This year being the semi-official 50th anniversary of hip hop, we’re reminded how certain deeply embedded bits of culture are actually not all that old. Take the NYC bodega lunch counter special, the ‶chopped cheese″ sandwich. We admit that when we enountered a bodega in Chelsea that advertised the ‶best chopped cheese in New York,″ we had to ask what it was.
But we didn’t feel that ignorant. No greater local food expert than Anthony Bourdain was also infamiliar with the culinary phenomenon synonymous with the Manhattan neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights and the nearby South Bronx.
The name of the sandwich appears to be short for ‶chopped cheeseburger.″ Foraging freely on the web, we converged on the generally accepted birthplace of the chopped cheese. The first chopped cheese was made roughly 25 years ago at Hajji’s Deli (which does business as Blue Sky Deli) at the corner of 1st Avenue and East 110th Street (2135 1st Avenue, New York, NY; 646-682-7488).
Hajji’s is open 24/7, which explains some of the appeal of the chopped cheese. Like a Philly cheesesteak (which Hajji’s also offers), it’s a big snack well-suited to soaking up the excesses of an evening of drinking.
Naturally, we made a pilgrimage to taste the original. We were hungry, after all. It was a nice stroll from the 110 Street stop on the subway (#6) east toward the Harlem River. A striking memorial mural (see end of post) announced that we had arrived. The front of the bodega (above) was literally around the corner on First Avenue.
The Man Himself
We got even more than we bargained for. The inventor of the chopped cheese, Frankie Frank, was working the grill. (See top of post.) As he explained it, one day when he was hungry he decided to make a cheeseburger. But he was all out of hamburger buns. Improvising, he chopped up the patty on the grill with his spatula, melted cheese over it, and put it in a hero bun spread with mayo. He then topped it with chopped lettuce and tomato, sliced pickle, ketchup, and jalapeño slices.
Following the advice of the counter man at the register, we took our sandwiches over toward the Harlem River where there were picnic tables in a playground park. A chopped cheese, we’ll attest, is best eaten outdoors with both elbows raised. It’s delicious, but messy.
