So I drove into downtown Detroit on Tuesday. The snow and wind were much worse than I'd thought--near blizzard conditions and impossible to take many photos. I got a few...but mostly I just drove around in the slush since none of the streets were plowed.
The snow gave the old pre depression-era buildings a surreal look, almost made them clean and new, and there were a couple of streets that looked almost Manhattan-like in their canyonish layout. There were other cars and some buses around too, but not many people on this day before Christmas eve, but then again there was no shopping to be done because there are almost no businesses of any kind in this barren cityscape. Like midtown Manhattan after the apocalypse.
After sliding around in my rental car for about an hour I decided to take a break, but that's a problem in a nearly abandoned city like Detroit. Unlike Manhattan, or even downtown Newark, there's really no coffee shops, bodegas, or Starbucks anywhere--just abandoned storefronts of what probably used to be restaurants.
I finally found something on Lafayette Street-- two "restaurants": Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island, located next to each other in dumpy old buildings, which was next to what looked like a 1960s-era skyscraper that was abandoned with graffiti in all its windows up to the top floor. The bottom of that building looked like it was home to the "Lafayette Deli" which was long ago boarded up and abandoned.
I parked across the street in a rising snowbank. For a city with no population it was strange to see that on-street parking was managed by fairly new muni-meters. As other people parked near me I observed that they didn't pay the meter, so I decided not to as well. What are the chances of a cop giving out parking tickets in a snow storm anyway?
The American Coney Island looked less dumpy than it's sister restaurant, so I went in, wondering again WTF "Coney Island" implied. Inside it looked as if time had stopped--checkerboard floors, old counters with stools, and a very retro feel. The 3 men behind the counter wore Happy Days era paper hats and white uniforms. They were all Albanian immigrants. The only other customer was a homeless man huddled in one corner smoking a cigarette.
I learned that "Coney Island" had nothing to do with the now defunct NY amusement park. "Coney Island" is a type of hotdog style made popular here by Greek immigrants in the late 19th century. Apparently these immigrants sold their dogs under the assumption that they were what was eaten at the real Coney Island--which I guess sounded exotic to a land-locked place like Detroit. The hot dog includes chili, onions, and mustard and reminds me of what NJ refers to as a "Texas Weiner".
American Coney Island is some sort of landmark here, and I'd chanced upon it in a snow storm. It's counterpart next door, Lafayette Coney Island, is also a landmark but a bit dumpier.
Not my usual food, but it was cold and I was hungry, so I ordered 2 with coffee and asked if I could take some photos, and they agreed.
The food was ok, but I think Nathan's is better (and more authentically Coney Island), or any cartdog in NYC for that matter. After I ate I started taking photos. That's when the owner walked in and asked if I was going to use the photos for "commercial gain". Seeing that this place was in the middle of an apocalyptic nowhere land straight out of Mad Max, I was puzzled by this because I think at this point any publicity would be better than none. I stifled a smirk while answering "no" and explained that my intent was artistic only.
The photos will be up on Flickr when I get back.
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