Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [146]
Indiana
Coney Island Wiener
131 W. Main St.
219–424–2997
Fort Wayne, IN
LD | $
Coney Island wiener shops abound throughout the Midwest, “Coney Island” being the old term for hot dog, which folks in the Heartland used to associate with New York. Fort Wayne’s Coney Island, a Main Street storefront formally known as the Famous Coney Island Wiener Stand, was established in 1914, and has built its reputation on the classic Greek-American frankfurter: a modest-size bright pink weenie nestled in a soft bun and topped with Coney sauce, which is a fine-grind chili with a rainbow of seasonings and a fetching sweetness. Although all condiments are technically optional, everyone orders their hot dogs with Coney sauce, as well as a line of mustard and a good sprinkle of chopped raw onion. The only other things on the menu are baked beans, chili (more a soup than a stew), and hamburgers.
Seating is at counter stools, many of which offer a nice view not only of the doings behind the counter and between staff and customers, but also through the big window out onto Main Street.
Tipster Brett Poirier, who encouraged us to eat Fort Wayne’s famous Coney Islands, pointed out that it makes a great way station for anyone traveling America’s original coast-to-coast thoroughfare, the Lincoln Highway.
Gray Brothers Cafeteria
555 S. Indiana St.
317–831–5614
Mooresville, IN
LD | $
Gray Brothers is gigantic, and quite deluxe as far as cafeterias go: leaded glass windows in the doors, plenty of tasteful décor. Almost any time you walk in, it will be crowded, but that’s no problem because the cafeteria line moves really fast, and besides, your wait takes you along the “preview line,” which allows you to study the dozens and dozens of food items from which you will soon be choosing. The trays are big ones, but if you’re at all like us, you’ll find yours fully occupied well before you get to the rolls and beverages at the end of the line.
It’s hard to know what to recommend because we’ve never had anything at Gray’s we didn’t like. Among the most memorable dishes are chicken and noodles, meat loaf (with mashed potatoes, natch), chicken livers, and fried chicken with an ultra-flavorful crust that pulls off the bird like strips of pork cracklin’. The way things work in Gray’s line is that you tell the servers what entree you want; they put it onto a nice flower-patterned partitioned plate then slide the plate down to the vegetable area, where it is piled with whatever sides you desire.
Who can resist the corn bread stuffing? Or mac ’n’ cheese? We also love the heartland salads, especially the ones composed of creamy peas and of carrots, raisins, and marshmallows. Desserts are dazzling, with whole pies arrayed on shelves below the individual slices (many pies get bought and taken home). Fruit pies abound, of course, and there are swell butterscotch, banana cream, and pumpkin flavors, but the Indiana favorite, and a specialty of Gray’s, is sugar-cream pie…as simple and pure and good as the name suggests.
Hollyhock Hill
8110 N. College Ave.
317–251–2294
Indianapolis, IN
D | $$
In 1928, on a quiet street at the northernmost outskirts of Indianapolis, a restaurant named the Country Cottage started serving family-style chicken dinners. The city has grown around it and the name was changed to honor the hollyhock bushes on the lawn, but the specialty of the house is still fried chicken dinners.
The time to fully experience the bedrock character of this place is Sunday, after church. Pastels on the ladies echo the flowery murals in the pastel dining