A Long Island man with a rich history in the food business is trying to clean up New York City’s hot dog carts.
Keith Dorman’s family started delivering cheese by horse-drawn wagon in Manhattan back in 1896, so it’s really no surprise that he’d get involved in the cart business.
What is surprising? What some of the hot dog carts out there are trying to pass off as beef franks.
In that sea of hot dogs, in the middle of Times Square, Keith Dorman says he is on a mission to elevate every component of the New York City hot dog experience, one hot dog at a time.
After working a cart himself, he was pretty grossed out by what vendors were selling, so he started his own brand, Snap Dog.
Dorman’s hot dogs are made with 100% premium beef. He says they’re smoked the old fashioned way, in a real smoke house. Every hot dog has the name ‘Snap Dog’ and the word ‘beef’ on the side.
While a lot of other carts promise all-beef franks, there’s no way to tell for sure.
Dorman says he went all the way to Pamplona, Spain to find temporary casings that write the words ‘Snap Dog’ right on the frank so there’s absolutely no question about what you’re getting.
The dogs themselves are made in New York at a facility in Troy, right outside of Albany. Dorman says the company that that runs the facility is huge in corned beef, pastrami, and roast beef. They use the trimmings from those quality cuts of meat to make his hot dogs.
The Dormans have a history of making food here in New York. Keith’s great grandfather started Dorman Cheese on Hudson Street Downtown. They’re credited with being the first company to put paper between cheese slices.
Keith Dorman, himself, is trying to clean up the quality of hot dogs and the entire food cart experience, even adding hand sanitizer to each cart he works with.
So how are the hot dogs?
We sent a pro to test them out, our intern Nicole, who you might recognize from the Good Day New York Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Nicole gave them two thumbs up.
Right now, Dorman says Snap Dog is an expensive undertaking. He sells to just 30 of the 3,000 carts licensed in the City, but sees a lot of upward potential. Their current business model involves spending more than they’re making but he hopes in time that will change.
Dorman is set to sell his one-millionth hot dog in a couple of weeks and he’s well-positioned to capture millennial dollars and appetites.
That generation spends more money on food than their predecessors, but they want better quality products.
WWW.SNAPDOGNYC.COM
–ALISON MORRIS
36 Comments
I will let that girl eat my hot dog any day lol
hot dog with ketchup , FAIL
Hey why not stop being bums and have a Chicago dog in Chicago , as we are not a pack of dirty bastards , we eat in buildings , rather than off the sidewalk with rats .
the newyork rats won't eat them, they say they are too dirty
SO I add to the ketchup or mustard debate , hot dogs or sausage come from Germany immigrants , they love mustard they like it that way also make the hotdogs for mustard , please check out the pretzels and ketchup website , just isn't there.
SO next comment isn't for the screamish , New York Jews will only eat Kosher , as they want to keep sending money to Jews. However they are scared of eating pig , as it tastes like human , and they ate a lot of human flesh in the war just to survive , Most survivors from Germany ate human flesh , they had to . This is an a horrible thing I would stop eating German food.
I’ve always put ketchup on my hotdog.. it goes on them. End of story.
I must have grown up on another planet cause ibe been putting katsup on my wee wees since i was boarn
He will broke soon
Nobody, and I mean nobody puts ketchup on a hotdog
I gotta hotdog for Nicole 🕺🏻
Unless them dogs cure cancer, get fucked
if it's not made of lips and aholes, then it's not a real ny hot dog
Boiled hot dogs smell like farts
No prices posted ?
Hot dogs should be made of pork not beef.
I’d like to offer that intern my Polish Sausage
Who’s here after being quarantined by corona?
Ketchup! ALONE! On a hotdog! Uh, no. Must be from Delaware.
Red flags when buying a hot dog:
-WNYW does a “story” on it.
-Man in business suit “pitching” a hot dog.
I’ll stick to the dirty water dogs, thank you very much.
Hands sanitizer? No way …hold on till 2020
2:35
Do they make a foot long hot dog
Is this company still in business, can not get a reply back on them, for
Their min order etc.
I called. No voice mail, just a beep,fb message. Use email to. Contact them
Interesting talking about hand sanitizer before covid 19 started, on the other hand if you run a food cart
Hand sanitizer is needed
She fucked up getting ketchup on that dog
Good job Rent A Pink.. You're like the NYC Bruce Almighty. Can you tackle the issue with the Coca Cola times sqaure billboard that has a burnt out pixel for over a year next?
Wears a glove for no apparent reason, hands off the food with gloveless hand.. Fing millennials.
troy SUCKS ASS. end of story no argument, its not the 1980s anymore
I think snap dogs are out
Of business now can not find them
No one answered their web.page
How would you know it was a snap dog if it was covered up with condiments that you couldn't see prior to purchasing?
"Can I get a hot dog with ketchup"?????????????? New Yorkers don't know how to eat proper hot dogs.
Sure, you can eat it anyway you like it but that still won't change the fact that there's a right & wrong way of doing things.
IDK it seems like he made up this problem to sell hot dogs. The NYC hot dog that everyone loves is usually a Sabrett with a natural casing that gives you the "snap". These are not the same Sabretts you find in the grocery store.
Hotdog with ketchup is disgusting
I wouldn’t touch those things with a 10-foot pole.
Snap dogs my ass, if they don't have a casing, there is no "Snap"
Someone missed breakfast
If I had my own cart, I wouldn’t even carry ketchup, maybe I would have the packets to give any non- New Yorker.