1235 W. Fourteen Mile Road
Madison Heights, MI 48071

248-589-1470

For two weeks, we’ll tale a look at coney islands known for their artwork. There are some great one. Does any art school offer a course in the coney masters?

No consideration of coney island art is complete without a peek at the menus.

Most are cheap and utilitarian, as befits the fare.

A few are works of art and cost the owners a lot of money, One such menu is at this restaurant. It features the State of Liberty holding a coney dog aloft The Liberty on the menu also holds a menu.

More than any other coney island in the Detroit area, this one plays the New York card.

There is a New York coney dog, a New York coney island deluxe, a New York kraut dog, a New York spicy red hot, a New York loose burger and a New York coney taco. All follow the standard style of local items, The deluxe is a coney dog with an additional loose beef topping. The coney taco is a hot dog bun with ground beef, coney topping, onions, mustard, cheese, lettuce, tomato and taco sauce.

The owner, Rob Quni, said he has been in this building since it was built in 1993 and that the place used to part of the now defunct Onassis Coney Island chain. Before it was at this location, the Onassis had been at Six Mile Road and Conner in Detroit.

Quni said his brother tried the coney business in Florida, but Floridians are not big on the concept and he now runs a Middle-eastern place called Honey Tree.

The interior of Walt's is an explosion of color. Photos copyright Ryan Southen for "Coney Detroit"

(248) 933-1411

For two weeks, we’ll tale a look at coney islands known for their artwork. There are some great one. Does any art school offer a course in the coney masters?

Once part of a cluster of three adjacent coney islands in downtown Pontiac, Walt’s Original has been just outside the city since 1954, when the trio was broken up to make room for developers.

Real estate broker Todd Irish, who was asked to handle the sale of the business in 1978, decided instead to run his favorite eatery. He added seating, a drive-through and packed it from floor to ceiling with Americans. Interviewed for “Coney Detroit,” the book, he estimated that half the decorations came from his customers.

He also estimated that he has eaten about 17,000 hot dogs.

Walt’s Original Coney Island is featured in the book “Coney Detroit,” published by Wayne State University Press. These photos, copyright Ryan Southen, are the 125 color photos in the book. All author and photographer royalties go to Gleaners.

Have you been to Walt’s Original Coney Island? Do you have a favorite place for coney island hot dogs you’d like us to visit? We love your comments.

2380 Scott Lake Road
Waterford, MI 48328

248-674-3526

For two weeks, we’ll tale a look at coney islands known for their artwork. There are some great one. Does any art school offer a course in the coney masters?

A lot of coneys have been eaten where Scott Lake Road meets Dixie Highway in Waterford Township.

They have been served by a lot of owners running restaurants under a lot of different names.

In late 2010, though. the restaurant returned to its traditional name, “Franks-A-Lot.”

It’s a family friendly spot with a big mural on an inside wall, added under its latest incarnation.

The painting is a water scene with pleasure boats in the water and a diner at one end. That seems very appropriate for a spot in Waterford Township, which has a lot of lakes. The mountains in the mural tell you this is no Waterford setting, though.

The menu is big and the hot dog section is ambitious with a Detroit coney dog, a Dixie dog (usually called a coney special, with seasoned beef on top of a regular coney), as well as Chicago, Polish, New York and Atlanta dogs. There is also a coney taco.