Feels like every time I turn around the corner bodega has bumped the chopped cheese again. My spot on Ave B wants eleven and change for a roll that's half falling apart and meat that's just okay. I'm not asking for the old $5 days, I know that's gone. But under $10 has to still exist somewhere below 23rd, right? Bonus if the BEC is still normal and they toast the roll on the flattop. Willing to walk for it.

My old spot up by 28th and Lex still does a chopped cheese that's under a tenner, but it's not huge. They use the wax paper and the roll stays crispy if you eat it there. The BEC is fine but they wrap it too tight and it steams. If you're already walking, check the bodega next to the barber on 30th, not the one by the phone store.

Okay so I know I'm new here, but is chopped cheese just a chopped-up burger with cheese? I got one last week near Prospect and it was good but I don't get why people lose their minds over the roll. Maybe I have it backwards. Also sort of related to smells in a small kitchen, there was a whole Cooking fish in a small apartment with no hood: is the hallway smell just the tax? thread and now I'm thinking I should just keep eating cold deli stuff so my hallway doesn't smell like onions forever. What's BEC? Bacon egg cheese? Sorry, still learning.

DykerNewbie, the roll is half the point. If it's a soft potato roll that's lightly toasted on the same flat top as the meat, you get the juice and the crisp. If it's a cold roll it's just a sad burger salad in bread. Under $10 still around, but you have to treat it like a search. The place on 21st and 3rd used to do it right, but I think the day guy left. Lately I've been doing the BEC from there with pepper jack and hot sauce. For the OP: check the spot on 14th between A and B, not the tourist one.

@Gramercy_G yeah that's the one I always forget, right next to the laundry cart? I'll go tomorrow. And DykerNewbie, BEC is bacon egg cheese, but if the roll is wrong no amount of hot sauce saves it. Roll is everything, maybe more than the meat. My bar is: does the bottom bun survive the first bite without disintegrating? That's the test.

West side has a couple holdouts but you have to ignore the menu board. My office lunch spot on 18th and 9th does a chopped cheese that's around nine and change and they'll add lettuce and tomato if you ask, which some people think is blasphemy. I only do it when the roll looks old. For BEC under ten with a real roll, the cart near 23rd and 8th does two eggs and pretty thick bacon. Cash only, I think.

KipsBay_K, that 30th St spot is fine but not worth a special trip from Brooklyn. Gotta say the corner spot on 5th Ave near the old laundromat still does chopped cheese under a tenner, and they throw the roll on the flattop cut-side down. That's the move. Ask for hot sauce, light mayo, and tell them not to wrap it. If you're already south, the halal cart on 36th and 4th is still a better cheap lunch than most bodegas around there.

Thanks for explaining. Tried the 14th between A and B spot today after Gramercy_G mentioned it. Got the BEC with pepper jack and I think I finally get the roll thing. The guy behind the counter kept looking at me like he knew I wasn't from around here, but he toasted it right. Chelsea_C, is the 23rd and 8th cart the one with the yellow awning? Need to know if I should bring actual cash or if they take Venmo now.

@DykerNewbie if it's the yellow awning, yes, but last time I went they had a Venmo QR taped to the fridge. I wouldn't count on it after noon because their battery dies. Cash is safer. Also agree with Gowanus_G about telling them not to wrap it—tinfoil/paper ruins the whole point. If you eat outside in five minutes the roll is still right.