Rød Pølse Hot Dog Co. Rød Pølse Hot Dog Co.

Est. Copenhagen · Built on Ludlow

3,700 miles
from Strøget

Kasper grew up eating ristede hot dogs from a red wagon outside Nørreport station. Usually at one in the morning. Usually in the rain. He came to New York in 2011 to cook, and spent the next nine years explaining to people what remoulade is.

In 2020 he stopped explaining and built the wagon instead. Rød Pølse Hot Dog Co. is a takeout window, four feet of stainless steel and a red awning, and that is the whole operation.

Danish sausages with the snap. A split bun toasted on the flat top. Remoulade, mustard, ketchup, raw onion, fried onion, pickled cucumber, in that order, because the order changes how it eats. A beer cold enough to hurt your teeth, handed over with it.

close-up of a danish hot dog in wax paper with remoulade mustard and crispy fried onions
The ristet dog. Wax paper. No plate.

Four things
we refuse
to shortcut

A Danish hot dog is a cheap thing made carefully. Get one part lazy and the whole thing falls apart in your hand. Here is where the hours go.

01

Remoulade

Mixed every morning in a plastic tub: mayonnaise, curry, mustard, finely chopped cabbage, a little turmeric for the color. It rests overnight so the spice settles down. Nothing in a jar tasted right, so we quit looking.

cook frying thin sliced onions in a small batch fryer at a takeout hot dog window

02

Ristede løg

Onions sliced thin, dredged in flour and milk, fried in small batches all day instead of one sad batch at open. They go on last, so they still crack when you bite in.

03

Kold øl

The cooler runs colder than it needs to. Carlsberg and Tuborg in bottles, two lagers brewed in Brooklyn on tap, and a price that stays where a beer price should. Danes drink it standing next to the wagon. So do we.

04

The counter

Four of us work the window: Kasper, Mette, Ray and Sam. Mostly the same faces every night. By your third visit somebody will know your order and give you a hard time about ordering it again.

staff handing a hot dog through a red takeout window on a new york street at night

“A pølsevogn is not a restaurant. It is a place to stand for eleven minutes and eat something good.”

Kasper Vinther, owner

Come eat
standing up

The window is on Ludlow Street. There are no tables, two shelves along the wall and a crate to put your beer on. Order, wait four minutes, eat it while it is hot.

Hours

Mon–Thu 11am–10pm · Fri–Sat 11am–2am · Sun 12pm–8pm

Address

148 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002