Thanksgiving Day showdown: Detroit vs. Dallas kitchens

Two city kitchens on the same Thursday. Detroit builds a Coney. Dallas puts smoked brisket on the board.

Detroit

A Coney, then the square pie

A Coney is a hot dog first. The sauce is fine-ground beef, loose enough to spoon, not a bowl of beans. Yellow mustard goes on the dog, then the chili, then a handful of raw onion, so the onion stays sharp. The other Detroit pan is square pizza: cheese pushed to the rim until it fries against the steel, sauce ladled on after the bake, pepperoni that cups in the heat. Neither one stands in for turkey. They are the plate the city actually eats.

Dallas

Brisket, sliced when it yields

Brisket takes the hours a roast usually takes. Salt and coarse pepper, smoke until the fat cap is dark and a slice shows a pink ring under the bark. Cut across the grain, while the center still gives. The board is pickles, raw onion, and plain white bread. Beans, if they show up, stay in their own pot.