Thursday, April 5, 2007

CONEY DOG!!!!!!

I am from Flint, Michigan..... the home of the best thing to eat on the planet... The Original Flint-style Coney Island Hot Dog, or as us Flint-ites call them, a "Coney Dog" or just "Coney...."

This is no ordinary hot dog.... it is a Koegel's vienna (has to be a Koegel's to be correct), topped with a meat sauce, which is made from a special recipe. Not chili, but a MEAT SAUCE..... diced onions are optional, but in my opinion, it's not correct unless it has the diced (almost minced) fresh onions on them as well..... I also elect to condimentate mine with either yellow mustard or sometimes a little Tobasco sauce.....

One cannot really consume a Coney with one's hands, rather you need to use a fork to eat these culinary delights....








Someone made a Coney Dog Profile on Myspace though they talk of those evil so-called "Coney Dogs" from Detroit that are not nearky as good as the original Flint style.

In my opinion, while there are several "Coney Island Restaurants" around the Flint area that serve up a good Coney Dog, Angelo's Coney Island has the best in town. Sadly, I have recently discovered that the orignal owners have sold the place (the restaurant on Franklin and Davidson) and the new owners have really changed the place and created a franchise.... So I don't know if the Dogs are the same or not, but if my memory serves correct, The Atlas, The Capital, and Venus are all fine Coney Island restaurants.....

(In particular, the Venus was a regular haunt of mine for years, I also really miss those 'Venus Rings' onion rings, I remember turning Mike Fickies onto them, and upon leaving after his first visit, he thought he was going to have a heart attack for sure.... he said that he could feel the grease clogging up his arteries.... indeed, when I left the Venus after a plate of Coneys and a side of rings, it felt akin to doing a cheap ten-dollar bag of northside scag).

Word has it on the web that Tom Z's downtown on Court Street has the best in town now, but I haven't been there for ages.....



Angelo's Coney Island on Davidson Road... I don't who took the picture, I found it on Google.....



Here is a listing of all the Flint Area Coney Island Restaraunts



I remember many nights in Flint where we would goto a Coney Island Restaraunt after a night of drinking and/or attending a hall show to chow down a few Coneys at four in the morning..... We wouldn't consider it a "real" Coney Island unless it was open 24 hours, though the original Angelo's on Davidson Road was forced to close for an hour every night by the health department "to clean," though I suspect it had more to do with the rowdiness of the customers at Four in the morning than it did the sanitation....







I found this on a blog using Google, and I couldn't have said it much better myself, so I am quoting it..... some girl named Erica posted it on Librarian Avengers....

"From the 1970's on, Flint's Angelo's Coney Island restaurant was a meeting-place of cultures. On a given night you could see rich old women in furs, bikers, prostitutes, gang members, suburb punk rockers (the quasi-urban angst!), and the mayor eating side-by side in its red vinyl benches. The waitresses coughed a lot and if you were really nice, you might get a tobacco-stained smile. They were open 24 hours, every day except Christmas, until the health department made them close for an hour every night to clean. There were fights in the parking lot. You could get fries with gravy. The signs, menu and prices hadn't changed for 30 years."

What was the attraction? The unchanging ambiance and the coneys. Ah, the coneys. A coney dog, dear reader who wasn't fortunate enough to be born in Flint, is a Koegel's hot dog (made with real innards!) with a dry spicy meat sauce, finely chopped raw onions, and mustard. Eat it. It's good. Get two, you might as well."

There are two genres of Coney dogs: Flint-style and Detroit-style. Detroit-style is all runny and nasty, just a dog with chili on top. Flint-style on the other hand, is coney perfection. These days, the original ones can be found at Tom Z's coney island downtown. Accept no substitutes."

When GM has a strike, Flint women cook up sauce in a crock pot, chop up onions, and deliver coneys to the picket line. Flint kids go to Angelo's before prom, carefully lifting their ballgowns off the floor."

A few years ago, Angelo's was sold. The new owners fired the coughing waitresses, dressed up the new ones in "Angelo's" t-shirts, took down the old yellow menus, raised prices, franchised the place, changed the food, and generally fucked everything up."

Fortunately, the Angelo's-shaped hole in the universe has ushered in a new era. During my last visit, I saw dozens of new coney places that had opened up. Flint coneys are everywhere now. I remain hopeful."

Thus endeth the tale of the Vastly Superior Flintstyle coney. Anybody has anything different to say about the quality of the Flinttown dog, then come on up here and say it. I'll fight ya. Come on. You. Right now. Flint!"

-Erica



As I said, I couldn't have said it better myself......

But since I can't always get to Flint when the urge strikes, or when I am finished drinking at the pub, it is entirely possible to recreate a close assimilation of the original in my very own kitchen..... just remember, don't try this with anything except Koegel's Viennas..... though I have, with a local Wisconin brand vienna, and while it usually cures the craving, it is not the same.....

Original Flint, Michigan Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce

  • 1TB butter1
  • TB margarine
  • 1-1/2 lb LEAN ground beef
  • 2 medium onions minced (I will mince 4 though, and use half as a condiment)
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 3TB chile powder
  • 1TB prepared mustard
  • 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
  • 1 (6oz) can water
  • 6-8 Koegels Viennas with the casings removed
  • salt and pepper to taste
Do NOT brown beef before using!!

Combine all except hot dogs and simmer until thick. Grind the hot dogs [or chop in food processor], stir in and cook 15 min longer. (I usually let it slow-simmer for around an hour). You can freeze the sauce for use later, or refrigerate it for a day or two...








Aside from being essential to a proper Coney Dog, the Koegel's brand makes an assortment of meat products, although I stay away from the 'Mac and Cheese' and 'Head Cheese.' You can buy a 10-pound box of the viennas online and have it delivered right to your door! Though they also have a "Coney" style vienna that is only available through wholesale, the regular viennas are a treat, even without the Coney Sauce..... and they work just fine for the Coney Sauce as well.....





If you really want authentic, though, Angelo's will ship a box of dogs and a GALLON of sauce right to your door!!!!!!






Though there are many inaccuracies, this is the Wikipedia definition of a Coney Dog

And here is the definition of a Coney Island Restaraunt, though it is a bit inaccurate- maybe I will edit both later.....

Selah!

17 comments:

Gabriel said...

Hey do you know what happend to Mike Fickies? Wheres he been?

Dana Fredsti said...

Too funny... I'm writing a post about food I really miss and Angelo's Coney Islands were at the top - found your post when looking for images of Angelo's restaurant!

No onions for me, but tons of sauce.... best hot dog in the entire world.

Anonymous said...

I am looking for Mike
Fickies. Any recent info. would help.
Thank you,
Laurel Curtis FHS class of '87

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