Jim McFarlin, a longtime Detroit journalist now living in Illinois, reports on a tasty assignment for Hour magazine: checking out an iconic restaurant in downtown Las Vegas.
It was nostalgia at first bite.
Any Detroiter knows this is a true taste of home: a genuine, straight-outta-downtown, American Coney Island chili dog.
The casino hotel is owned by a WSU grad from Detroit.
The westernmost branch of the Lafayette Boulevard landmark opened last fall in The D Casino & Hotel, where The D Grill and Andiamo Steakhouse are other dining choices.
The 24-hour coney island shop's appearance also is faithful to the original, as McFarlin describes in the magazine's July's issue.
It’s an exact, vest-pocket replica of the American flagship on Lafayette . . . down to the open grill placed against the picture window and next to the on-street entrance, so passersby can see the dogs cooking and step right inside to buy one.
Grace Keros, the business' third-generation co-owner, calls the small Vegas site "the best move we ever made.”
The casino hotel's name and restaurants reflect the roots of its owner since 2011, WSU grad Derek Stevens, a former east-side industrialist. "He wanted it to be a thematic tribute to his beloved hometown," McFarlin writes.
At American, authenticity is assured by the use of dogs from Dearborn Sausage, chili from American’s Detroit Chili Co. and buns from Metropolitan Baking Co. in Hamtramck. Everything is shipped west in a refrigerated truck at least monthly.
The Nevada location's general manager is Joe Sobocinski of Taylor, who started as a waiter at the original location and was promoted last February. "Many of the other Vegas employees have Detroit connections, as well," McFarlin writes.
-- Alan Stamm
