“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."
Coney Detroit
Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm
Paper - 9780814335185
Price: $24.95t
Published March 2012
Size: 10 x 8.5, Pages: 136, Illustrations: 160
Series: Painted Turtle Series
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News & Events
May 19 – Katherine Yung at George's Senate Coney Island in Northville
Jun 5 – Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm at the Wyandotte Rotary Club
Sep 18 – Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm at the Rochester Hills Public Library
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| American Coney Island |
See photos from the book launch party at Gleaners here.
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!
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
Published by Wayne State University Press
Author(s)
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
Reviews
“Coney Detroit is finally shedding some light on the lunch-counter culture that has silently shaped Michigan’s food landscape for nearly a hundred years.”
— Found Michigan
“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
“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
News
Saturday May 19, 2012 9:00 AM
Katherine Yung at George's Senate Coney Island in Northville
Katherine Yung, co-author of Coney Detroit, will be available for a book signing at George's Senate Coney Island in Northville on Saturday, May 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The restaurant is located at 39430 Dun Rovin Dr, Northville, MI 48168-3475
Tuesday June 5, 2012 12:00 PM
Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm at the Wyandotte Rotary Club
Joe Grimm and Katherine Yung, authors of Coney Detroit, will speak about their book and sign copies at the Wyandott Rotary Club ( 81 Chestnut Street, Wyandotte, MI 48192 ) on June 5th, 2012. The event begins at 12:00 noon. Includes lunch. $10. Advance registration required. Contact 269-217-9601 or mike@debiak.com
Tuesday September 18, 2012 7:00 PM
Katherine Yung and Joe Grimm at the Rochester Hills Public Library
Joe Grimm and Katherine Yung, authors of Coney Detroit, will speak about their book and sign copies at the Rochester Hills Public Library from 7-8:30 p.m. on September 18, 2012.
