Sabretti's Declares New Hot Dog Eating Champ

We suspect Peter Bond was anything but hungry as he worked last Saturday. Of course, the Rockaway resident's job for the day was an uncommon one—downing hot dog after hot dog as part of Sabretti's Top Dog Hot Dog Eating Contest. The Hopatcong eatery crowned Bond its champ after he downed 19 franks in 29 minutes and 43 seconds.  

The contest rules made winning a bit more complicated than merely eating the largest number of dogs, according to Sabretti's owner Rohan Shetty.

Contestants had to consume hot dogs plus toppings in alphabetical order relative to their position on the table, where 30 differently topped dogs were available. There was a 30-minute time limit, and eaters had to stay 10 minutes after finishing their final frankfurter with no issues. No one was allowed to leave the contest area, even (or especially) to visit a rest room. And the winner would have to eat at least one hot dog more than the current record (13, set by last year's winner, Russ Bauman of Landing). Anyone who made his or her way through the entire 30 dogs provided would win, in addition to the title,  a $1,000 gift certificate. 

"That's the whole thing," Shetty explained to Patch last year. "I want the challenge to be a challenge as opposed to, 'Oh, this guy can just sit and eat everything.'"

Bond, a 28-year-old who weighs 445 pounds, fell short of eating all 30 dogs on the board, but he did earn the title of Top Dog Champion. And next year, some poor guy or girl will have to try to finish 20 dogs at minimum to have any chance of winning the contest.



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