eatchicago wrote:

greygardens wrote:One thing I've been unable to find in Chicago is Detroit style Coney Dogs. Yuuuummmmmy!

Can you please describe a Detroit-style Coney Dog for those of us who are not familiar with the particulars?

Best,
Michael

I believe the terms Detroit-style and Coney Dog are redundant; the end product is the same thing...i.e. a Cincinnati chili-dog(smallish weiner on a bun loaded with Greek chili and shredded cheddar.

Natural casing pork hot dog, topped with a beanless chili, onion, and yellow mustard.

The cheese-topped variant CG references is a cheese coney (and doesn't have the onion or mustard by default), a bastardization kind of like a cheesy beef.

Coney's, shortened from Coney Island Hot Dogs (even though they're not served this way in the real Coney Island apparently), are popular throughout the Detroit metro area. There are several notable Coney Restaurants in Detroit, namely The Lafayette, The American and Leo's (more in the outlying areas). Coney restaurants are usually Greek in ownership and have other things on the menu of Greek origin, but the dogs are the real draw.

A coney done right is a natural casing hot dog - pork - with coney sauce, which is a beanless meat chili (not spicy), served with diced onions and usually yellow mustard. The bun used can be any cheap, but fresh, simple hot dog bun. In addition, many Coney restaurants serve what Detroiters call a 'loose', which is ground beef - loose (oh the cleverness) on a pressed open hot dog bun, topped with the coney sauce, mustard and onions. My friend in Ottawa say they call coney dogs - Michigan hot dogs and looses - Michigan burgers.

They are about the best late night food ever. If you're ever in the metro-Detroit area, I'd check it out.

LAFAYETTE CONEY ISLAND
118 W. Lafayette Blvd
Detroit, MI 48226

AMERICAN CONEY ISLAND
115 Michigan Ave
Detroit, 48226

LEO'S CONEY ISLAND
30 or so locations throughout the Metro Detroit area
www.leosconeyisland.com

Addendum: I've never ever seen it done with cheese in Detroit. I think its more of a Cincinatti thing to do that, maybe?

greygardens wrote:Addendum: I've never ever seen it done with cheese in Detroit. I think its more of a Cincinatti thing to do that, maybe?

Yeah, and they add the Cincinatti chili there, too. It's still called a coney, but it's a different beast.

HI,

While there may not be Coney Island dogs in Chicago, they are in NW Indiana. Rene G is more knowledgeable on the Coney dog, though I believe he did comment they used to be in Chicago.

There are several Coney Island threads when I did a quick search, the two with the most activity are:

Coney Island Dog

Coney Dog of Cincinnati

Regards,

greygardens wrote:One thing I've been unable to find in Chicago is Detroit style Coney Dogs. Yuuuummmmmy!

They've got them at The Dark Horse, a bar on Sheffield(?) quite near Wrigley.

As well as loose burgers!

The regional food that I miss the most is... good old fashioned street-vendor falafel.

NYC has it, in spades, but falafel in Chicago is apparently a "sit down" meal, rather than the $2 pita sandwich that it is supposed to be.

I concur on the felafel stands - the closest thing in the area is Taste of Lebanon which feels a little bit like a stand even though it has the seating and conveniences of being indoors.

I'd add Almond Boneless Chicken to the list of Detroit foods that I miss here, I think I recall seeing a thread about it but it escapes me now. Why hasn't fried chicken strips in a mild brown sauce traveled beyond southeast Michigan.

Thanks for the info! I live right near Darkhorse and in fact, have been to their affiliated bar, Houndstooth right across the street for Country music night (in addition to Detroit, I have ties to Indiana). I'll have to give it a try or just wait till the holidays in the Motor City.

Also, good info on the other threads. I've searched (both here and other sites), but have never come up with a true Detroit-style dog in Chicago (probably due to competition with the venerable Chicago-style dog), which just tastes different from chilli dogs with Cincinatti style notes (i.e. the cinnamon, the cheese, its just different). I realize I'm being overly picky...the summation of my feelings on coneys (and probably this whole thread): you're only going to get an approximation of what you want from home somewhere else,

Dark Horse Bar and Grille
3443 N. Sheffield
Chicago, IL 60657

Houndstooth Saloon
3448 N. Sheffield
Chicago, IL 60657

Interesting...I've long been under the impression that Greek and Cincinnati chilis are the same beast given that they both spring from Greek diner food. I can't stand the stuff(chili is Texas...or, under extreme duress...tomatoey/beany Midwestern...I just can't palate the cinnamon/chocolate(and I love cinnamon, generally) notes of Greek chili. An exception existing for every rule, however: I grew up with Coney Island dogs in Houston(which have a different flavor profile than their Cinti. counterparts...if I remember correctly) and much later, there used to be a Gold Star Chili franchise directly across from the center where I was screening prospective entries for a film festival and nothing tasted better after spending hours and hours slogging through piles of potentially-projected crap than a couple Gold Star chili dogs. Gold Star rules(as far as that goes) over Skyline.

I've long been under the impression that Greek and Cincinnati chilis are the same beast given that they both spring from Greek diner food.

