Dan Rossi is an American hot dog vendor in New York City. From 1985 to 1995, he leased food carts to vendors, at one point owning 16% of all pushcart permits in the city. However, in 1995, a new law passed by the city ended this business. Since 2007, he has sold hot dogs outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's main building.
Rossi grew up in The Bronx. [1] He served in the United States Marine Corps as a machine gunner during the Vietnam War before being honorably discharged due to an injury. [1] [2]
In 1980, Rossi founded Precision Carts Inc, a pushcart-building company in New York City. [1] In 1985 he began directly leasing carts to vendors and, by 1994, owned 499 pushcart permits—16% of all permits in the city. [1] In a profile that year, The New York Times described him as a "one-man hot-dog-cart cartel." [1] Also in 1994, the city began enforcing a law banning street vendors on midtown cross streets. [3] At the time, Rossi was president of the "Big Apple Vendors Association" and acted as a spokesperson for impacted vendors, many of whom protested in the street. [3] [4]
In 1995, a task force created by Mayor Rudy Giuliani recommended making it illegal for individuals to own more than two permits. The mayor's office described the policy as being designed to "open up opportunities for small business entrepreneurs." [5] The policy went into effect that year, essentially ending Rossi's business. [6] Rossi sued the city, arguing that the city was singling out the mobile vendor industry when other industries had similar models to Rossi's business. [7] However, the New York Supreme Court upheld the law, and it went into effect later that year. Rossi's permits were redistributed via a lottery. [8] [6]
Rossi first established his stand outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art's main building in 2007. [6] At the time, a private company paid New York City over $500,000 for vending rights, but Rossi argued that a Civil War–era law required the state to provide free vending permits to veterans. [9] Rossi was arrested several times for refusing to pay for a permit but was supported by City Councilman Tony Avella, with the city eventually giving out more permits. [9] [6] Rossi's success led to other veterans following his lead, with the front of the museum eventually becoming crowded with carts. [10] In order to maintain his spot outside the museum, Rossi began sleeping inside his cart overnight. [11] [12] During the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Rossi visited his carts outside the museum daily to ensure they were not removed by the city. [13]
In 2022, Rossi appeared in an episode of the Netflix series Street Food: USA . That year, he self-published his memoir The New York Hot Dog King: From Rags to Riches to Less Than Rags. [14] In January 2023, the health permit for Rossi's cart was removed while he slept by city officials. [6] The following month, a second cart owned by Rossi was ordered to move locations. [6] Rossi alleged that he was being targeted by the city and his family launched a petition on Change.org demanding the city enforce the health code more fairly. [6] [14] The petition received over 50,000 signatures. [6]
Rossi is married and has four daughters. [1] His daughter Elizabeth is also a disabled veteran and operates the hot dog stand next to his outside the Metropolitan Museum. [13] [15]
Strawberry Fields is a 2.5-acre landscaped section in New York City's Central Park, designed by the landscape architect Bruce Kelly, that is dedicated to the memory of former Beatles member John Lennon. It is named after the Beatles' song "Strawberry Fields Forever", written by Lennon. The song itself is named for the former Strawberry Field children's home in Liverpool, England, located near Lennon's childhood home.
Ashrita Furman is a Guinness World Records record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds over 200 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for the most Guinness world records. He has been breaking records since 1979.
A danger dog is a hot dog that has been wrapped in bacon and deep-fried. It is served on a hot dog bun with various toppings. Also known as a bacon-wrapped hot dog, it was first sold by street vendors in Mexico. Its origin has been placed in either Tijuana or Hermosillo, where it was originally served in a bolillo instead of a hot dog bun. These dogs are sold from carts that are ubiquitous along Avenida Revolución and the area surrounding the border in Tijuana, as well as the bar district in Ensenada.
A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the many toppings. The method for cooking the hot dog itself varies depending on the vendor's preference. Most often they are steamed, water-simmered, or less often grilled over charcoal.
