Coney Island Dogs

I love hot dogs and I love chili as well as cheese, so you would think that I would have already ate lots of coney dogs, but since im born and raised in Chicago I never find myself indulging in this wonderful treat I came to love at A & W of all places. Does anyone have a rec for a to die for coney dog? Im hoping to find a place that I can frequent on the regular.

Da Beef wrote:I love hot dogs and I love chili as well as cheese, so you would think that I would have already ate lots of coney dogs, but since im born and raised in Chicago I never find myself indulging in this wonderful treat I came to love at A & W of all places. Does anyone have a rec for a to die for coney dog? Im hoping to find a place that I can frequent on the regular.

The elusive Coney Island dog is well-documented on this site as per it's Detroit/Greek diner origins. The CID diaspora extends from the wilds of Ohio to the beaches of Galveston.

Unfortunately, perhaps, finding a true Greek chili dog in Chicago is a fool's errand.

Ft. Wayne IN may be the closest.

There's a bar/restaurant on the SW corner of Broadway and Oakdale (whose name escapes me) which does a decent job, though the chili topping contains beans--which, as you know, is wrong.

HI,

When ReneG and I did a recent tour of NW Indiana, we visited one Coney Island stand in Gary with a 2nd location closed when we arrived. A detailed report to follow soon.

Regards,

The Hoagie Hut at the corner of Lincoln and Wrightwood serves what's called a "Detroit Dog" on the menu. Ground beef in sauce, mustard, onions on a dog.

However, Coney buyer beware: when my fiancee, a lifelong Michigander, ordered the Detroit Dog, the counter help shuffled around for a few minutes and finally had to ask her how exactly one was made. Guess they hadn't had anyone order one of those for quite a while.

That might be the closest you can get in the city. I know that Happy House in West Chicago serves a Sloppy Joe Dog, which one could concievably order with mustard and onions as well. A sad facsimile, to be sure, but necessity is sometimes the mother of improvised dogs.

Kicked while you're down: Just today had a couple coneys from Tom's Coney Cafe outside Flint, MI. One full coney, and my personal favorite--loose meat, no dog, in the bun, no onions. Mmmm. Also, there's 48 cans of Faygo Rock N' Rye in my trunk, and a package or two of Kogel's Viennas in the cooler. If only I had thought to pick up some pasties on the way back from the Platte River...

Hoagie Hut
2580 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60614

Happy House
140 East Roosevelt Road
West Chicago, Illinois 60185

Tom's Coney Cafe
6339 S Saginaw Rd
Grand Blanc, MI 48439