The chopped cheese special

NYC in ORD

Hello, everyone!

I took a brief week off last week, since Davida and I were celebrating our first official year of marriage in the books. I decided it would be nice for us to go out to enjoy a restaurant meal that didn’t involve hours of writing afterwards for once, though I did post what we had on Instagram.

(We went to Dear Margaret, by the way, and my short review is that the place is lovely and you all should go, no matter the occasion.)

This week’s edition of the newsletter’s a freebie, by the way, and it’s a fun one, but don’t forget to upgrade your subscription so you can get every episode of The Party Cut:

Every other edition’s behind a paywall, and I only do this so I can keep the newsletter sustainable. Readers help me cover expenses, and I do all the legwork and writing. It’s been a lot of work, sometimes stressful, but the feedback I’ve been getting has been very positive—looks like people still want to read about local food after all.

Actually, “local” might not exactly be the right word for today’s edition of The Party Cut, because today I’m spotlighting a place serving a monthly special that involves a regional sandwich from…New York City.

Have you all been to Bitter Pops?

Bitter Pops is a taproom and coffee bar at the corner of Lincoln and Roscoe on the west end of Lakeview, pretty much at the border of Roscoe Village.

While the entire establishment revolves around drinks like coffee and beer, there’s a tiny walk-up counter where you can place an order for food, located towards the back. Simply place your order with them, and they’ll text you when the food’s ready.

The menu’s pretty simple, featuring bar food like snacks, sandwiches, salads, and other good stuff, but one of the fun things about the place is that it runs a monthly regional sandwich special. And for August, the special just so happens to be a chopped cheese, which is a sort of a diced hamburger in a hoagie format that hails from New York.

The first time I went to Bitter Pops was some years ago, when my friend Ian ran the kitchen. Ian’s moved back to his home state of California, so I haven’t visited since, but a combination of my internet friend Dana posting about it, plus a Reddit thread on /r/ChicagoFood announcing the sandwich, reminded me I needed to go back.

The food, when I first had it, was really good. Ian was a great caretaker and executor of the menu, so I wanted to see if it still held up over the years, and if this chopped cheese was worth sending you over for.

Pretzels are a classic drinking snack, and the two Bavarian pretzels with Bitter Pops’ Courage Lager beer cheese ($14.99) are exactly what you want them to be.

These six-inch pretzels are thick and brushed with butter, and come out to you straight from the oven, so watch your fingers. That beer cheese is smooth and silky, and rather than giving you a puny little ramekin of it, Bitter Pops gives you a hilarious amount, maybe about a cup’s worth.

I’m generally not a pretzel person, but for some reason, I absolutely love these. They’re standard pretzels, but they’re a perfect textbook version with a really great dipping cheese that’s not from a pump.

Buffalo wings are one of my favorite bar foods, but sometimes I like to change it up, which is why I like the pickled buffalo cauliflower ($9.99) at Bitter Pops.

The florets are battered, fried, and dusted in a spicy seasoning, which makes them pretty flavorful on their own. That combination of the pickling, seasoning, and buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing served with it does render each bite nearly too salty, so I’d recommend you split this with someone, even though the serving size is small.

The Original Spice Bag ($12.99) is one of the most curious bar food items I’ve ever seen, because it’s a medley of sorts, served in a paper bag.

This is one thing I didn’t try when Ian was in charge of the kitchen. It’s fried chicken breast chunks mixed with fries, sauteed onions, banana peppers, and Fresno chiles, all tossed in a spicy coating. It comes with a curry sauce on the side, and I can’t quite tell if this is meant to be finger food (if it is, it’s messy), street food, or a combination of both.

After trying it, I’d kinda recommend you just dump it all on a tray and eat it with a fork. To me it reads a slight bit like Indian food, especially with that vaguely curry-flavored sauce. By itself this combination of ingredients is a touch confusing, but I bet paired with a crisp lager or pilsner everything would make way more sense.

The fish pieces in an order of Bitter Pops fish and chips ($15.99) are so big that I initially mistook them for chicken thighs.