The Pushcart War is a popular children's novel by the American writer Jean Merrill, illustrated by Ronni Solbert and first published by W. R. Scott in 1964. It is Merrill's best known work. The story is written in the style of a historical report from the future, looking back at the events of a "war" that occurred a decade earlier on the streets of New York City between trucking companies and pushcart owners who use pea shooters as weapons to disrupt the trucks.
Mobile catering is the business of selling prepared food from some sort of vehicle. It is a feature of urban culture in many countries. Mobile catering can be performed using food trucks, trailers, carts and food stands with many types of foods that can be prepared. Mobile catering is also used to provide food to people during times of emergency.
Different areas of the world have local variations on the hot dog, in the type of meat used, the condiments added, and its means of preparation.
Man Push Cart is a 2005 American independent film by Ramin Bahrani that tells the story of a former Pakistani rock star who sells coffee and bagels from his pushcart on the streets of Manhattan.
A yatai (屋台) is a small, mobile food stall in Japan typically selling ramen or other food. The name literally means "shop stand".
A hot dog cart is a specialized mobile food stand for preparing and selling street food, specifically hot dogs, to passersby. In some jurisdictions, a cart operator must meet stringent health regulations designed to protect the public. Hot dog carts are quick and easy food services, supplying millions of people with food every day. In 2015 the U.S. Hot Dog Council estimated that 15% of the approximately 10 billion hot dogs consumed by Americans in 2014 were purchased from a mobile hot dog vendor cart. Hot dog carts are very common in New York City, and most of the hot dogs purveyed by hot dog carts in New York City are sourced from Sabrett.
Marathon Enterprises, Inc., is a major regional supplier of meats and gourmet delicatessen products to the food service industry in the New York City metropolitan area. Headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey, it is a private corporation, and sells its products under the Sabrett brand name.
Alan Stark Geisler was an American food chemist, best known for creating the red onion sauce most often used as a condiment topping on hot dogs in New York City. Specifically, the sauce, which is marketed as Sabrett's Prepared Onions, is usually served on Sabrett brand hot dogs sold by New York's many pushcart hot dog vendors.
We answer to a higher authority is a slogan used by Hebrew National, now a subsidiary of ConAgra Foods, for its brand of kosher-certified hot dogs and processed meats, which portrays the products as being of a higher quality than other, similar products. A 1997 article in The New York Times called the campaign "among the longest running and best known ever".
Disabled veteran street vendors in New York City are legally exempt from municipal regulations on street vendors, under a 19th-century New York state law. As of 2004, there were 374 permitted disabled veteran street vendors, 60 of whom were permitted to operate inside Midtown Manhattan.
A Seattle-style hot dog, locally referred to as a Seattle Dog, is a hot dog served in a bun slathered with cream cheese. In Seattle the dogs are sold from food carts, especially outside stadiums on game day and as a late-night meal outside the city's music venues.
Brooklyn Flea is a company based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2008 by Jonathan Butler, creator of Brownstoner Magazine, and Eric Demby, the former communications director for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Flea runs several of the largest flea markets on the East Coast of the United States.
The Halal Guys is a halal fast casual restaurant franchise that began as halal carts on the southeast and southwest corners of 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. New locations, both food cart and storefront, are being added throughout New York and around the world.
Art's Famous Chili Dogs is a hot dog stand located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1939 by Art Elkind a frankfurter entrepreneur, who was its owner until 1990. It is well known for its chili dogs, which have been praised by a variety of Los Angeleno media outlets, and proclaimed by aficionados as the finest in the city.
Indonesian street food is a collection of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, fruits and drinks sold by hawkers or vendors at warung food stalls or food carts. Street food in Indonesia is a diverse mix of local Indonesian, Chinese, and Dutch influences. Indonesian street food is usually cheap, offers a great variety of food of different tastes, and can be found at every corner of the city.
Essex Market is a food market with independent vendors at the intersection of Essex Street and Delancey Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The market is known for its many local shops, including grocery stores, bakeries, butchers, seafood shops, coffee vendors, cheese shops, and spice shops. There are small restaurants that serve meals in the market, including Shopsin's. The LES Girls Club and Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space are also included in the market.