Dan Rossi

Illustration by Margarita Babina

We LOVE eating hot dogs! So you can imagine our excitement when New York Hot Dog King Dan Rossi reached out. It turns out he’s got more than hot dogs on his plate. This Vietnam veteran has been battling the city for over a decade to sell his dawgs in front of The MET, and he's become a local celebrity in the process!

Still duking it out with the system? How’s the showdown going?

It's a constant battle with the city! They're relentless. I'm the standard bearer for the veteran vendors in the city because of my constitutional right to operate as a disabled veteran food vendor. As a disabled veterans, we are entitled to certain privileges.  Unfortunately NYC's climate right now does not want to protect such liberties. So if I go, they go.

What’s your jaw-dropping record for hot dogs sold in a single day?

We recently partnered with a mustard company in celebration of National Mustard Day and served over 1,000 hotdogs in 4 hours.  On average, we serve 300 hot dogs a day.

Is a hot dog a sandwich, or could it be a taco in disguise?

In my opinion, a hot dog is definitely a sandwich because it is meat served in between bread (hot dog roll).

What’s the wildest hot dog-themed dream you’ve ever had?

It was more like a nightmare. When you are constantly serving hot dogs all day, you serve them in your sleep.

With the mayoral election on the horizon, what’s your game plan?

Mayor Adams inherited a mess and has pretty much thrown in the towel as far as enforcement goes with vending.  At this point, anything will be an improvement.

When it comes to hot dogs, does size really pack a punch?

Actually yes, the larger the hot dog the more moisture it has. It allows the hot dog to cook from the inside out and holds the flavor.  I highly recommend our NY style jumbo hotdog which is a grilled all beef hot dog with spicy brown mustard, sauerkraut, sweet red onion sauce on a warm bun.