What is all this hot dog nonsense all about anyways ????? A Hot Dog Program
In 1997 PBS produced a very interesting, funny, and "appetizing" special on the best and favourite hot dog vendors found in the four corners of our great Country, "A Hot Dog Program" which aired the absolute best of Americana and nitrates !!!!. After watching it together in Grand Rapids, the Boys immediately bolted to the nearest Hot Dog Stand in G.R., and after their third or fourth hot dog, as they were coming up for air, they committed to hit every one of the stands in the show. Here are the sad, calorie-laden exploits of Mike and Bone's strange quest for the perfect "tube steak" !!!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2001 Paying Homage to the Holy of Hot Dog Holies - Nathan's Famous !!! ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2004 Gray's Papaya @ 72nd Street and Broadway ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2004 Papaya King @ 83rd Street and 3rd Avenue ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2005 The Varsity in Atlanta, Georgia ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2005 Nu Way Weiner in Macon, Georgia ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2006 SuperDawg on Milwaukee Blvd Chicago, Illinois ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2006 Cozy Drive In Springfield, Illinois ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2006 Pinks On Hollywood Blvd West Hollywood, California ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2007 The Original Hot Dog Stand, Pittburgh PA ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2007 Rutt's Hutt, Clifton New Jersey ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2007 Franks Restaurant, Columbia South Carolina ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2008 Bill's Drive-In, Evanston Illinois ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2008 Portillo's Chicago, Illinois ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2008 Demon Dogs Chicago, Illinois ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2009 Tony Packos, Toledo Ohio ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2012 The Bowery, Dallas Texas ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2013 The Coney Island, Bailey Colorado ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2013 Atomic Dog, Berkley Michigan ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2014 Super, Duper Weenie, Fairfield Connecticut ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2017 Skin's Thrashers, Anderson South Carolina ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2025 Johnny Mustards, Royal Oak Michigan ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hot Dog Stands from the Hot Dog Program (In order of appearance on the Program):
1. _X_ Super Duper Weenie: Fairfield, Connecticut
2. _X_ The Varsity: Atlanta, Georgia
3. _X_ The Coney Island: Bailey, Colorado
4. _X_ The Papaya King: New York, New York
5. _X_ Gray's Papaya: New York, New York
6. _X_ Nathan's Famous: New York Coney Island
7. _X_ Bill's Drive-in: Evanston, Illinois
8. _*_ Demon Dogs: Chicago, Illinois
9. _X_ Portillo's: Chicago, Illinois
10. _X_ Cozy Dog Springfield, Illinois
11. _X_ Super Dawg: Chicago, Illinois
12._X_ Rutt's Hutt: Clifton, New Jersey
13. _*_ Slots-A-Fun/Circus Circus, Las Vegas, Nevada
14. _X_ Nu Way Weiner, Macon, Georgia
15. _X_ Skin's Thrashers: Anderson, South Carolina
16. _*_ Franks Hot Dogs: Columbia, South Carolina
17. _X_ Pinks: Los Angeles, California
18. ___ Law Dog: Los Angeles, California
19. ___ M.A.'s Gourmet Dogs: Anchorage, Alaska
20. _X_ Essies' Original Hot Dog Shop: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Other Famous Hot Dog Stands enjoyed by the Boys:
1. _X_ Tony Packo's: Toledo, Ohio
2._X_ Lafayette Coney Island: Detroit Michigan
3._X_ Atomic Dawg: Berkley Michigan
Dishonourable Mention: Other Famous Hot Dog Stands NOT enjoyed by the Boys:
1. _X_ The Bowery: Dallas, Texas
A The Top 10 in Michigan ?! :
One day in early 2016 Mike came across the following article from Serena Maria Daniels on OnlyInYourState.com.
In These 10 Restaurants Serve The Best Coneys In Michigan
Per the Author, the Coney Island is arguably the one food that defines Michigan’s regional cuisine. Arguably, because we’re a huge state and depending on where you live, the Coney is either the ultimate in comfort food, or it’s just a chili dog. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, the loyalty for the Michigan Coney runs deep. In fact, there are very strict guidelines over what defines a legitimate Coney. Most would say the dog must come in natural casing, giving the eater a pronounced snap when they bite into it, though we’ve found that some spots don’t do casing. If you’re in Detroit, the bean-less beef chili that tops the dog is on the runnier and more tomato side, like a sauce. Elsewhere in Flint or Jackson, you’ll find that the chili is much drier, resembling ground beef. Diced onions and yellow mustard are the gold standards for a classic Coney topping. But travel to the west side of the state, in cities like Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Muskegon, and you’re bound to find some variations like shredded cheddar cheese, or toppings traditional to Chicago dogs, given their close proximity to the Windy City. Up North, well, we’ve heard from plenty of folks in the UP who say they just don’t do Coneys. Here, we introduce you to some classics, as well as some of those hybrids we mentioned. See for yourself.
10._X_ Duly’s Coney Island, Detroit
9. _X_Lafayette Coney Island, Detroit
8._X_American Coney Island, Detroit
7._X_Angelo's Coney Island, Flint
6._X_Starlite Diner and Coney Island, Flint
5._X_Jackson Coney Island, Jackson
4_X_Virginia Coney Island, Jackson
3. _X_ G&L, Muskegon
2 _X_ Coney Island Hot Dogs, Kalamazoo
1._X_One Stop Coney Shop, Grand Rapids
W
ell, per Mike and Bone, Serena should probably stick with Tennis (Opps! wrong Serena!) because most of these Coney Islands with few exceptions were average at best !!!The Michigan List!:
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2009 Lafayette Coney Island, Detroit Michigan ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2013 Duly's Place Coney Island, Detroit ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One Stop Coney Place, Grand Rapids __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2019 Jackson Coney Island, Jackson _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2019 Virginia's Coney Island, Jackson __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2019 Angelo's, Flint __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2019 Starlite's, Flint __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2019 Coney Island Hot Dogs, Kalamazoo
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