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Biff's Coney Island ~ Commerce Township, Michigan


First visit: May 2025

---6/13/25

We were in the far NW edges of the Detroit metro area when it was lunch time. I knew exactly what type of food I wanted, and we'll pick the closest one that looks good.

Personal history with Coney Island: Even though we've been together at Nathan's in New York City, the origin of "Coney Island" when referring to a food genre, is in Detroit. We found a restaurant in Jackson, Michigan claiming to be first, but that seems to be a popular claim of many places in the area. As noted in the DeLuca's review, I spent some time in Detroit for work. It was both in 2006 and 2007 that I went to my first Coney Island restaurants. Both were chains in the suburb of Troy where our office was: Kerby's and National. And both chains are still around though National has shrunk quite a bit. Those events were just before this blog's beginning but it's exactly these type of places that inspired me to start this blog in the first place.

Location: Spacious strip center place. Warm and welcoming. 


Food: A Coney Island restaurant is not a hot dog stand, but rather a euphemism for a Greek diner. And Coney's are often their featured dish. I wasn't sure Mrs. RJG would be overly enthused with a hot dog for lunch, so I ordered two "Biff's Coney's" and she ordered a Corned Beef sandwich. And it's a good thing we did that, because these coney's are not handheld but rather a knife and fork affair. She wasn't really that keen on the idea. The coney's were great though, loaded with delicious chili, cheese, and onions. The corned beef sandwich was giant (bigger than it looks in the photo) and the meat was excellent tasting. Reminded me ironically of the sandwiches I would get while working in New York City (summer of 1998). Good fries as well. Like all good Greek diners they also offer a full range of breakfast and dinner options. Friendly waitstaff as well.

Overall: Biff's is an excellent example of the style. I think if I lived in Detroit, I would have a separate blog researching each and every one of them!

5/29/25

6/13/25 (new entry)

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