George's Coney Island — Restaurant in Worcester

Like many of the best restaurants in the world, George's Coney Island provides a secondary service as a time machine. Stepping into this spectacular functioning museum piece is to be surrounded by the mid-20th century, weathered by decades of wear and tear and love but nevertheless seemingly preserved as it was when the restaurant was first established.

Many similar places retain their spectacular neon signs in front - and to be clear, George's has a particularly impressive one, multicolored and sporting a hand gripping a hot dog - but have long since given in to remodeling the interior. And technically George's did just that. But that remodel happened in 1938 and the room's deco stylization remains unchanged since then. Along the left hand side is a long counter with steam pans, griddles, and order stations. Its back wall is ornamented with various local sides like Wachusett potato chips, Table Talk pies, and a giant jar of excellent housemade new pickles. The wood booths that take up the bulk of the space are worn and studded with illicit personal carvings. It is a dark, almost cloudy interior, as if you are gazing into the restaurant's past.

The food might be beside the point in most establishments like this. But this is central Massachusetts, so you know if a hot dog restaurant has been in business this long they are going to know what they are doing. George's serves an unsurprisingly classic dog on a hinged roll rather than the region-typical split-top. These are also not the typical snappy dogs you might get at small-town establishments along Route 2, instead much closer to their cousins in Rhode Island's "system" establishments - not surprising considering the nod to New York in both names. Draw a cartoon picture of a hot dog, imagine what it would taste like, and you'll have a pretty good chance of approximating George's.

When you order a dog here, you are going to want their version of the Works (which they also call "up" rather than "all the way" as in Rhode Island), adorned with their "secret recipe" chili, mustard, and diced white onion. But a second dog would not be a bad idea, and this is a particularly good vehicle for neon relish. Don't forget a side of housemade beans and a pickle - you might want to try their mac and cheese but ymmv on its nostalgic value as a soft and mild version of the dish. Another difference from Rhode Island: no coffee milk here, only chocolate.

George's Coney Island is a minor miracle of American culture, a restaurant that has managed to survive and thrive without changing in a town that has evolved greatly since its Greek-American owners bought it during World War I. Yet after visiting it's easy to see why they continue to be successful. There's pride in the food they are putting out and a reverence for tradition and the simple pleasures of what they serve and where they serve it. You can taste it in the food and you can see it in the unfailingly kind and enthusiastic servers that take your order. If they can tell it's your first time, or you bring in someone who has never been, it's as if they found out you had never had a hot dog (or beans, or a pickle...) before. It's the feeling of serving American history of the finest kind, and they do it...

I am a fan of a decent hot dog, especially if I can get different toppings (like cole slaw!). Well, this isn't the place to get that. The place was featured on a local television show about the restaurant scene in Worcester, and mentioned that Coney Island Dogs is an institution in the city. The place is old - think 1940's - and it appears that it hasn't been upgraded since it was built. The booths are small, and the place is dark, It reminded me of the type of place where Hollywood might film a scene about two mobsters meeting to discuss their business. We visited in the early afternoon, so the place was not full, although there was a constant stream of customers. The staff was friendly enough, and the prices weren't that bad, but the food was just simple and plain. The dogs are small, thin, and grilled (I prefer mine steamed), and only the basic toppings - ketchup, mustard, onions, chili - are available. The bun was nice and soft (the way I like it), but it dwarfed the hot dog such that you got more of the taste of the bread than you did the meat. The off-brand bagged potato chips were just okay. My wife and daughter split a small cup of beans, which they said was good. There is a small parking lot adjacent to the building, but plenty of on-street parking. My visit satisfied my curiosity, but I...

Coney Island is an old Worcester standby and is definitely worth a stop partly for the food but also the experience as a whole. Hotdogs are hotdogs so it's not anything novel, but you know what you're getting. They are small so you need at least 2 or 3 to be filling. I recommend the everything hotdog, that has chili, onions and mustard; it's very tasty!

The service was excellent. The man behind the counter was super friendly and I could tell he enjoyed his job, which is refreshing from so many places where employees don't seem to care. There is parking on the street and it's close to Kelly Square where you can make a trip out of your experience, but it's not so close as to be in the most congested parts.

The atmosphere would normally be a 1 star if it wasn't for the storied history of Coney Island. I say storied because they have old booths that have been there for years, where people have carved or written their initials etc. They could easily invest in updating the booths, walls etc but instead they embrace the vandalism, which ironically has given the place character over the years. They have an old juke box too! It's a blast from the past and I hope they don't update it except for essential structural needs. Anyways, this review was WAYYYY to long but worth it for Coney Island! Definitely...