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In South East Michigan and nearby lands, there is a type of greasy spoon restaurant called a "Coney Island." These restaurants have a fast food menu centered on a type of hot dog; they are also popular for breakfast and sometimes have fast food Greek dishes too. They serve “Coneys,” which is a hot dog with chili on top. I was initially puzzled by this, as I had been to Nathan’s and knew that hot dogs there did not automatically come with chili. No one in SE Michigan believed me when I told them that authentic Coney Island hot dogs did not have chili on them, unless you asked for a chili dog. So, off I went to investigate…

The original Nathan’s. Note the lack of chili on the dogs.

Apparently “Kansas Fried Chicken” just didn’t catch on.

The famous boardwalk with the landmark (but defunct) parachute drop, the first ride of its kind.

A rococo relic from the pre-WWII peak of Coney Island glory.

This is the original. Still no chili.
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The Coney Island Museum preserves the traditional flavor.
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Sea creature crossing. The Mermaid Parade on the first Saturday of Summer began in the 1980s with a hardy group of revelers and now attracts crowds of 200,000 spectators.

This does look sort of like a religious shrine, the red text reads “GOD, the Holy Bible, Coney Island City.”

At Coney Island, the mermaids have areole, but their hot dogs don’t have chili.

Exhibit A. Nathan’s menu prominently displaying a hot dog sans chili.

Exhibit B. My authentic Nathan’s meal. I asked 8 people if they had every heard of a “Coney” as a hot dog with chili on top. None of them knew what I was talking about, although one claimed to have heard of a “Coney Island Restaurant,” but not the kind in Michigan. When I ordered my dog, the server asked me what I wanted on it. “What can I get?” I replied. Given a choice of onions and relish, I went for the onions.
It turns out that the Michigan “Coney Island” phenomenon originated when a Greek immigrant came to American in the early 20th century. Someone on the boat told him that if he wanted to be an American, he should go to Coney Island and have a hot dog. This rural farm boy must have been impressed by the thousands of blinking electric lights, which were quite uncommon at the time. Like many others, he went to Detroit when he heard that Henry Ford was paying workers $5 a day, about twice the standard wages of the time. However, he had no mechanical experience and barely spoke English, so he didn’t get a job with Ford and eventually opened up a shoe shine shop. Undercut by the street urchins with no overhead, he tried running a few kinds of shops until he had the idea to recreate his fabled experience at Coney Island. He opened up a hot dog stand and put lots of blinking lights around the sign, just as he fondly remembered. Business was good and he expanded his menu a little. One day a customer asked him to serve him a hot dog with chili on top, and the “Coney” was born. This became a standard menu item and then the signature dish of his restaurant and the many imitators.
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