Duly’s | Coney Island Hot Dogs | Old School Diner | Detroit

100-Year Old Diner With a Difference

Founded in 1921, Duly’s is a postcard-perfect old school diner. Vintage coffee percolators whisper at all hours. The menu is basic Americana. But here you will find one important regional highlight: the Detroit Coney Island Hot Dog. In a city with countless hot dog purveyors, Duly’s stands among the best. Some say it IS the best chili dog in town.

Detroit’s Signature Hot Dog Always Wants Chili

There is nothing unique or fancy about Coney Island hot dogs. No grainy mustard or nitrite-free butcher’s-choice hot dogs, that’s for sure. What makes a good Coney is its chili. Duly’s chili is first-rate. It is meaty where others can be floury and spicy where others are milquetoast. This chili is good enough to eat by the bowl. Whatever you get here, make sure it has chili on it.

For The Devoted Chilihead

Some chili devotees opt for a Looseburger, which is simply a generous ladle full of chili scooped into a hot dog bun with onions and mustard: basically, a Coney Island minus the frank. It’s an interesting novelty, similar to eastern Kentucky’s chili bun. But the standard Coney Island is a better choice. The hot dog provides important texture and structural support to what is otherwise a disintegrating bun-raft awash in a sea of molten chili.

Utensils Are Welcome

Even with the dog included, the Coney Island dog at Duly’s is very heavy on the chili, which makes it unusually substantial. One makes a significant snack, and two are a meal. It is so hefty that many prefer to attack it with a knife and fork.

A Roadfood Gem

The coziness of this old school diner and the price and quality of the dogs make it hard to beat Duly’s for late night cravings in Detroit. It goes beyond just that though. At any hour, it is one of the best places to eat in town. And it just might serve Detroit’s best Coney Islands.