Friday, November 14, 2008

Big John Versus Angelo: Pick the Winner




Okay, I have a tendency to go overboard, so someone please tell me to take a break from the Angelo's nostalgia. Please. Stop. Me.

Both these shots are from zarzuela, who has some amazing photos on flickr. Thanks for the great shots.

Aw hell, let's just keep going...



So in a Celebrity Deathmatch between Angelo's and Big John, who wins? And I don't want any middle-of-the-road comments like "They're both delicious and very healthy!" Take a stand on this vital issue.



21 comments:

  1. Angelo's gets my vote for having been around longer.

    If memory serves me correctly, I remember it being at the corner of Franklin and Davison in the early Fifties. (Yeotis Drugstore was across the street and The Night Owl Coney Island, also favored by the parents, was only a half-mile east at Dort and Davison.)

    Big John's, in contrast, doesn't have that long of a track record. Late Seventies, as I recall.

    Strictly on taste it's hard to compare the two because each offered different fare.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, I hit send to soon.

    I'm no waffler! Angelo's!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Angelos gets my vote... for the food (of course) and ambiance (yes I really liked it). Not sure that Big John's was open all night either... that's key.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Angelo's all the way. Even though I have the option to get Big John's rather often, I don't go for it. It's pricier than other sandwich shops and doesn't wow me. The allure of Angelo's is another story; I take all of my out-of-towner friends there.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Big John's! His brother, Diamond Jim, has a place up in Sierra Village that I love.

    ReplyDelete
  6. that's like asking if you prefer micky d's over Kewpies. and anybody that would, ain't from Flint, probably grand blank at best. and never rode any of the buses, much less Dayton...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gotta Have me some Big Johns !!!

    I have to admit growing up on the west side near Chevrolet / Ballenger I didnt really have a craving for Angelo's like most of you. If I needede a coney fix, I went to Atlas on Corunna Rd.

    Big Johns- extra sauce and peppers please. Yum Yum

    ReplyDelete
  8. Big John's opened in 1972.
    Angelo's opened in 1948.

    Angelo's is the winner...but it's just not the same as it was years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  9. In my lifetime, I have never been to Big John's. (And I also spent my formative years near Chev & Belanger). So, while I can't assess the quality of their sandwiches, I say NO to BJ and YES to Angelo's, where I have spent many a fond mealtime.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I lived Ballenger/Corunna, off Dort and Court, and North Chevrolet, and going to big johns would'nt be on my agenda. Angelo's over b.j.'s any day. And Genessee Coney Island over Atlas...oh, what da ya mean, Genessee ain't there any more?! a pseudo-shlock and roll dead-'50's chromium/linoleum wanna be a fernbar when they grow up joint?! and we worry about the Big 3??

    ReplyDelete
  11. Absolutely Angelo's. I'm another Ballenger/Chevrolet/Welch kid and we traveled across town for coneys. When I was about 4, I dreamed of working there one day. Some dreams are better left unfulfilled...but Angelo's still feels like home.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Angelo's, no question. It's the history and the whole dining experience, not just the food. BJ's is not bad when you really want a steak sandwhich with those tangy yellow peppers that you can eat by the jarful and you don't want to make it yourself, and I've been to Atlas more than a few times, but there is just no comparison. And now with all this talk about food it's time for lunch. There's nothing like an Angelo's here though :(

    ReplyDelete
  13. Angelo's no doubt.

    I went there after school at St. Mary's a lot when in grade school and then walked the long walk back to Oklahoma Street. My husband is planning another trip to Flint in January and I'm starting to get my crave on for some coneys!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Big Johns for me. Never cared for coney dogs myself. Sometimes the rattiest looking places have great food.... like the little Mexican place across the street from AC Sparkplug.... but I didn't think so about Angelos the few times I ate there.
    Still, I used to think it funny that the Big Johns I most often used was a former gas station on Corunna Rd. (After wolfing down a steak & cheese, you could say it was still a gas station.
    I'll let the time the clerk almost mistook me for Michael Moore pass as a momentary lapse in judgement. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. SMH at these politically correct comments hahaha BIG JOHN ALL DAY!!!

    ALLLL DAY!!

    I LOVE and angelos coney... and i LOVE the Gravy fries and omeletes...

    But Big John.. Im in Detroit now and I find myself craving big john ALLL THE TIME (*pause* for what could be misconstrued as a homosexual comment out of context LOL)!!


    BIG JOHN!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Angelo's all the way! There is no better way to clog up the old arteries and fall victim to the food coma known as "the itis" than with an oily, orange grease soaked bun holding a scrumptious koegel's dog covered in coney sauce and a heaping side of salty-smothered gravy fries. To any other shmo, this description may sound quite rancid, but to any Flintonian who had the pleasure of getting grease mouthed at Angelo's, they know EXACTLY how sweet it is.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tough choice! Angelo's has the atmosphere and the history. It's the place that (when I was living in town) I would take out of towners. But, when I'm back in town, it's Big Johns with extra peppers that I crave. I could go a visit home without losing sleep over missing an Angelo's meal but gotta make sure I get my steak and onion.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Angelo's has 24 years more of grease on the grills. Angelo's wins hands down.
    The question is if you were going to die from clogged arteries would you rather that last meal to have been at Angelo's or Big John's? I'm another Chevrolet/Ballenger/Welch kid but we made our way over to the Eastside for sure.
    Nowadays, my Islamic diet prohibits pork but I am sure going to order up an Angelo's coney when I get to heaven.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yeah, it's Angelo's for me, too. But I will say that Big John has a fantastic logo/sign.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.