The Decadent Small Town Hot Dog

I chose Galesburg's Coney Island for the Eat Local challenge because it has been a hallmark of my hometown for as long as I can remember. I literally can't remember a time when I didn't love the coney dogs from Coney Island. In fact, as I was free during the noon hour today, I swung by there for the decedent treat that is their coney dog.

Walking into Coney Island I see the same familiar face behind the counter. She doesn't start with a what can I get you. It's always a "How are you today?" The owners and operators of Coney Island have been that way since they bought the place in the early 2000s and it's a theme that has been passed on by each set of owners that I remember. So I ordered my eight Coney Dogs, ordering for three, but it was really just two of us. Throw in a couple of slices of lemon meringue pie and my order was finished. Just five minutes later and I was on my way with lunch in hand, anxious to get back to work.

Known as the original Coney Island since 1921 means this is the original place opened by the first owners after they immigrated to the United States from Greece. Two brothers, Paul and George Nicholses ended up in Galesburg Illinois and opened the original hot dog joint in an old vaudeville showplace. They started a tradition of selling grilled all-pork hot dogs smothered in their beefy coney sauce which, I learned in my teenage years from another Greek immigrant, is a Greek-style of chili. Initially selling for 5 cents each, today the coney dog sells for over $2.00.

Sure, there are many other options but the coney dog is a favorite of many natives to Galesburg. Should you ever find yourself at the 77 S. Cherry St Coney Island the menu is on the wall behind the counter. You can get the coney dog or your favorite dog combination and add on sides of everything from a salad to baked beans. A coney dog, side, and a drink, if you can stop at one dog, is going to hit you for roughly six bucks. Personally, it hits me for about twelve bucks but that's because Coney Dogs are awesome here and I tend to treat my body like an amusement park. So, you do you.

As well as being a Galesburg favorite around lunchtime, the joint has hardly changed throughout the majority of my life. Sure, there's been a couple of owners over the years, but they've kept many of the old fixtures and the gas grill used for the dogs is the original grill from when the place opened in 1921. This gives the place a very nostalgic feeling. With the classic decor, the history that the place holds, the memories the townsfolk have of the place, and the always happy to see you owners, Coney Island is more than just a local restaurant. It is a part of anyone that has grown up here. People in Galesburg have memories of Coney Island going back to when the high school was located downtown until the early seventies.

For me, besides the obvious old-fashioned cool factor that Coney Island has held onto for all these years, it's not just the dogs that keep me going back. Memories of trips downtown as a kid are still there. I remember Coney Island with my grandparents and with my parents. There were many dates and trips with friends that we wound up at Coney Island. Coney Island is as much a part of Galesburg life as any other thing ever was, but Coney Island has survived the test of time. As everything else fades, the flavor and nostalgia of those chili and onion-covered dogs is still there.