Sparty's Coney Island

(Editors Note: Sparty's no long allows smoking! There is no downside anymore! Except cholesterol, that is.)

300 N Clippert St. (in the Frandor Shopping Center -- in the Video To Go area, next to Aladdins.)

Sparty's Coney Island is the kind of old fashioned greasy spoon diner/grill that places like Johnny Rockets WISH they could be. This is the kind of place that has pictures of local sports teams on the wall, and a big banner for the hockey team they sponsor -- The Coney Island Blue Dawgs. The kind of place with worn formica and too much smoke, and they used to have an Elvis clock -- the kind where the legs swing back and forth to keep time. (That's gone this year. I'm sad.)

And the food is old-fashioned good solid grill food. Burgers, dogs, sausages, gyros, plus BLTs, shrimp baskets and homemade soups. They feature two kinds of Coney Dogs -- "Detroit Soupy and Spicy" or "Flint Meaty". Their fries are REAL fries, the kind you used to be able to get at drugstores and grills everywhere, but now nobody has.

And as with any good old-fashioned grill, they have a truly full breakfast menu: from Sausage Biscuits with Gravy, to Blueberry Pancakes to old fashioned Oatmeal. All good, all bad for you, all at a reasonable price.

Unforutnately the atmosphere here is a little too authentic -- this is a place where all the smokers hang out, and though they do have a non-smoking section, it doesn't really make any difference. Heck, even when there are no smokers in the place, it's saturated with smoke. Because of the smoke, I only go here once or twice a year to have a hotdog and real fries.

However, when I feel like good old-fashioned grilled/fried food, there is another good grill in town: Olympic Broil, at 1320 N Grand River in North Lansing (on the block where Grand River crosses itself and becomes a north/south road -- really an extension of Seymour St.) No smoke, and they feature hand-dipped onion rings and fish filets. (More about them another time.)