5414 W. Vernor
Detroit, MI 48209

313-849-0995

This is a mysterious little coney.

Start with the name. The sign might lead one to believe or hope that the name is Colombo’s Coney Island Restaurant. But the menu has it as Colombo’s Restaurant Coney Island, too.

The waitresses just call it Colombo’s.

They told me they have no idea who Colombo is.

When asked whether this place is better than the venerable Duly’s Coney Island at the end of the block, they told me all coneys are the same.

“It’s the same hot dogs, the same buns, the same chili. They’re all the same.”

When I asked whether they didn’t use some special ingredients in their chili sauce, they said they did.

“But we can’t tell you what it is. It’s a secret.”

As I said, a mysterious little coney.

37372 Van Dyke Ave.
Sterling Heights, MI 48312

586-978-9988

I went out in search of John’s Coney Island, in search of coneys named after people, and discovered it had changed hands in August, 2011, and had a new name – Georgi’s.

A waitress said that it had been purchased by the owner’s father and that it might change owners again, so I fully expect it will be named for someone else soon.

It is in a shopping center.

Coneys include the standard offerings: a coney dog, the coney hamburger, which has no dog, but spiced beef instead, and the special, which has both.

Georgi’s is one of many places in Sterling Heights that uses a palm tree motif. There are some coneys, other restaurants and even a Dollar Treasure decorated with the tropical trees.

734-284-7777

The owners clearly fuss over this restaurant. It is clean and decorated for the season. It also has one of the funniest coney signs I have ever seen.

I was told that the building had been a fish place until its current owners turned it into a coney place in the late ’90s and added a lighthouse to the roof to signify its Downriver location.

In November, 2011, it was still decorated for autumn, but I was told that, come Thanksgiving, the owner would be transforming the interior into a Christmas wonderland. Decorating usually takes five hours.

The sign shows Detroit’s skyline with the river in the foreground and a hot

Yes, that's a hot dog paddling down the Detroit River.

Ali Alhalmi, one of Lafayette's owners, starts to build a coney at the window grill facng Lafayette Boulevard. Coney Detroit photo copyright Keith Burgess

313-964-8198

This place — and American Coney Island next door — is the epicenter of all things coney.

It’s funny that two places so closely rooted in the coney story should inspire such fierce loyalty that their fans will refuse to go into the place next door. But that’s part of the story in Coney Detroit.

Lafayette and American come from the same root — the Keros Family, but Lafayette is no longer owned by Keroses.

Despite its split from the family, it is now run by Yemenis and not Greeks, Lafayette retains more of the old-time ambiance of the 1920s. You had better bring cash and the decor has not changed much since the restaurant doubled in size, adding space for eating, by taking over the shop behind it so it now goes clar through from Lafayette Boulevard to Michigan Avenue.

Lafayette claims to have been around since 1914, three years longer than American, but city directories indicate that the business opened in the 1920s.

One of Lafayette’s big changes in recent years has been to switch hot dog purveyors from Winter’s Sausage on Gratiot Avenue to Dearborn Sausage, the same hot dog supplier used by American.

The chili sauces are different — American’s is a bit spicier and Lafayette’s is a bit beefier — and they use different onions. Lafayette dices up Spanish onions and American uses sweet Vidalia onions, which come from Georgia.

There are those who will not step into one place or the other and who will defend their favorite forever. We suggest you do as we do and try them both. They’re right next door.

Lafayette Coney Island is one of the first coneys featured in “Coney Detroit.” These photos are from the book.

nton Coney Island” width=”584″ height=”438″ class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-2421″ />8533 N. Lilley Road
Canton, MI 48187

734-414-0890

www.cantonconeyisland.com

You have to give this place credit for innovating. It caters, it has weekend breakfast buffets and it is on the web and Facebook.

The menu is crowded and the offerings include an all-beef kosher dog and a krauty dog.

Most unusual? Owner Fred Hussein has added two rooms for private parties which, when combined, can seat 150. The place is in a shopping center, a prevalent design for business in Canton, and the banquet area fills space adjacent to the regular dining room.

Another nice flourish is some line art that decorates the wall coverings.

34553 Utica Road
Fraser, MI 48026

586-293-1110

This is one of the few coney island restaurants you’ll find that has a television set – set up over the fireplace. The decor befits the slogan, “Where perfection meets class.”

The Classic had a new owner – Danny Gjalej – in the fall of 2011.

A special menu item is the coney pita wrap: a hot dog with chili, ground beef, onions and mustard in a pita.

31202 Schoenherr
Warren, MI 48088

586-293-4530

This place with the unusual name is an island in the middle of a big parking lot at a shopping center.

There are some ham dishes in this coney island, but no more than you find in other full-menu coney islands. The coney menu is pretty standard, too.

When I asked a waitress about the name, she answers, “How should I know? I only work here.”