Virginia Coney Island Dogs, Best Coney's I've ever had. Gotta get back to Jackson Michigan, my old home town, just for those Coney dogs! Many places tried to copy but just come up short with low rent chili dogs.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SFCUSARET,

Sorry, endorsed by Corporal Maxwell Klinger himself, Tony Packo's dogs in East Toleo. Flown from Toledo to South Korea.

quote:

Originally posted by LtJL:
Sorry, endorsed by Corporal Maxwell Klinger himself, Tony Packo's dogs in East Toleo. Flown from Toledo to South Korea.

Ohio chili dogs now I've heard it all...

Just stick to throwing your chili on spaghetti, because it belongs nowhere near a hot dog

SW Idaho Basque chorizos have my vote.

I'm a purist--the only thing that should be on a hot dog is yellow mustard. Period.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I'm a purist--the only thing that should be on a hot dog is yellow mustard. Period.

Then it wouldn't be a Coney Dog, the subject of this thread.

For coney dog aficionados' edification: The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog Is a Uniquely American Story

quote:

It’s easy, though, to locate the Coney dog’s ground zero, the Midwest’s version of Surf and Stillwell: the corner of West Lafayette Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Also: Coney Dog - Detroit Historical Society

MLive.com
Peek Through Time: 100 years of humble hot dogs covered in chili marks Jackson Coney Island history
Updated on May 20, 2015 at 08:06 AM EDT
Interior shots of Jackson Coney Island from the 1960s. Interior shots of Jackson Coney Island from the 1960s.
Interior shots of Jackson Coney Island from the 1960s. Interior shots of Jackson Coney Island from the 1960s.
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By Leanne Smith | lsmith12@mlive.com
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JACKSON, MI - A soft white bun holding a humble hot dog covered with savory chili and chopped onions is just lunch to a lot of people.

In Jackson, though, the coney is much, much more.


It tells the story of Macedonian immigrants who fled their Balkan homeland during fierce struggles within the Ottoman Empire and found a safe home and a decent livelihood in a town being built by a booming railroad.

It's a comfortable and nostalgic taste of home for those who grew up taking their first bite of this no-frill delight while dangling their sneakers off a spinning stool at a worn, polished Formica counter.

It's the smell you never forget.

And, according to Jackson history, it all began in 1914 under the guidance of the city's legendary coney godfather George Todoroff at a place now known as Jackson Coney Island, 615 E. Michigan Ave.

Peek Through Time: Jackson Cony Island
An interior shot from the 1930s or '40s at Jackson Coney Island. J. Scott Park | jpark4@mlive.com
No one really knows why Jackson became his home. Some say he and others from his native Macedonia were on a train bound for Detroit that stopped in Jackson. They got off, liked what they saw and stayed.

It is known that Todoroff's first restaurant, near Jackson's train depot and where the current restaurant's parking lot is now, had a dirt floor, very little elbow room and a counter that served crowds of working trainmen quickly and cheaply.

Todoroff's eatery doesn't show up with the name Jackson Coney Island until the 1931 city directory. And, by then, fellow Macedonians Tom and Charles Christoff also had joined him in the thriving eatery.

After World War II, Todoroff and the Christoffs' widows, Magda and Sophia, sold the business for $5,000 to Andy and Don Lazaroff, twin sons in a family whose bakery made the restaurant's hot dog buns.

Peek Through Time
If you would like to suggest a notable person, place or event from the past for this weekly feature, please contact reporter Leanne Smith at 262-0720 or lsmith12@mlive.com . To see more of these stories, check out the archive .
In 1960, after being joined by George Christoff, the Lazaroffs bought the building housing their restaurant. At this time, Jackson Coney Island, 611 E. Michigan Ave., was one of many lunch counters on the city's east side, including New York Lunch, 640 E. Michigan Ave., and Virginia Coney Island, 649 E. Michigan Ave.

Their set-ups were similar, simple and timeless - one wall typically lined with booths, the other with stools and a counter. Seated at them every day were families, couples and singles, doctors, lawyers, businessmen and laborers.

The atmosphere, they said, was like visiting friends for lunch and sitting in their kitchen talking.

Jackson Coney Island became the training ground for restaurateurs who launched other eateries in town people remember and love, said Phil Lazaroff, Andy's son, who grew up working there.

"They'd start out washing dishes, then they'd help out the cook when it was busy, then they'd become the cook and then they'd move on to bigger things," he said.

In 1965, Jackson Coney Island itself moved on to bigger things when the original building was torn down along with the McCain Block building next door to make way for the current restaurant and its parking lot.

In 1970, Andy Lazaroff sold out to his brother and Christoff to focus on Andy's Pizza restaurants. They kept Jackson Coney Island until selling it to Dave White in 1972. White had the business until 1999 when Phil Lazaroff purchased it and then eventually the building from his mother's estate in 2010.

In 2014, Jackson Coney Island, then owned by Tim Mullins, celebrated its 100 th birthday by showing off newly renovated fixtures.

This month, the eatery closed . The naming rights and the fixtures are for sale for $85,000 . Phil Lazaroff hopes it's back open soon.

"I'd like to see someone young who's focused on the business and looking for opportunity come in," he said. "When you sit someplace for 100 years you run thousands of people through your door, you hate to see that go. Jackson is sentimental for its buildings and businesses. I'm hoping for the best."

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Texas Hots from Buffalo FTW!

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Texas Hots from Buffalo FTW!

Just another chili dog which might be tasty but not a Coney!! Talking Jackson Michigan Coneys, the best!

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I'm a purist--the only thing that should be on a hot dog is yellow mustard. Period.

Then it wouldn't be a Coney Dog, the subject of this thread.

