Blue Sky Deli (Hajji’s)

"While the exact history of the chopped cheese is up for debate, Blue Sky Deli, formerly known as Hajji’s, does have the strongest claim for inventing the sandwich. And they’ll let you know. Inside the East Harlem bodega, there are TVs playing on a loop several Youtube video essays that food publications have done on this place. If you’re going to seek out a bodega for a chopped cheese, you should make it this one. It’s simple, classic, loaded with sazón, and best eaten around the corner at a table in Thomas Jefferson Park with a soda and a bag of red hot chips." - will hartman

"If there’s one bodega chopped cheese to go out of your way for, it’s the one at Blue Sky Deli (also known as Hajji’s). We can’t substantiate their claim to be the inventors of the chopped cheese, but we can confidently say that this East Harlem bodega makes a damn good version. Theirs is gooey and tastes like nothing but beef, sazon, mustard and ketchup, and is as classic a version of the sandwich as you can find. If you live in the neighborhood, chances are you’re taking lunch back to your apartment, but if you’re a chopped cheese enthusiast making a pilgrimage here, you can always take your lunch—alongside a bag of red hot chips and a Diet Coke—to the picnic tables in nearby Thomas Jefferson park. photo credit: Will Hartman" - Will Hartman

"The exact story of how the chopped cheese sandwich was invented and prospered in Harlem and the Bronx (and now in Brooklyn) is murky, though some claim the sandwich was invented at Haijji’s by Carlos Soto. Suffice to say, the delightful concoction is a union of ground beef, onions, and lots of American cheese, which melts into the beef to create an entirely new food group. Shall we call it beese? Or cheef?" - Robert Sietsema

"The chopped cheese sandwich has lettuce, tomato, mayo, beef, and cheese in ratios that are deeply satisfying and lighter than expected." - Eater Staff

"Somewhere between a Philly cheesesteak and a patty melt, there’s the chopped cheese, a sandwich that originates from bodegas in Harlem and the Bronx. A hero is stuffed with griddled ground beef, melted onions, and melted American cheese, plus lettuce and tomatoes. It’s a simple, affordable, and very satisfying meal that one particular bodega is responsible for: Hajji’s, which now goes by the name Harlem Taste. Former employee Carlos Soto invented the chopped cheese — also sometimes called chop cheese — here in the ’90s." - Alexandra Ilyashov, Eater Staff