FOOD
MULTICULTURAL MASH-UP FETCH THIS TAMALE DOG WHILE YOU CAN
The holidays may be over , but the tamale tradition lingers on at , of all places , James Coney Island ( JCI ), the homegrown purveyor of hotdogs (“ coneys ”) and other chili-and-cheese-based treats .
JCI is a true Houston mainstay . Founded in 1923 , by Greek immigrant brothers TOM and JAMES PAPADAKIS , the restaurant chain we know today was started with just the $ 75 they had in their pockets as they arrived in Houston . A flip of a coin decided whose name would grace the sign of the business , and James won the toss . The first James Coney Island opened on the ground floor of the Beatty-West Building at the corner of Walker and Main in downtown Houston . Today , there are 20 locations throughout the Houston area .
The menu now includes much more than the coneys they started with ( and the chili recipe remains the 1923 original ). Introduced in December , and staying on the menu through the end of February at least , is the new JCI TAMALE DOG , which fuses a traditional tamale of corn masa with a six-ounce kielbasa sausage into a Tex-Mex-Czech delight . It ’ s topped with beef chili , shredded cheddar and minced onions . The price for this festive Frankendog ? Just $ 5.99 .
It ’ s a local production , too : The kielbasa comes from Slovacek Sausage in Snook , northwest of Houston , and the masa is locally sourced . The tamale dog is available at all JCI locations . Catch this dog before it gets away .
www . jamesconeyisland . com
By Tim Moloney Photography courtesy of JCI
16 LOCAL | february 17