黑料福利社

My dad, a born-and-raised Yakima man, at the young age of 80-something, has borne witness to many things in the Valley. He is a collector of history, local lore and a deep well of random facts.

So when he showed up to my house with a 1995 黑料福利社 newspaper, I knew we were about to dive聽deeply聽into something. This time it was the mystery of Yakima鈥檚 very own Coney Island hot dog recipe that had been missing for several decades.

He handed me a copy of the Taste section from that summer about Coney Island hot dogs in Yakima.聽Reporter Judy Fulkerson was searching for an elusive local recipe and had asked for readers' help.

After many leads, phone calls and meetings, she found several people claiming to have the 鈥渙riginal鈥� Coney Island sauce recipe, but one seemed to have more merit than the rest, a recipe given to her by Mike Pulos鈥� son.聽Harry Rallis and Mike Pulos owned the聽NY Coney Island Cafe, located at 13 E. Yakima Ave. (currently McDonald's) from 1933 to 1957.

Fulkerson had found the holy grail, and a piece of Yakima lore and food history was solved.

Some background

First off, let鈥檚 clear up a common misconception. The Coney Island hot dog is not from Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It is a Midwest concoction. Michigan claims to be the birthplace of the famous beef hot dog topped with bean-less chili, yellow mustard and diced onions. Detroit has its version and Flint has another. The difference is in the seasoning, the kinds of meat used in the sauce and the hot dog itself. Today there are many versions of these Coney dogs, or just Coneys as they are sometimes called, spread throughout America.

So why are they called Coney Island Dogs?

It is believed that Greek immigrants visited the birthplace of the original hot dog stand on Coney Island after landing on Ellis Island, where Charles Feltman started slinging dogs from a cart way back in 1867. This was most likely when and where the Greek immigrants had their first taste of a hot dog before migrating and then settling in the Detroit area.

The Greeks put their own spin on the hot dog, topping it with a traditional tomato-based meat sauce seasoned with Mediterranean spices, saltsa kima, and naming their version after the place they first tasted the now American staple: Coney Island.

Drawing inspiration from that experience, these immigrants brought their own culinary influences, adapting the classic American hot dog to include unique sauces and spices. Over time, the recipe evolved in each region where it was adopted, leading to local legends like Yakima鈥檚 own version, which carries its own distinct flavor and history. The name 鈥淐oney Island鈥� stuck as a nod to the original source, even though the dish itself had little to do with the New York landmark beyond its origin story.

Yakima's version

The real magic of Yakima鈥檚 Coney Island hot dog lies in how it became a beloved thread in the community鈥檚 story.聽NY Coney Island Cafe聽was a gathering place where people came together to enjoy a classic local treat, and the mysterious sauce recipe fueled years of curiosity and nostalgia. Even after the doors closed for good, the unforgettable taste of those hot dogs remained a cherished memory 鈥� a flavorful emblem of Yakima鈥檚 culinary legacy.

Obviously, by now I really want to try this Coney Island recipe. My dad and I decided it was only fair to share this legendary secret sauce with a local hot dog place so the community could enjoy this 鈥渂ygone dog of distinction,鈥� so I did.

Winey Dogs, 3 N. Sixth Ave., has officially been entrusted with the original Pulos Coney Island sauce recipe from the NY Coney Island Cafe.聽

If you are ready to see (and taste) what this almost 100-year-old mystery recipe is all about, Winey Dogs will be running a three-week special starting Monday through Feb. 6, featuring the NY Coney Island Cafe recipe.聽Who knows? If it鈥檚 a hit again, maybe it will return to a Yakima menu board, feeding the grandkids and great-grandkids of Yakima鈥檚 original NY Coney Island Cafe patrons.

In fact, the restaurant is holding on to two pieces of Yakima culinary history, also making the original Poocheesy dog (beef dog, tomato, onion, green pepper, relish, cheddar cheese, celery salt and pickle spear) from the now gone but never forgotten Poochies restaurant. So there are two opportunities to taste-test some Yakima history.

Happy New Year, Yakimaniacs! Make it a dog-gone good one.