This furloughed IRS lawyer is living out his dream of being a hot dog vendor

[Dulcinea]

(NPR) Nearly one month into the government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain on furlough.

Isaac Stein is one of them. Normally, he's a lawyer for the IRS who writes tax regulations. But on a sunny Sunday afternoon on a corner in his Washington, D.C. neighborhood, he's wearing a suit and tie, working his hot dog stand, "Shysters Dogs." Its motto: "the only honest ripoff in DC."

"I am having a grand old time slinging hot dogs," Stein said.

A hot dog and a drink runs $10 or $17, with a bag of chips tossed in if you buy two dogs.

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/29/nx-s1-5589165/furloughed-federal-employee-hot-dog-stand

[MichMan]

1. Menu is stupid; why not let people order what toppings they want ?

Want a hot dog plain without mustard or sauerkraut? Extra charge of $1.

Trying too hard to be clever IMO

[Irish_Dem]

2. He is having fun while he is off work.

He has a regular job waiting for him at some point.
This is his childhood dream and he is living it in great fashion.

It is all tongue in cheek for him.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. He'd charge an extra buck to leave off the sauerkraut?

No thank you.

[MichMan]

4. I'd rather support a hot dog vendor that does it to feed his family

Not some lawyer who is doing it for fun.