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Reporter Food: National Coney Island’s Hani Special
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 30, 2019)
Royal Oak, MI – National Coney Island in Royal Oak has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. The second date with my then future, now ex, husband had been there, and that was considered our fanciest place all through my teenage years.
Going to college on the west side of the state meant only in the phases of coming  back did I find myself late nights sipping chocolate shakes and eating chili cheese fries in the big comfy booth, working on my publishing company plans.
And in the ten years since I’ve been running this website I can’t think many meals I’ve had more often than the Hani special with chili cheese fries at National Coney Island. (The obvious exception being White Castle of course!)  Chocolate shakes are now reserved only for bad days, and those don’t happen too often. But the rest of the tradition stands.
I don’t even know that I’ve eaten anything else besides this in the dozens of times I’ve been there, because it is just so darn good.
For this particular meal I had the half Hani, because they are a filling sandwich. The Hani special is a pita wrap of crispy chicken tenders, Swiss and American cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and Hani sauce.
Given that I’ve had four of them in the past month (since National Coney Island is a great place for lunch meetings), I figured it was time to finally add them to the Reporter Food Index.
The fellow boss lady I was out to lunch with had a bowl of chili drizzled with mustard, and a Greek salad complete with pretty purple slices of beets and ribbons of red onions.  She’s kind of the same in her habit as well, devouring a disproportionate number of Greek Salads in her decades of frequenting this restaurant.
There are a variety of items on the menu, but to be honest I’m not even going to look.  If you want to, it can be found at www.NationalConeyIsland.com. The Royal Oak location is at 1812 N Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48073.  The locally-owned chain has many locations in SE Michigan, including Clawson, Rochester Hills, and Southfield.  The website has the complete list.
White Castle is the Reporter Food sponsor of Oakland County Times, supporting our quest to explore restaurants throughout Oakland County. Find White Castle locations, and more information about all their menu options, at www.whitecastle.com.
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