NYC’s Favorite “Folk Sandwich”

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We journey into New York City’s delis and bodegas, in search of a famous – and controversial – sandwich: the chopped cheese. This sandwich has become a cultural symbol and source of debate, and is so storied that some might call it a “folk sandwich.” Plus, we dig into the rich history of the corner store culture where the chopped cheese originated. This episode was produced in partnership with NYC Tourism.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This year, New York City turns 400 years old. That's older than the United States itself.
0:07.5	As someone who lived in the city for well over a decade, you got to get out there and explore all five boroughs.
0:15.1	To help you plan, founded by NYC, a new campaign from NYC tourism, actually has a rolling calendar packed with events,
0:23.8	concerts, and tons of free activities
0:26.0	that'll take place all across the entire city
0:29.2	throughout the entire year.
0:31.3	Check it out and make some plans
0:33.1	to celebrate the city that's always making history
0:36.9	at founded by nyc.com
0:40.3	It's a hot day in New York City.
0:57.9	It's pushing 90 degrees outside, and you need lunch.
1:04.8	So you've come to Harlem, to 110th Street, and you're here for a reason.
1:10.3	You are in search of a particular store that sells a very particular sandwich.
1:18.3	If you didn't know what you were looking for, you'd probably just pass it by. It's a deli, something you'd find on, you know, basically every block in New York.
1:28.9	But this is not just any deli.
1:31.7	This one is called Hajis, and it claims to have invented the very sandwich that you seek.
1:40.5	Great.
1:41.0	How are you?
1:41.9	Good.
1:42.4	How are you?
1:42.8	So you walk inside.
1:49.0	Dacey is blasting. It is exquisite. And second, you notice that it is absolutely bustling in here.
	...

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