For coney dog aficionados' edification: The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog Is a Uniquely American Story

quote:

It’s easy, though, to locate the Coney dog’s ground zero, the Midwest’s version of Surf and Stillwell: the corner of West Lafayette Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Also: Coney Dog - Detroit Historical Society

I grew up in Detroit, lived there 18 years (1942-1960), and never heard of a "Coney Dog". If I had, I'd have assumed they referred to Coney Island in NYC.

flashguy

I grew up in the Jackson county area from 1954 to mid 1970. Never knew anything other than the Jackson Coneys. Then I got out into the world and sampled the coneys that the rest of the country tried to pass off to the public and was disappointed in the results. A chili dog by anyother name is still a chili dog unless it's a Jackson Coney or a Virginia Lunch Coney.

Coney Island places all around me. My favorite is still a foot long from SONIC

Surely (and don't call me Shirley!), I can not be the only one here who was born in Brooklyn ("God's Country").

As a kid, my cousins and I always looked forward to those summer days when we would get on the subway, which emerged from its underground passageway and rose to become the "el" (elevated train) above the streets.

We would get off at the Coney Island stop and head straight for Nathan's -- the One True Hot Dog vendor. Sauerkraut and mustard, the deli mustard with ground horseradish in it was first choice, but yellow mustard was a barely acceptable substitute. Chopped onion and relish were optional, the purists stuck to just sauerkraut and mustard.

Those hot dogs and Nathan's fries. I can still remember them, seventy years later. We would stuff ourselves, thus making sure that we had something substantial in our stomachs to throw up, if need be, when we rode the death-defying boardwalk rides.

The parachute jump was my mother's favorite. I never worked up enough courage to ride that with her, so I would stay on the ground and pray for her safety.



The bobsled was more my style. This was a roller coaster type ride, but instead of tracks, the bobsled cars rolled down sort of a chute:



Back to the hot dogs: Nathan's brand Coney Island style hot dogs are available in most supermarkets. If you haven't tried one, be prepared for your tongue to throw a party for your mouth (thank you, Mel Brooks) when you bite into that all beef juicy goodness. Nathan understood the art of blending the right spices, and the proper use of garlic in a hot dog.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I'm a purist--the only thing that should be on a hot dog is yellow mustard. Period.

flashguy

When asked what he wanted on his hotdog, my brother in law used to say “ everything but someone’s else’s teeth”!

I'll admit that before reading this thread, I assumed that Coney's originated in NYC. I'd like to try an original Coney Dog some day.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I'm a purist--the only thing that should be on a hot dog is yellow mustard. Period.

Then it wouldn't be a Coney Dog, the subject of this thread.

For coney dog aficionados' edification: The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog Is a Uniquely American Story

quote:

It’s easy, though, to locate the Coney dog’s ground zero, the Midwest’s version of Surf and Stillwell: the corner of West Lafayette Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Also: Coney Dog - Detroit Historical Society

I too love Lafayette Coney's, makes me drool just thinking about them!

Fort Wayne has a couple of good Coney dog places.

I tend to like mine with the "looser" Coney sauce (not thick chili), onions, and mustard.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: striker1,

quote:

Originally posted by ubelongoutside:

quote:

Originally posted by LtJL:
Sorry, endorsed by Corporal Maxwell Klinger himself, Tony Packo's dogs in East Toleo. Flown from Toledo to South Korea.

Ohio chili dogs now I've heard it all...

Just stick to throwing your chili on spaghetti, because it belongs nowhere near a hot dog

Your taste buds are Section 8.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
We would get off at the Coney Island stop and head straight for Nathan's -- the One True Hot Dog vendor. Sauerkraut and mustard, the deli mustard with ground horseradish in it was first choice, but yellow mustard was a barely acceptable substitute.

Yes, there was a guy from NYC that, when we started talking about Coney Island hot dogs one evening, protested that what we had been calling "Coney Island hot dogs" were, in reality, just "chili dogs," and that real Coney Island hot dogs were hot dogs, sauerkraut and mustard.

I like both versions

It's kind of like the regional differences in BBQ.

Now I'm hungry.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Surely (and don't call me Shirley!), I can not be the only one here who was born in Brooklyn ("God's Country").

As a kid, my cousins and I always looked forward to those summer days when we would get on the subway, which emerged from its underground passageway and rose to become the "el" (elevated train) above the streets.

We would get off at the Coney Island stop and head straight for Nathan's -- the One True Hot Dog vendor. Sauerkraut and mustard, the deli mustard with ground horseradish in it was first choice, but yellow mustard was a barely acceptable substitute. Chopped onion and relish were optional, the purists stuck to just sauerkraut and mustard.

Those hot dogs and Nathan's fries. I can still remember them, seventy years later. We would stuff ourselves, thus making sure that we had something substantial in our stomachs to throw up, if need be, when we rode the death-defying boardwalk rides.

The parachute jump was my mother's favorite. I never worked up enough courage to ride that with her, so I would stay on the ground and pray for her safety.

[IMG]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8IoAAOSwfoNaWqog/s-l300.jpg[/IMG

The bobsled was more my style. This was a roller coaster type ride, but instead of tracks, the bobsled cars rolled down sort of a chute:



Back to the hot dogs: Nathan's brand Coney Island style hot dogs are available in most supermarkets. If you haven't tried one, be prepared for your tongue to throw a party for your mouth (thank you, Mel Brooks) when you bite into that all beef juicy goodness. Nathan understood the art of blending the right spices, and the proper use of garlic in a hot dog.

I am a big fan of Nathans Hot Dogs, and you can always find a few packages of Nathans wieners in my freezer.....yum!!