Louie’s Coney Island

I’ve been going here for years. Now go whenever I’m in town. The only thing I’ve ever gotten there are bakes. Awesome place and awesome bakes!

first timers. big, clean, good service, friendly. found it on Unilocal — never been to kokomo. lots of seats and options. gyros was great. the other people in the group enjoyed their food as well. kid friendly so mom approved. def visit again when i’m in the area!

Great little locally owned hot dog shop. Hot dogs, Bakes, chili, pies. We eat here once a week.

So a «Coney Island» is a type of chili dog that was invented by Greeks in Detroit. You’ll generally find them around Detroit – Kokomo is probably the southernmost extremity of the «Coney Island» region. (strange as that may seem – one would think Coney Island… New York… but one would be wrong) Though, you can find them in Greek areas like Tarpon Springs.
This particular Coney Island has a pretty long history and pretty good chili dogs (conies). They serve them to you on baking paper – no plates here. They also have a pretty unique dish here. They call them «baked hamburgers». What they are are oblong beef patties spiced with cardamom and «baked» in tomato sauce in pans. For those of you familiar with Greek cooking these are called souzoukakia. My grandma makes them and they’re great. Even here, with chili and cheese on top of them, they’re pretty good.
The sides are good here, too. The pies are probably worth skipping. But if you’re driving through Kokomo, you should stop in.

Great food! Nice local family owned business. Clean atmosphere and fast food. Service is always fast and friendly! Highly recommended!

Coney sauce has no flavor. Chili was boiling when I got it. Expensive. Not even free refills.

The new walls are being put up as the tornado destroyed the building. Can’t wait to have some coney dogs again.

Unfortunately the business got destroyed, a few months ago by a tornado. I hope and pray they rebuild because I love this place, I need a bake so bad!

First time eating here the other day. I probably won’t be back. The menu is stupid, with everything priced seperately, they should have some lunch specials or SOMETHING, some kind of basket. I got a gyro, fries, and drink and it was almost 10 $, the portion of the gyro was humerously small. The décor was not what i expected, the ouside of the building looks new, but the inside. real old, and not «good» old. I’ll just continue to go to Jamies.

I had a couple of Louie’s Coneys today. I can honestly say they haven’t changed much in 20 years. Back then Louie’s was in downtown Kokomo. I never got the bakes. A «bake» is a hamburger roled to the shape of a hotdog and then baked and put in a hotdog bun. Everyone in Kokomo Indiana knows what a bake is. Louie would take an order of 5 or 6 dogs and bakes and then stack them up his arm while he applied the various dressings. Classic Louie’s coney is the sauce, mustard and lots of onions. We never called it Louie’s then though. We would say «Hey, wanna go to hairy knuckles?» because… well, it was Louie who was servin’ up the dogs and you know, he had sort of hairy knuckles. What the hell, I’m not stopping at 4 stars with this much nostalgia, I’m gettin’ a little teary here…

Most of my family still lives in Kokomo, Indiana. When I visit it is a ritual that I visit Louie’s Coney Island before I had back to Cali. There is nothing that I have eaten that compares to it. I have tried to recreate it in my home to no avail. If they could freeze and ship to me I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. When I am home I go on a world tour of places I can’t eat on the West Coast. White Castles, Rally’s, Peking Garden (for the crab rangoon) and Louie’s Coney Island!
The sad thing is that for the longest time I didn’t even know this place existed while living in Kokomo. I am born and raised here (with a brief stint in Mississippi) but didn’t know about this place until much later.
I alway get the baked hamburgers with chili sauce and cheese (melted cheese for me) and the hot dogs with chili sauce and cheese (also melted only for me.) You can get them with shredded cheese, but to me it is not the same.
I can eat a plethora of these. (First time I used plethora in a review, i am proud of myself!!) It is sad when I leave because I know i won’t be able to eat them again until I make it back to Indiana.
On the bright side (I guess) It is impossble for me to get burned out of eating them because I get them so rarely.
I know they had a booth in the Dome where the Indianapolis Colts play. Not sure if they are in the new stadium. Would be cool if they are.
I am not really doing justice for this place. And they actually sell other things too, but I have blinders to those things, because i only eat the baked hamburgers and dogs.

You’ve got to drop in if you are in the area. During a visit to the area we dropped in and really enjoyed the coney dog experience in central Indiana. The place reeks of history and nostalgia as it appears it has been part of the Kokomo landscape for quite some time as a family run institution. Being from Chicago this is not the best hot dog I have ever had but, it was a damn good coney. No nonsense dog with savory coney sauce served up on a sheet of wax paper! Throw in an order of cheese fries and an ice cold Coke and youre good to go. We sampled the ‘bake’ as well; a sort of hot dog shaped burger baked in its own sauce served up in the coney manner, apparently a Louie’s special. Friendly staff. Top of the list for Kokomo.

Nostalgic. But your tummy will be talking for quite a while

About the best coney dogs you can get in the Midwest — bakes are unique to Louie’s. Love the pictures under the «glass» on the tables — gives you a real feel for the restaurant and family. Love sitting at the counter! Parking is ALWAYS difficult since it stays so busy — just be patient!

On our way back from South Bend, I Unilocaled around for a good place to stop in for lunch. This place stuck out to me because of their interesting choice of menu. Famous for their bakes (baked hamburger on a roll), we just simply had to try them. Delicious! Like potato chips, you cant just have one! After two bakes and a side of cheese fries I was stuffed. Whats even better is the price: dirt cheap! And I’m talking a lot of dirt. I think the bakes were somewhere around $ 1.20−50? And they are very generous with the coney sauce, shredded cheese, and onion. If your driving through Kokomo hit this place up! You’ll be very surprised and delighted to eat here! Or if your in a rush, hit the drive-​thru!

If you want an amazing coney dog, one of a kind bake (baked hamburger… secret home-​made recipe, heaven in your mouth) amazing chili sauce and even more amazing chili, great homey feel with super friendly owners and staff, THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO!!! I’m from Chicago and have family in Kokomo, so growing up I’d visit many a summer and always looked forward to Louie’s :) To this day I have random coney or bake cravings! If only they would branch out to Chi-​town! I heart this place!

Everytime I come home to Kokomo I have to go to Louie’s at least once. The Bakes at Louie’s are one of a kind. Although the new location lost some of the nostalgia, the food is still as good as I remember growing up. Plus now there’s a drive-​thru!

When I was a kid growing up in Kokomo I enjoyed a good bake from Coney Island. However, recently I took my wife there for the first time and found the quality to go down the crapper.
I guess changing locations and forgetting who you are does not help. I hope to go back and have a different experience.