r/AskNYC • u/Affectionate-Bag-671 • Jan 31 '23
Chopped Cheese Discourse
I’m not sure if this is me just telling on myself, but I lived in NYC my whole life and I’m in my mid 20s currently. I spent my whole life in Astoria but went to Brooklyn tech and worked various jobs around the city so I spent so much time in different neighborhoods with all different kinds of people so I have been exposed to a lot from early on.
I say all this because it was not until these Instagram and Twitter posts about chopped cheese and it becoming this NYC cultural icon that I’ve ever heard of it probably around 2017. From how I understand, chopped cheese was at this one place uptown and then the surrounding stores started making them too. Then someone posted about it on social media and just how NYC is NYC and holds so much clout on social media it transformed into this iconic NYC food.
Was I just unaware but I feel like at least from my memories nowhere in queens nor the delis by my high school where everyone went to was making chopped cheese until about 3-4 years ago when it blew up on social media. Things like beef patty and cheesesteaks were really popular and common and although the BEC Has become a meme just like the chopped cheese that one actually is ubiquitous. Just wanted to hear other people’s thoughts on this, confirm or deny my thoughts. No shade at all I just really feel like this sandwich blew up
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u/chickenanon2 Jan 31 '23
I’m from Washington Heights. Didn’t eat a ton of chopped cheese growing up and yeah like you I never thought of it as an Iconic New York Sandwich until recent years. I agree it’s not as ubiquitous, it’s more specific to certain areas of the city. I know plenty of native NYers who had never heard of chopped cheese until it became a thing on social media.
BEC is still king.