Coney Island Colorado

I mean you have to have the right expectation when going to a place that is shaped like a hotdog. But they did have a fire pit and water feature next to the restaurant that made it feel welcoming for a quick serve type of venue. Got vanilla milkshake and it was just ok....Have passed by this place so many times I can't count but will stop by again but definitely won't become a regular due to the higher prices.

The famous Coney Dog, hot dog stand is a one of a kind roadside wonder.  Its truly a remnant from the past.  In its early years I remember stopping for a dog at the former location in Aspen Park.  Now you have to drive a little further to Bailey, but it is still worth checking out.

The food is really just average and it is the novelty of the thing that makes a stop at Coney Island a worthwhile experience.  Basic dogs and burgers prepared on a flat top grill.  This is not mass production in a modern kitchen, rather an old school short order approach.  Take in the nostalgia and don't get in hurry.

For me the culinary highlights are the delicious hot dog chili and hand scooped malts & shakes prepared like you used to get at an old fashioned soda fountain.  Not sure if this would be worthy of a day trip from Denver on its own, but if you are on US Route 285 passing through Bailey it is definitely worth stopping by.

Short version:
The wait is definitely not worth it (and if there's one person in front of you, there will be at least a 15 minute wait, not exaggerating). The only food freshly prepared is the burgers and some of the brats. People smoke in the small courtyard which happens to be the only place to sit and enjoy your meal.

Long version:
My wife and I went here last 4th of July (7/4/11) with some friends after an adventure in the wildnerness. We waited a really, reaaallly long time. We finally got some food and it was tasty & fresh (burgers and fries). So I thought, well it was 4th of July so the wait & crowds made sense.

Well we went back today. It was a big mistake, and put a damper on what was otherwise a really fun day. Again, we came here after an adventure in the mountains - in this case climbing a 14er. We got there and the line was off the deck. I said "Amy, do you remember 4th of July last year? this line is going to take for-ev-er. But we were so hungry and already there and parked and in  line. So we waited...and waited...and waited. We may have waited longer than we did on the 4th of July. And that was just to place your order. Once you're inside the giant hot dog and you place your order, then you sit on a stool and watch the 1 cook (repeat the one and only cook) prepare the 5 meals in front of you on the other side of the hotdog. He's running around crazy, cussing under his breath, exposing all the disgusting food sources and practices of his kitchen. Granted, most places like this probably have worse practices, but you just don't get a front row seat like you do at coney island. When the 1 cook finally gets to your order, you can't bare to watch. Gordon Ramsay, are you out there?

Once you have your order, and push your way through the angry, exhausted crowd inside the hot dog and out, you make your way into a little courtyard with some tables and umbrellas. And people smoking. People smoking and thinking "I'm sure it doesn't bother the people trying to eat their food in this small courtyard that I'm smoking in their face".  But, unfortunately, coney island courtyard smokers it does indeed bother the other patrons. I know you find that hard to believe.

And THEN an employee of coney island, who has come out to the courtyard to put more bubble concentrate in the automatic bubble machine that's running non-stop in the courtyard (because what's more important than filling up the bubble machine when ~40 people are in line waiting to get food?) well apparently it's her having a excuse to smoke a cigarette in the face of the patrons who were lucky enough to get food. Unreal.

So as my wife was enjoying her cold-in-the-middle corn dog I watched them pull from warming bin under the counter, and I was chomping on some luke-warm, an hour ago frozen fries (the  kitchen helper got ahead on the fries to try and speed things up...aaaand they don't have a heat lamp) I thought to myself "self, why did you not check yelp before you stopped here?" and I didn't have a good answer.

The owner of this place needs to cut their losses or get Mr. Ramsay to make a trip to Bailey, CO. Then again, the owner of this place can't care that much about having a successful business.