Behold The “Chop Cheese!”

It’s a sandwich that’s been sold in Harlem for decades, and now it’s at the center of a cultural battle!

Here is how the New York Times describes it:

“The sandwich, also called a chop cheese — ground beef with onions, topped by melted cheese and served with lettuce, tomatoes and condiments on a hero roll — has long been a staple of bodegas in Harlem and the Bronx.”

And it is at the center of a cultural food battle!

It all started with a video that showed the sandwich, and since then, The Times reports that:

“it has started migrating from grill tops to restaurant menus, from the lyrics of rappers onto the pages of food blogs.”

And with that, the cultural food battle was on!

The New York Times has two great stories about the “Chop Cheese”: where it came from, and why it…