

The What a Crock cooking blog carries a recipe for hot dog chili sauce

If you love those coney dogs, here's a recipe I received years ago from a deli owner. The recipe later was used by the Bobcat Booster Club at Flippin Schools concession stands. Here's the recipe:

Coney Dog Sauce

3 pounds ground chuck
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup water
48 ounces tomato sauce
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Accent (monosodium glutamate)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Brown ground chuck, onions and minced garlic in a large skillet, making sure garlic does not burn. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer at least two hours.

Makes four quarts.

Note: Recipe does well in a crockpot. Mrs. Dash Table Blend may be substituted for MSG.

Here's where to find more.

Coneys, Thunder Dogs and Poncho Dogs

Allie Shah, a favorite reporter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, is helping the city warm up for the July 4th Taste of Minnesota with a look at some favored feasts.

We liked her vignette on the the Hot Dog Lady:

"Cheryl Montpetit, who has worked at Taste almost since the beginning, remembers the days when the crowds were thick at the Capitol. She was the cook, dishing up Mexican food. ...

" 'We have a thunder dog. We have the old fashioned hot dogs. We have a poncho dog. We have a Coney Island dog,' she said, explaining the differences. The thunder dog has cabbage, chips, onions and cheese on it, while the poncho dog is wrapped in a lightly fried tortilla and comes with hot cheese sauce and salsa."

Read more about the Hot Dog Lady and the Taste of Minnesota.

HollyEats and Hot Dogs

We have added a standing link to the outstanding work at HollyEats.com on Coneys, hot dogs and all manner of sandwiches.

He has put his life on the line that others might dine.

Here are some of our favorite Coney links from his hot dog page:

• Coney Joe's in Morrisville, Pa., co-founded by a guy from Michigan
• Coney Island Lunch in Scranton, Pa., which serves gravy dries
• Curtis Coney Island in Cumberland, Md., with roots back to 1918
• Fort Wayne's Famous Coney Island, the "Our Buns Are Steamed" neon sign makes you feel warm all over
• George's Coney Island in Worcester, Mass., where one "up" means chili sauce, chopped onions and mustard

(Holly says very little about the hundreds of Coney Islands in and around Detroit, but he knows about them. Our guess is he is afraid that a trip to Coney Detroit would overload him. Enjoyhis site.