The claim is it is Macedonian origin, not Greek. While they are in the same region, it is an important difference to a Macedonian.

Regards,

For what it's worth, I've been making a lot of coneys for the past few months. I've been using this recipe but wherever it says "teaspoon" bump that up to "tablespoon." It's damn good. Authentic Koegel's dogs ("serve the curve!") make 'em that much better.

I believe the hot dogs served at Franks for the Memories in Mundelein might be New York-style white dogs mentioned upthread. They come from Sahlens in Buffalo. I've never had them in New York State, but these sure look white to me in comparison with Chicago-style dogs. They have a bratwurst-like consistency and are charcoal-grilled.

Franks for the Memories
847/949-9464
645 E. Hawley St.
Mundelein

dddane wrote:being from the st.louis area, I miss St. Louis / Imo's style pizza... Its very unique and unlike anything else... the cheese is Provel, which is a mixture of provolone, white cheddar, and swiss, with some smokeyness. the sauce and crust are unique as well... i have a receipe, which gives a pretty good replication, if anyone is interested..

I've looked and looked, and I just can't find Provel cheese here in Chicago.

..ok i'm following up to my own post, since someone elsewhere mentioned that you can apparently order st. louis style pizza from Feed The Beast (http://www.feedthebeastrestaurant.com/menu.htm) ... It's not clear if it's a menu item (is it the "ugly cheese" ? who knows..), but they stock provel cheese and the owner is from St. Louis so they will make it for you if you ask... though it's also unclear if the sauce is st. louis style or if it's just the crust/cheese... they also have fried ravioli, another st. louis staple.

ohhh, oh.. lately every place added to my list of 'things to try' seems to be a pizza place.. i'm on a backlog!

I miss Bay Area sourdough. Actually, I miss being able to walk into any old Safeway and spending a good fifteen minutes trying to pick the kind of loaf I want from huge displays of fresh artisanal breads. It's not that Chicago doesn't have some fine bakeries, but you have to look a bit. In Berkeley, you'd have to really work to find crap bread.

On the same tip, I miss the extraordinary thin-crust Cheeseboard Collective pizzas. One kind of pizza each day, made with local cheeses and vegetables.

I Love all of the offerings that our city has to offer. You can find almost everything that might tickle your fancy and tastebuds but there are a few things I have found that the preparation is way off or not exist. Perhaps it is time for a thread to help us focus on these items to help focus our search?

A Good Italian Breaded Steak Sandwich

There are plenty of these sandwiches available all around the city but most of those are a sloppy gooey mess where the breading has washed off. Where are the crispy fried breaded edges. I know that many have turned away and gone over to Milanesa and lets keep this to the Italian variety.

Pan Fried Chicken

Once again deep fried chicken places are a dime a dozen. What is hard to find is a place that will take the time and care to fry them up in a pan. Better yet to have them do the traditional and have the brine and then buttermilk presoaks.

Mexican Steak cooked over Charcoal

There was some hope in this post but when investigated further it didn't prove out. Maybe there was charcoal used at some point but not actively.

This...

El Pollo Giro
991 N Aurora Ave, Aurora
630-896-0755

... has been confirmed to use charcoal but I am not out in Aurora that often.

Additions? Finds?

A good Philly Cheesesteak has eluded me for years since a place in Naperville closed. Ive had Philly's Best, and it didnt do it for me. I have pretty much given up hope of finding one.

Speaking of charcoal -

We are desperately in need of (IMO anyways) a Middle Eastern/Turkish/Central Asian place that cooks kebabs over live coals. These types of places are not all that uncommon in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and parts of Queens. Nothing beats kofta kebab or lamb liver kabob (or even better lamb fat!!! kabob) tinged with real smoke.

The closest I have come here is Khan BBQ, which is simply stupendous.

The recent thread on Bridgeview Middle Eastern, however, revealed this interesting lead - Albawadi Grill, whose website (http://www.albawadigrill.com/) claims that they use "Nature Fire Wood" to cook their meats. Sounds very intriguing...........

jimswside wrote:A good Philly Cheesesteak has eluded me for years since a place in Naperville closed. Ive had Philly's Best, and it didnt do it for me. I have pretty much given up hope of finding one.

In this post ...

BR wrote:

mrefjl wrote:I was always a big fan of PB's until I finally got to Philly. I still like them, but less. Eastern style pizza on Touhy has better cheesesteaks - sometimes - rather inconsistent. PB's does have the tasty cakes in their corner.

Not sure I can agree. I am originally from NJ and have spent the better part of my life devouring cheesesteaks in Philly and I find that Philly's Best (at least the one on Belmont) measures up very well to the Philly versions. Sure the bread is different, but not terribly and PB makes a damn good sandwich. And oh those Tastycakes!

... it was both claimed to be very close to the Philly version but not exactly right on.

What is missing so we can attempt to find one that might be closer?

Thanks in advance!

Panther in the Den wrote:
What is missing so we can attempt to find one that might be closer?

Thanks in advance!

