Say "Hi" to the Colonel for Me.

For many people, Interstate75 serves as the main conduit from the north to Florida. This wasn’t always the case though. In by gone days, state highways would ferry people from one part of the country to the next. The advent of the Interstate system meant a lot of small towns were bypassed and business dried up

This was true of the Sanders family business in Corbin, Kentucky. A restaurant and motor hotel were thriving businesses on the Dixie Highway. Sanders, ever the entrepreneur was already working to franchise his chicken to restaurants. In 1955 when I - 75 opened, he sold his business to pay off debts and was broke. (Honourary) Colonel Sanders would hit the road, taking his secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices to the people. Selling restaurateurs what he called, “Kentucky Fried Chicken” became a full time job for him.

The original Sanders family business is long gone, replaced by replicas and a museum. If you’re on 75 in the southern part of Kentucky, take exit 29 and visit. See a mock-up of the kitchen where the recipe was born. Have your picture taken with the statue of the Colonel. Read the historic plaque.

Then get back in your car and head to the south end of town and eat at The Root Beer Stand.

For decades The Root Beer Stand in Corbin has been serving up hot dogs, burgers, chuck wagons and the ubiquitous south eastern Kentucky chili bun. The later being a chili dog without the dog. They also make their own root beer. It wasn't as intense as what I'm used to. It did have a nice aftertaste that reminded me of molasses. You can purchase by the gallon to go.

The Root Beer Stand is a way of life in Corbin. So popular it doesn’t need a sign. People just know it’s the place. The non descript brown building that kinda looks like an Old A & W. It has plastic Pepsi menu boards all over the outside. It’s is a relic of a bygone era. Were it not for the gravel parking lot, waitresses on roller skates would not look out of place. Nor would Fonzie, Ritchie, Ralph and Potsy. A waitress comes to your car window and takes your order. She returns with a tray of food and hangs it on said window.

It’s also busy, really busy. Fortunately it’s a model of efficiency. We were there for a little over a half hour and there were probably 40 cars there.

Most importantly, it’s a seasonal operation. Don’t show up in the middle of winter or you’ll go wanting. They run from roughly the middle of March to the middle of October.

And now, the food.

I had the Dixie Burger, a chili bun and a root beer float. We split fries. Mrs. Sippi had a foot long Coney. Like she didn't get enough Coney action yesterday. She had a Pepsi float.

The Dixie burger was really good. A home made 1/4lb burger with home made sauce that was sorta like bbq, onions and pickles.

The chili bun was excellent and kinda neat. It's not quite a Sloppy Joe but it was similar and on a hot dog bun. It comes loaded with a finely ground beef chili that is rather thick. So much so that it maintained structural integrity during consumption. This too (Like American Coney Island) had no noticeable spice. It was pretty well balanced although it did have a slight garlic kick. I quite liked it.

Mrs. Sippi's Coney dog was similar to ACI but not as good. Close, but not quite. It too was a Vienna style weiner loaded with chili. The crinkle cut fries were good but mostly because of the nostalgia. I rarely see crinkle cut fries anymore.

The floats were great. I can't tell you the last time I had a root beer float so it was such a nice change. I can imagine it would be a real treat to hang out with a float on a nice warm summer night. Especially if you had a convertible.

You can find The Root Beer Stand at 129 18th Street in Corbin Kentucky.

 

Well that's all for now. Hope to see you again.

 

Davwud

 

 

Coney Islands......The Taste of Detroit

Hold on, wait, hang on a second, stop!!

Coney Islands hot dogs are the are the taste of Detroit?? Huh??

Well, in 1917 Greek immigrant Constantine Keros founded American Coney Island downtown on Lafayette St. in Detroit. Gust as he was known started a dining tradition that can still be seen dotting the Metro Detroit area. I've always found it great that a simple treat like a dog with chili, mustard and onion can become synonymous with an area much like chili has in Cincinnati, Minneapolis' Juicy Lucy or the Slug burger in north east Mississippi. I also love a family run business. In this case, a fourth generation of the Keros family is now working the restaurant.

Competition for the Coney dollar was so great, Gust's brother opened his own Coney Island stand right next door. While Lafayette Coney Island still exists and does a good business, American Coney has gone on to expand into the vacated United Shirt space next door. A sizeable investment and chance has paid off nicely for ACI. As well as their store, ACI has expanded the menu to include Gyros, Baklava, fish (on Fridays) and chili cheese fries, among others. They even ship "Kits."
This did not quell the competition though. As we walked by Lafayette, workers invited us in and upon approaching the door to American, workers opened it and escorted us to seats.

Such is the iconic status of ACI that a who's who of Detroit (and beyond for that matter) have visited as well as all the local network affiliates and the Today show.
Recently ACI has been featured on Man vs. Food and in upcoming episodes of Food Wars and Iron Chef America. A picture of VP Joe Biden and a friendly employee is displayed proudly in the front window.

So....on to the food.

When ordering your Coney's you simply say, "(quantity) with everything." Or "(quantity) without (whatever)" if you choose to omit something.

So three with everything, a Coney loose burger and an order of chili cheese fries.

The fries are of the shoe string variety loaded with chili and a good amount of cheese. The chili is a tasty house made brew that's well balanced with not a whisper (IMHO) of heat. I like some heat in my chili but I didn't really miss it.

The loose meat burger (on the plate next to the Coney) is the same as the Coney dog (on a steamed bun) except seasoned ground beef is in place of the weiner. It was good but I'd rather have a dog instead of the beef.

The star of the show and the reason why ACI has been in business for nearly 100 years was the Coney dog. Enough chili and mustard and onion to compliment but allow the great dog to shine. This Vienna style (pork and beef) dog is made specially for ACI by Dearborn Sausage. It comes off a flat top (love the flat top) and its natural casing provided a crisp snap that could rival an apple. If you're a hot dog aficionado and love that snap from natural casings, this is as good as it gets.
Mrs. Sippi used a knife and fork while I dove in with both hands. Finger licking good as they say.

With two drinks we were out the door for less than $20. Great food served up by great people at a great price. May the Keros family still be there 100 years from now.

You can visit American Coney Island at 114 W. Lafayette, Detroit, Michigan or on the web by clicking here.
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Well that's all for today. Be sure to check back for more of my journeys.

Davwud