Virginia Coney Island — Restaurant in Jackson

The tail of 2 dogs.

There was nothing like pulling up to (if you could find a spot nearby) a little hot dog cart on Detroit St in Jackson.

It was set up in front of a tiny house and nothing all that special really, it was just your average run of the mill, Hot dog cart... that is... Until Tommy stepped behind it! Then something very magical happened.

I swear His smile I believe is how he steamed the buns to perfection and his laughter was the most important seasoning to the many creative hotdogs he served. From the time he opened the umbrella until the very last Frankfurter was served there would be people from all walks of life lined up sharing their stories with one another unassuming and all with one common goal, a 3 minute interaction with a beautiful ol soul that more than likely knew your name and remembered your favorite toppings... Tommy. He has now long moved on to some street corner in heaven where I'm sure he's greeting everyone with a forever steaming smile and watered down mustard.

My favorite was always the New York dog. He had so many to choose from and I tried them all. Yesterday was a very special experience and I could almost hear him say, Hello Tunk!! Did you bring me some chicken? He liked my chicken when I had Tunks BBQ set up on Michigan Ave.

When we heard that Ted, his cousin and one of the coney kings, from the Virginia Coney Island was honoring Tommy and preparing some of his amazing recipes well we didn't hesitate and jumped in the car and embarked on a 400 mile round trip to experience those memories again and let me tell you it was worth every mile.

We got one of everything of course and man did they hit the spot!! New York, Diana, Tiger, Texas, and Taco dog. Of course we also got a couple original VCI coneys as well and I will say the cooks really knocked it out of the park and to top it all off we had the best hash slinging server in the country the famous, Gorge. I think she's probably served me over a thousand coneys in my day and millions in hers.

Chad Melton I'm sure has something to do with this as he's the top coney sauce maker in the county as well and who we hope to meet the meat man in person someday but we were there and gone before his shift started.

Thank you all for bringing back so many wonderful memories of not only my childhood and rice pudding but honoring such a wonderful...

This is a historic location and a key stop on any survey of Coney Island diners in the USA. This store sells the Jackson Michigan style of Coney Dog in which the "sauce" is actually a crumbly dry ground meat rather than a liquid tomato-rich sauce. The same style of Coney can be found in other locations in Jackson as well as in locations in Flint Michigan. The "sauce" has the consistency of very finely ground beef but it's taste will tell you that it's not standard ground beef. The flavor is a little more robust, very meaty but not highly seasoned. A standard Coney here comes with a skinless Vienna style dog, the ground meat topping they call sauce, mustard and a heap of ground raw white onion. It is unlike Coneys in most other cities.

This store retains the charming 1940s diner atmosphere that it had the last time they remodeled. They serve a very good bean soup and a number of other good diner items like eggs and deep fried mushrooms. The place is usually bustling but the service is always fast and efficient.

They have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the menu. The prices are on the low side so you really can't...

This place has quite a bit of nostalgia for me, as I not only love Jackson, but it holds a place in my history. My dad was employed at Die Cast Corp., a factory right close by, and he’d call it a “Virginia Lunch” when he got to have it at work. I’m very thankful that this place is still open.

If you live here and have never been to Virginia’s you are missing out on a gem. The best coney dog I’ve ever had, even since I was younger, I feel this is the best in the area as far as “original” coney’s go. They mince their onions, which gives the coney its unique flavor, along with a meaty coney sauce- and then burn your mouth hot fries, with unlimited ketchup lol. They also sell soda in the can, and yes, you guessed it- Vernor’s.

Keep an open mind because it is rather dated, and just has that old downtown business district feel, but the food is great.

Please note: you can pay with a card, but you can’t leave a tip on a card, they don’t have that ability- or at least they didn’t when I went last. So bring some...