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 this program, co-author Joe Grimm investigate all aspects of Michigan’s beloved regional delicacy, which was perfected by Greek immigrants in the early 1900s. 

While the coney legend is centered in Detroit, the book explores coney traditions in other Michigan cities, including Flint, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Port Huron, Pontiac, and Traverse City. Take the quiz and earn a PhD (Philosopher of Hot Dogs) from the Coney Detroit College of Coney Dog Knowledge.

Joe Grimm is the author of several books, including Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors (Wayne State University Press, 2002), Songquest: The Journals of Great Lakes Folklorist Ivan H. Walton (Wayne State University Press, 2005), 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.