I found the PB version to be dry, with not enough onions, and just not up to what I took for granted. Like a good IB sandwich you should have to lean away from a Philly steak when eating it, so the melting cheese, and grease doesn't get on you. I have ony been to the one on Belmont, and was considering giving the Greektown one a final shot.

As I was typing, I see that the new thread was merged with an older. These certainly aren't all "regional foods," as the old and now only thread suggests, but are what I'd like to see in Chicago.

My wish list:

> A Burmese restaurant (serving tea leaf salad and pickled mango pork)
> Locally-made salumi using the best quality meat (like Salumi in Seattle or Fatted Calf in Napa)
> Bun Cha Hanoi
> A white clam pizza that tastes like Pepe's in New Haven (and, no, Piece doesn't do it for me)
> Indonesian Rijsttafel
> A falafel spot with a huge complimentary self-serve veggie bar and twice fried fries (like Maoz)
> A great oyster po'boy

Ronna

jimswside wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:
What is missing so we can attempt to find one that might be closer?

Thanks in advance!

I found the PB version to be dry, with not enough onions, and just not up to what I took for granted. Like a good IB sandwich you should have to lean away from a Philly steak when eating it, so the melting cheese, and grease doesn't get on you. I have ony been to the one on Belmont, and was considering giving the Greektown one a final shot.

I do frequent the one on Milwaukee and it is a glorious gloppy mess. Not dry at all.

I would give that one a shot. Might even meet you to indulge.

Philly's Best
2436 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 276-1900

Panther in the Den wrote:I do frequent the one on Milwaukee and it is a glorious gloppy mess. Not dry at all.

I would give that one a shot. Might even meet you to indulge.

Philly's Best
2436 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 276-1900

sounds good, I'll let you know the next time I am downtown seeking a Philly.

Once again deep fried chicken places are a dime a dozen. What is hard to find is a place that will take the time and care to fry them up in a pan. Better yet to have them do the traditional and have the brine and then buttermilk presoaks.

I doubt they brine or use buttermilk, but does Laschett's pan-fry their chicken? They seem like they might.

whiskeybent wrote:

Once again deep fried chicken places are a dime a dozen. What is hard to find is a place that will take the time and care to fry them up in a pan. Better yet to have them do the traditional and have the brine and then buttermilk presoaks.

I doubt they brine or use buttermilk, but does Laschett's pan-fry their chicken? They seem like they might.

I Love Lachett's! Trouble is I cannot get past their Sauerbraten and Goulash.

I will have to steel myself and order the fried chicken on my next trip. It should be easy to spot having somewhat flattened sides. The brine and buttermilk is secondary.

Habibi wrote:Speaking of charcoal -

We are desperately in need of (IMO anyways) a Middle Eastern/Turkish/Central Asian place that cooks kebabs over live coals. These types of places are not all that uncommon in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and parts of Queens. Nothing beats kofta kebab or lamb liver kabob (or even better lamb fat!!! kabob) tinged with real smoke.

The closest I have come here is Khan BBQ, which is simply stupendous.

The recent thread on Bridgeview Middle Eastern, however, revealed this interesting lead - Albawadi Grill, whose website (http://www.albawadigrill.com/) claims that they use "Nature Fire Wood" to cook their meats. Sounds very intriguing...........

Now, that would be worth a special trip. I have eaten a ton o' kufta kebabs, but (with possibly the exception of the now defunct Cafe Suron), have never seen them cooked over actual charcoal. The Albawadi website claims the meat is cooked on a "mesquite grill" which might mean that wood chips are tossed on a gas flame (hopefully not). If anyone knows of a kebab place that uses real lump charcoal, I would be interested also.

A regional specialty that I miss from my childhood in Upstate New York (Binghamton area) is spiedies. Spiedies are skewers of marinated, charcoal-grilled meat (used to be lamb, more often pork now) eaten on a slab of locally made Italian bread. In fact, one uses the bread to grab the hot, juicy chunks of meat and slide them off the skewer.

A closely related cousin to the spiedie is city chicken, which is pork on stick which has been marinated and then quickly fried to golden brown perfection. Don't ask my why they call it chicken.

If you are ever in the Binghamton area and need a beer and some spiedies, stop by Sharkey's-arguably the home of the spiedie. I spent many an afternoon in this place eating spiedies, drinking fountain-made cherry cokes and playing the old pinball and bowling machines (I understand the same machines are still there).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiedies


Sharkey's
56 Glenwood Ave
Binghamton, NY

The recent thread on Bridgeview Middle Eastern, however, revealed this interesting lead - Albawadi Grill, whose website (http://www.albawadigrill.com/) claims that they use "Nature Fire Wood" to cook their meats. Sounds very intriguing..........

I have yet to go back in the kitchen but Pigmon was just there and says they do indeed cook over coals.

Mike G wrote:

The recent thread on Bridgeview Middle Eastern, however, revealed this interesting lead - Albawadi Grill, whose website (http://www.albawadigrill.com/) claims that they use "Nature Fire Wood" to cook their meats. Sounds very intriguing..........

I have yet to go back in the kitchen but Pigmon was just there and says they do indeed cook over coals.

Cool. Sounds like it's worth the trip. Do any of the joints along Kedzie or Devon use real coal?