Greetings everyone! Just checking in to let you know that, despite a hectic vacation and work schedule, I am still working on the upcoming Coney Island Restaurant Tour, which will kick off in mid August. I have spent the last two months researching the history of the Coney Island in Flint, interviewing those who have written on the subject over the last generation, and making a comprehensive list of all of the Coney Island Restaurants in the county.
PAUL’S CENTER ROAD
OLYMPIC COURT
TOMMY Z’S COURT
TELLY’S MILLER ROAD
LEO’S MILLER ROAD
VALLEY MILLER ROAD
WESTSIDE DINER BALLENGER
CODY’S BALLENGER
CONEXTION NORTH BALLENGER
CAPTAIN COTY SOUTH BALLENGER
HOLLYWOOD CORRUNA
ATLAS CORRUNA
COLONIAL CORRUNA
MEGA CONEY CORRUNA
JOHN’S CONEY CORRUNA ROAD
SUNRISE FENTON ROAD
TOM’S FENTON ROAD
VENUS FENTON ROAD
JOHNNY’S FENTON BETWEEN MAPLE AND BRISTOL
ANGELO’S FRANKLIN/DAVISON
STARLITE DAVISON RD./CENTER
RIO’S DAVISON RD. NEAR AVERIL
CAPITTAL VAN SLYKE
GILLIE’S NORTH DORT IN MT. MORRIS
US CONEY DORT AND BRISTOL
STAR BROTHERS DORT (IN THE DORT MALL)
CONEY GRILL SOUTH DORT
GOLDEN GATE FLEMMING ROAD AND FLUSHING ROAD
CONCORD NORTH SAGINAW
CONEY
GADDIS CONEY MLK BOULEVARD
GRANDMA’S
RECIPES RICHFIELD ROAD
THE PALACE SOUTH LINDEN
VLADOS GENESEE ROAD
CITY DINER CLIO ROAD
What makes some place a coney island? Just because they got a hot dog on the list? I would never classify Gramma's Recipes as a coney. Family restaurant, yeah. But not a coney island. There is a place you don't have listed called Liberty Coney Island on Pierson and Luce in Flushing by Dalton Airport. This is the original name but it was bought out, called Gabby's (which used to be down by Subway-where Fandagles is now) then went up the wahzoo after buying a liquor liscense (at a coney Island???) and now bought back by the Liberty people.
ReplyDeleteVlado's has been closed for about 10 years. They closed it, tore it down, and built a Rite Aid there. Total bummer because they had the BEST fish and chips in town!
ReplyDeleteI must say, a few years back some friends and I embarked on a similar quest to discover our favorite Coney Islands in the Flint area. We, however used a much narrower set of criteria to decide what actually was a "Coney Island"
ReplyDeleteIn order for us to consider the establishment, it had to:
Be open 24 hours
Serve breakfast all day long
Have at least one waitress who had worked there 5+ years (preferably 10+)
Serve bad coffee
and as this was before this past May, it had to have at least a thin haze of cigarette smoke. (none of us were smokers, but you have to admit, it added to the overall experience)
We generally did our dine-in research between the hours of 2 and 4 a.m. when the most colorful of patrons came out to play!
corner office has the right idea. You're not looking for a place that serves hot dogs. It has to be a real Coney place - in the tradition of Flint. You also need to rate the place on both Detroit style and Flint style. They're very different.
ReplyDeletei would be curious to know what is the difference between detroit style and flint style.
ReplyDeletegood comments. based on your suggestions, which places do you think should come off the list?
ReplyDeleteYou've hit upon #2 on my list of things that perplex and fascinate me about this place (perhaps next you and Stephanie will take on a tour of my #1: the "Oriental Spas." I tried to get John to check them out for me but he was afraid he'd be arrested, rolled, or both.) As to these restaurants, could you address the issue of why anything in Michigan should be called a "Coney Island"...do these places or the dogs have ANYTHING to do with Coney Island? And why do so any of them have Greek dishes on the menu?
ReplyDeleteAtlas on Corunna, Capital on Van Slyke, Starlite on Center, Gillies on Dort, Mega on Corunna, Tom Z's on Court and of course Angelo's on Davison are all good examples.
ReplyDeletePlaces like Venus on Fenton, or Valley on Miller road all come close but fall more into the category of "Family Restaurant" These places offer up such luxuries as salad bars, table cloths, and clean bathrooms....all of which are nice, but are not conducive to 3 a.m. study breaks/post last call munchies.
After all, part of the charm of the coney island experience is the "no frills" presentation. Give me a place where the waitress will bring me my coffee, french toast, cottage cheese, and onion rings any hour of the night without shooting me a funny look, and I will be one happy flintite.
You should never ever eat a Coney Dog in a place that has table cloths and a salad bar. That is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteyou have to talk to my mom, she has some great stuff about local coney's. my dad's mom worked at the flint original. she even has a recipe for their coney sauce i think.
ReplyDeleteWe love Olympic & Starlite! We actually just recently discovered Olympic. Their food seems so fresh. The place is quite clean (love that). The salads at Olympic are so crisp & tasty!! They are the best at packaging their take-out food. I love how the put their coney's in a Styrofoam container so it doesn't get all squished.
ReplyDeleteWe still love Starlite's Fish & Chips. They have the best tarter sauce. We love their coney's, too. We are lucky because we don't live that far from Starlite & the packaging doesn't matter that much. The one thing that restaurant's should realize is that their take-out food should be as close as it can get to their in restaurant food.
RE:Vickie said...
ReplyDeleteAnd why do so any of them have Greek dishes on the menu?
@vickie.. most of these restaurants are owned by Greeks.