What's a coney dog and why do Windsorites love them? These pros say it's in our history
The coney dog, a hotdog with chili-like sauce, is popular in Michigan
It's a messy concoction of chili-like sauce, bright yellow mustard and finely diced white onion. It's best eaten with a napkin or five, and it'll probably end up spilled down your shirt.
It's a coney dog, a beloved fixture of Detroit — and Windsor, Ont. — cuisine.
But its history and enduring popularity is a little hazy, even as two coney dog shops opened within a block of each other in Windsor this year.
"I got interested when I was about eight," said Dave Liske, author of The Flint Coney: A Savoury History.
"In 1970, Genesee Valley Mall opened in Flint. I grew up just south of Flint and Palace Coney Island opened there when the mall opened.
"I had my first Flint coney there and I was hooked."
Liske's love of the coney dog is long and well established. His book documents the history of a specific variety of coney dog native to Flint, Mich., and he even operated a coney stand in Luna Pier, Mich.
He describes his love for the coney dog as an obsession, one that his family indulges and even encouraged when he wrote his book.
"I found places that existed long before American and Lafayette," he said. "Places that have been forgotten in time."
What's a coney dog and where did it come from?
According to Liske, coney dogs came about with the immigration of people from Europe, the Balkans and Greece to Michigan. The spices in the coney are similar to what immigrants would have eaten back home, he said, and the first shop was founded in 1907.
Contrary to the name, coney dogs aren't a New York food. More likely, according to the Detroit Historical Society, is people coming to Michigan passed through the famed New York entertainment district and took the name for their own food venture.
In both Flint and Detroit, Liske traces the coney dog's rise in popularity to autoworkers.
"When Buick opened in 1907 in Flint they needed something handy to eat. They were working 24/7 and all the trains were passing through Flint and this [coney] place opened up right downtown and it became a haven for the autoworkers," he said.
"They fed the autoworkers. These places sprouted up where the plants were built."
According to the Detroit Historical Society, another well-known coney shop, Todoroff's, started in 1914 in Jackson, Mich.
But the two household names in coney dogs are based in Detroit: American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, both started by the Keros family in 1917 and 1924, respectively.
The two shops have operated down the street from each other for years, though Lafayette is no longer owned by the Keros family.
The making of a good coney dog
To make a good coney, Liske saic there are a few common elements: a steamed bun, a hot dog in natural casing — giving it that characteristic snap when you bite into it. You need a run-of-the-mill yellow mustard and finely diced yellow onions.
But it all lies in the secret sauce. Back in the day, the chili-like sauce was commonly made from beef heart, tallow, cracker meal, onion and a secret blend of spices that could include red chili powder, paprika and cumin.
Emphatically, Liske will tell you, as will Detroiters, a coney sauce should never include beans.
But there are regional variations. A Detroit-style coney sauce, as is popular in Windsor, can include turmeric and even a little cinnamon, giving it a "brighter" taste, he said.
Liske said there's sometimes "American squeamishness" about what, exactly, goes into the coney sauce. But with tougher economic times and a renewed interest in sustainability, more people are embracing varietal meats and the inexpensive, tasty coney dog.
"I think that's all coming back because people are realizing food waste is a big deal," he said. "There was a really squeamish point and now it's kind of turning back around. People are learning where food comes from."
Coneys make a mark in Windsor
It's a recipe two local Windsor coney places have down pat.
Jeff Allard is the owner of Ford City Coney and Ice, an offshoot of Ernie and Rusty's Handcrafted Ice Cream. Allard opened his Ford City shop selling coneys and other regional hotdogs in August as a means to keep busy during ice cream's coming slow months.
Allard said they developed their coney sauce based on plenty of trial and error, and lots of taste tests. They also consulted with some old timers who passed along a few closely-guarded secrets.
But Allard said they strive to be different, making their coneys out of all-local ingredients, including custom hotdogs from Deda's Meats and Deli.
"We came up with that sauce that we thought everybody would like and it's … more unique," he said.
"We've heard people say, 'you're the most authentic on this side of the border.' Or other people get mad at us, 'you're not authentic because we're not bringing over the stuff from Detroit.'"
Customers say coneys bring back memories
Regardless, coney dogs inspire a lot of memories and strong feelings in his customers, Allard says.
"I just had a lady last week that had ours for the first time and it brought back memories of when she was a kid and used to go to the States with her mom," Allard said. "Started crying on me. But it's making people feel good. It's nice to hear the stories and hear the memories from people."
WATCH: Here's what Winsorites miss about crossing the border
Just down the street, Brandon Lunansky opened Lunansky's Coney Island, also in August.
"Couldn't get a Coney dog, couldn't cross the border," he said, of the idea that sprung up during the pandemic. "I figured … we deserve a Coney Island here.
He says he's been "hooked ever since" he ate his first coney when he was 17 or 18.
"It's kind of a Windsor, Detroit area food. You know, we got the Windsor pizza and this is kind of the only other one," Lunansky said.
'It's the snap of that dog'
"It's a nostalgic thing. Whether you grew up eating it from a baby or a teenager, you know, you get hooked. It's the snap of that dog and then the coney sauce."
Lunansky says he still sees the love of coneys among autoworkers, hearkening back to the coney dog's roots, with their location in Ford City.
"I was actually thinking about that. We got a lot of Ford workers, a lot of Stellantis workers coming in here," he said. "We're a little far from the new battery plant. But you know, maybe if people work there and live [here] we'll get a lot of them coming through.
"I think if there would have been a Coney Island to open in Windsor when the foundry was running, this definitely would have been the street to do it on."
Lunansky's Coney Island also features a variety of deli staples, like dill pickle soup and corned beef sandwiches.
But while American and Lafayette coneys famously have a Hatfield and McCoy-esque rivalry, both Lunansky and Allard agree there's enough coney to go around on this side of the border.
The best coney dog is the one you're eating
While there's plenty of debate among Windsorites about which coney is the best — or even if coneys are good at all — Liske had a few thoughts for when you find yourself presented with a coney.
"Well, just enjoy what's in front of you," he said. "That's a big deal to me: when you go somewhere and you're like, oh, they don't, they don't have the food that I like.' That's too bad.
"It doesn't matter if it's hotdogs or whatever. Enjoy what's in front of you."