“I am a sandwich man. Somewhere early in life, my epigenetic switches got flicked to ‘likes sandwiches,’ and that’s where they still are. I suspect it’s at least in part because they’re easy to eat while reading.”
— Tad Williams
Our epigenetic was flicked to ‘sandwiches’ as well and I imagine it was Chopped Cheese in specific.
What is a Chopped-Cheese? A mutant grilled cheese? A block of meat and cheese cubes? A mystery for Sherlock Holmes to solve?
Peering out of the bodegas of Harlem, Bronx, and Queens is Chopped Cheese (alt chop cheese) a premier regional food of New York City championed by rappers and locals alike as a “hood delicacy”.
This considerably delicious and satisfying Frankenstein sandwich is where cheesesteak meets burger as ground beef is grilled on a flat top with onions and other toppings and then chopped with a metal spatula and smothered with slices of cheese served on a roll and served with standard-issue condiments.
Subject to heated debates and rivalry, the origins of this sandwich remain shrouded in mystery, and ultimately appear to be born out of personal taste and necessity. Some think a Deli man, named Carlos, made this sandwich back in 2014 when he ran out of round buns. Some think chop cheese is NYC’s answer to Philly’s signature export, the Philly cheesesteak, while others claim that it is an Americanized version of the Arabic specialty, dagha yamneeya (دقة يمنية) created by a Yemenis immigrant.
Whatever and wherever the inception, Chopped Cheese and its variations are hot, delicious, and stayed under the radar for the most part. This underdog status is missing from Philly Steak, which, to us, is the secret ingredient that makes this sandwich superior.
Chopped Cheese is super delicious, satisfying, very sloppy, and fun to eat. Try not to giggle while tightly squeezing the bun to maintain somewhat of decorum, and failing miserably. Which is, of course, part of the experience. We love a sandwich that you can barely fit in your mouth because it’s loaded to the gills. The bread should never be the main player on a sandwich.