The battered and deep-fried whitefish come in two substantial hunks, and have a delicately lacy crust to them. There’s something so satisfying about a good order of fish and chips, too. They’re always a little oily, piping hot, and meaty, and Bitter Pops’ version does them proper justice by firing on all cylinders. The chips (fries) here are the thick and starchy kind, which sort of mirrors the heartiness of the fish.

The order comes served with a side of tartar sauce, but if you like your fish and chips doused with splashes of malt vinegar, there’s bottles of it up by the register. I hadn’t gotten a chance to try the fish and chips the last time I’d visited, but I’d happily come back just for these.

Bitter Pops double smashburger ($12.99) is, in my opinion, one of the best burgers in Chicago.

People don’t mention it very often, which is a shame, but I’m here to nudge you all. It comes with American cheese, caramelized onions, and dijonnaise, with house-made pickles on the side, and just goes to show that when it comes to burgers, sometimes the simplest version really is the best.

The patties themselves aren’t paper thin, but they’re moist and sport a pretty noticeable crust, which adds an extra layer of griddled flavor. The scent of the onions soaks into the bun, which makes the burger feel almost Oklahoma-style. If this is your first time hearing of the Bitter Pops burger, you really should go try it.

And if you need even more motivation, there’s a $12.99 lunch special that runs from Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. that includes the double smashburger, fries or chips, and a soft drink.

Finally, about that chopped cheese special ($11.99).

If the idea of a burger’s not enough to get your ass out the front door, you should probably head to Bitter Pops before the end of the month, because their chopped cheese sandwich is terrific.

Bitter Pops describes how they make it on their website:

We start with chopping up two Bitter Pops Smash burger patties. We mix our beef with traditional adobo seasoning and grilled onions and let that mixture come together on the flat top. We then top our adobo chopped beef and onion mixture with three slices of American cheese and let that get nice and melty. Finally, we dress our Turano Sub Roll with our house-made aioli, fresh tomato, and crisp shredded lettuce. Of course, all bodega-style sandwiches are tightly wrapped up and cut down the middle for service.

So if it sounds like a cheeseburger sub using the same soft and chewy French Turano rolls we commonly use here for Italian beef, well, that’s pretty much what Bitter Pops’ chopped cheese sandwich is. Don’t expect anything too fancy. But even though chopped cheeses are popular in New York City, they don’t seem to be much of a thing anywhere else, including Chicago, so to me, this is a fun treat.

If for whatever reason you can’t get to Bitter Pops by the end of August when the special is over, the description they gave you above is pretty much the whole recipe. They don’t take long to make on the stovetop, and you don’t need to be an advanced cook to make them, so there’s a quick idea for dinner sometime. (But really, try Bitter Pops first, food just tastes better when someone else makes it for you.)

It’s great to know that Bitter Pops’ food is exactly how I remember it tasting, which is, in kitchen consistency terms, extremely remarkable. Especially considering it’s now years later. Plus that chopped cheese is killer too.

I was flying solo that day since Davida was at home, waiting for a package delivery, so I’m sure I looked more than a little odd, fucking around in the corner with all this food and my phone out. One bar patron came up to me with a grin and said, “Okay, I’m sorry, but I have to know what you’re doing.”

Busted! I looked down at the counter, surrounded by close to $100 of stuff, and looked back up at the guy, explaining that I write about food for a living. I even mentioned you all to him.

“Don’t worry,” I added. “I’m not filming this for TikTok or anything.” He chuckled when I said that, and mentioned that he noticed with some relief that I hadn’t been recording myself on video. Then he cheerfully wished me a happy weekend.

Every now and then I’m reminded that I have a bit of a strange job. But hey, if it means I get to try cool food and tell you all about it, I’m down for the occasional awkward conversation. At least it makes for a good closer for the newsletter.

Bitter Pops
3357 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 857-7677

Kitchen hours:
Monday: 4:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Tuesday - Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Thursday - Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday: 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.

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Glad I went to Bitter Pops again, and good to know it’s as great as I remember it.

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Okay, everyone, we’re off to the beginning of a new week. May it be a good one for you. Love you guys, and I’ll see you soon.