Geoffrey from New York

About me I travel to discover how people elsewhere live, how they manage living with low incomes in expensive cities, how they grapple with hard times and failing economies, how they deal with ageing or crumbling families and how they themselves age and adapt. Knowing and loving New York comes from having lived through many of its manifestations while witnessing its changes....

Oct 4, 2025

Chopped Cheese New York

'Drug dealer' sandwich

"The chopped cheese sandwich is as New York as stickball. Every deli north of 116th street sells them, but the last great one I had was at N&W Deli Grocery."

A chopped cheese sandwich is as New York as stickball. I know of only one restaurant that sells them --- The Seasoned Vegan which makes a terrific ‘veganized’ version --- yet almost every deli north of 116th street does sell them, and the farther uptown you go, the better they seem to get.

Once you know what a NY deli looks like --- they’re often called Gourmet Deli --- the grill world of chopped cheese, double hamburger, cheeseburger deluxe, Philly cheese steak, chicken cutlet sandwich and so on becomes your oyster.

Each deli's cook creates a slightly different sandwich partly because the options are so many: type of cheese, kinds of peppers, onions, amount of chopped meat, optional additives like bacon---it gets personal fast.

Consistent is that they always come on either a roll (around $4.50) or a hero (around $5.00) and are served wrapped in paper, then cut in half, and wrapped again in aluminum foil.

The last great chopped cheese I ate was soulfully prepared by a guy named Jeffrey in the N&W Deli Grocery on Amsterdam at 150th Street. Same name as me. We went back and forth on that for a bit. It was early. He said to me ‘You're my first customer. My mission today is to make you a sandwich as good as the one I make for myself. I make it the same.’ My ship had come in! It was February and it was 70°! Such a morning!

Article about Whole Foods vs Drug Dealer Sandwich, here. Very interesting.

Art & culture

Snacks

This week 25% off

with the code fall25

*on our yearly membership

About this spot

Amsterdam Avenue 1800

Sandwich:

US$

4.50

2122345552

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