Detroit's most famous Coney Islands -- Lafayette and American i-- have made many appearances on national food shows and TV series, including the short-lived cop shows "Low Winter Sun" and "Detroit 187."
Well, here's the latest look at the dowmtown coneys from a national perspective.
Associated Press travel editor Beth J. Harpaz, a New Yorker, gets a taste of Detroit's culture and hot dogs at the two legendary coneys.
In her piece, she does what New Yorkers often do: Let's you know how much more sophisticated New York is than Detroit.
For starters, in the foodie world, photographing your meal is so routine that it generally attracts no attention. But when I began photographing my coney at Lafayette, I got a long, bewildered look from the pair of somewhat scruffy gentlemen seated next to me. And when I asked our server for a receipt, he looked at me blankly, then tossed his notepad on the table, muttering, "Write it yourself." Believe it or not, this all added to the charm of the place.
She writes that the hot dog at Lafayette had strong flavors with the onions and chili. She also ordered a Vernors, and she was impressed with that.
When she went next door to American Coney Island, she said she got a little friendly grief from the co-owner, Grace Keros, who said she should have come there first.
"Actually it's good you came here second," Keros told her. "You'll leave with a better taste in your mouth!"
She writes:
But a funny thing happened on the way to my stomach: I liked it. To my palate, American's coney had a slightly milder flavor, a bit more like the dogs I'm used to, dare I say, at the REAL Coney Island in Brooklyn. Not that Lafayette was bad, mind you ? and as a non-local, I'm not pledging lifelong allegiance to either place.
-- Allan Lengel
