Coney Detroit (Painted Turtle) [Paperback]

Katherine Yung (Author), Joe Grimm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2012 | Series: Painted Turtle

Detroit is the world capital of the coney island hot dog a natural-casing hot dog topped with an all-meat beanless chili, chopped white onions, and yellow mustard. In Coney Detroit, authors Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm investigate all aspects of the beloved regional delicacy, which was created by Greek immigrants in the early 1900s. Coney Detroit traces the history of the coney island restaurant, which existed in many cities but thrived nowhere as it did in Detroit, and surveys many of the hundreds of independent and chain restaurants in business today. In more than 150 mouth-watering photographs and informative, playful text, readers will learn about the traditions, rivalries, and differences between the restaurants, some even located right next door to each other.
Coney Detroit showcases such Metro Detroit favorites as American Coney Island, Lafayette Coney Island, Duly s Coney Island, Kerby s Coney Island, National Coney Island, and Leo s Coney Island. As Yung and Grimm uncover the secret ingredients of an authentic Detroit coney, they introduce readers to the suppliers who produce the hot dogs, chili sauce, and buns, and also reveal the many variations of the coney including coney tacos, coney pizzas, and coney omelets. While the coney legend is centered in Detroit, Yung and Grimm explore coney traditions in other Michigan cities, including Flint, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Port Huron, Pontiac, and Traverse City, and even venture to some notable coney islands outside of Michigan, from the east coast to the west. Most importantly, the book introduces and celebrates the families and individuals that created and continue to proudly serve Detroit s favorite food. Not a book to be read on an empty stomach, Coney Detroit deserves a place in every Detroiter or Detroiter-at-heart s collection. Additional Coney Detroit material can be found at ConeyDetroit.com!

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is a wonderful snapshot of iconic places (and of the people who inhabit them) in the cultural landscape of Detroit, Flint, and Jackson, Michigan. To most Americans, these names mean cars, but to the people who live there, coneys count, and here is the book to whet the appetite and evoke home, as no other food can. --Bruce Kraig, president of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance and author of Hot Dog: A Global History and Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America

At a time when a growing number of Americans are discovering or rediscovering their foodways traditions, Coney Detroit provides a rich and colorful picture of the way coney dogs have emerged as a distinctive symbol of identity for Detroiters. Yung and Grimm provide keen insights into the history and daily life of the coney island restaurants that dot the cityscape of Detroit, and they feature the people who make and passionately carry on coneys as a Michigan folk tradition. Coney Detroit is a lively celebration of how food contributes to identity of place and meaning to all those who have taken a bite of Detroit s coney tradition. --C. Kurt Dewhurst, president of the American Folklore Society and Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage at Michigan State University Museum C. Kurt Dewhurst, president of the American Folklore Society and Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Every politician campaigning in Detroit must get photographed with a coney in hand. Athletes and music stars going for after-game or concert coneys run into fans doing the same thing. When national media declare a coney showdown, we flock to the restaurants to cheer on our favorites like we cheer on our sports teams. --Joe Grimm, from the preface

At a time when a growing number of Americans are discovering or rediscovering their foodways traditions, Coney Detroit provides a rich and colorful picture of the way coney dogs have emerged as a distinctive symbol of identity for Detroiters. Yung and Grimm provide keen insights into the history and daily life of the coney island restaurants that dot the cityscape of Detroit, and they feature the people who make and passionately carry on coneys as a Michigan folk tradition. Coney Detroit is a lively celebration of how food contributes to identity of place and meaning to all those who have taken a bite of Detroit s coney tradition. --C. Kurt Dewhurst, president of the American Folklore Society and Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage at Michigan State University Museum C. Kurt Dewhurst, president of the American Folklore Society and Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Every politician campaigning in Detroit must get photographed with a coney in hand. Athletes and music stars going for after-game or concert coneys run into fans doing the same thing. When national media declare a coney showdown, we flock to the restaurants to cheer on our favorites like we cheer on our sports teams. --Joe Grimm, from the preface

This book is a wonderful snapshot of iconic places (and of the people who inhabit them) in the cultural landscape of Detroit, Flint, and Jackson, Michigan. To most Americans, these names mean cars, but to the people who live there, coneys count, and here is the book to whet the appetite and evoke home, as no other food can. --Bruce Kraig, president of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance and author of Hot Dog: A Global History and Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America

At a time when a growing number of Americans are discovering or rediscovering their foodways traditions, Coney Detroit provides a rich and colorful picture of the way coney dogs have emerged as a distinctive symbol of identity for Detroiters. Yung and Grimm provide keen insights into the history and daily life of the coney island restaurants that dot the cityscape of Detroit, and they feature the people who make and passionately carry on coneys as a Michigan folk tradition. Coney Detroit is a lively celebration of how food contributes to identity of place and meaning to all those who have taken a bite of Detroit s coney tradition. --C. Kurt Dewhurst, president of the American Folklore Society and Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage at Michigan State University Museum

About the Author

Katherine Yung is a reporter at the Detroit Free Press covering Michigan s economy and other business subjects. Before joining the Free Press in May 2007, she worked for the Dallas Morning News and The Detroit News.

Joe Grimm is the author of several books, including Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors (Wayne State University Press, 2002), Michigan Voices: Our State s History in the Words of the People Who Lived It (Wayne State University Press, 1987), and Bringing the News. Following a thirty-one-year newspaper career, twenty-five of them spent at the Detroit Free Press, he became a journalism professor at Michigan State University.

Contributors: Photographers: Bobby Alcott, Brian Blanco, Keith Burgess, E. Terry Clark, Ted Fines, Paul Hitzelberger, Brett J. Lawrence, Eric Peoples, Christine Dunshee Peterson, Ryan Southen, Spike, Rob Terwilliger

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Wayne State Univ Pr (March 19, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814335187
• ISBN-13: 978-0814335185
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History, Great Photos and a Great Read! March 24, 2012

By Ted Fines

Format:Paperback

A growing number of Michiganders (and ex-Michiganders)are intrigued and have a great deal of nostalgia for the Detroit coney dog (though rivaled by Flint and Jackson)and its history. This is a wonderfully researched and written book by Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm and the photos are an excellent compliment to the words. The coney dog has a great past, an intriguing present and a wonderful future and this book only makes your mouth water for a follow-up-Coney Detroit #2!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on Coneys March 9, 2013

By Leslie Schweitzer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Told history of original Coneys, gave details on recipes, where to get products, and what makes Coneys so popular in Detroit

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a hot dog with chili. April 22, 2013

By Two readers

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I grew up in the Detroit area and took Coneys for granted. When I moved out of the metro area I didn't realize that not everyone in Michigan knew how to make a real coney. This book showed me that this all american meal has a real rich history, with roots deep in our stomachs! The pictures and the research made me sentimental...and hungry!