If you didn’t know, Michigan is home to a very specific style of hot dog: The Coney Dog. Everywhere we went in Southeast Michigan, we saw restaurants called “Coney Island“. I was completely confused by this – I had no idea what a Coney Dog was, and I had absolutely no idea why there was a Coney Island shop on practically every street corner in Michigan (because isn’t Coney Island in NY?!). Well, my cousin Rachel + her husband, Brian broke it down for us and decided to hook us up with an original Coney Dog face-off between the infamous American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island in downtown Detroit! You’re either a fan of one or the other – you can’t be a fan of both!
Needless to say, Ed + I were excited for the challenge. These two establishments are right next door to each other and have a serious rivalry going on. The original was Lafayette, which was opened up by two brothers in 1914. They had a dispute, one of the brothers left, and opened up shop with American in 1917, right next door. That’s some serious history. Brian grew up in a family that pledges allegiance to Lafayette, and we couldn’t wait to see which team we’d be favoring …
We started with American and each of us ordered one original Coney: that’s a hot dog with chili (no beans), mustard and onions.
(Top left: American’s Coney Dog, Bottom right: Lafayette’s Coney Dog)
The vibes inside couldn’t be more different.
Lafayette was pure old school – a counter, limited number of tables and chairs, no frills. American was bright, all red, white + blue and happy Americana all around.
I guess it’s no surprise we ended up favoring Lafayette. Aside from the old school vibe, something about that hot dog was just better. A little juicier when you bit into it, a little snappier with the bite. We thought the chili sauce tasted better at Lafayette, too.
All in all – we love a Coney Dog. We will look forward to another one at Lafayette when we return to Detroit!