Grilled cheese shops in NYC don’t fair too well. Great grilled cheese sandwiches dot the city, but there’s no grilled cheese culture out there.  Yet there’s a bubbling up of Panini presses in the back of cheese shops, gourmet stacks of truffles and brie sandwiches at white-linen restaurants and a growing fleet of food trucks roving Manhattan. There are even a few young guns, real brick and mortars, trying to cement a rep for slinging nothing but grilled cheese.

Saturday February 25 and Sunday February 26, we bring together seven of the best grilled cheese posts in the city for The Big Cheesy, a two-day pop up to declare the best sandwich in the city. The Big Cheesy is an ode to the grilled cheese. An homage to fromage we’ve created to celebrate grilled cheese sandwiches. Two days! And then it’s gone. And then it’s back to Subway sandwiches for lunch and overpriced soups and that place around the corner we go to cause it’s fast and it’s cheap.

Participating in the celebration are Murray’s, Big Daddy’s, Casellula, Little Muenster, Lucy’s Whey, Melt Shop and Tartinery. They’ll be making seven exquisite takes on the grilled cheese and you’ll be pairing the tasting with a 16 oz. tallboy of Sixpoint Sweet Action, Righteous Ale, Crisp Pilsner or Bengali Tiger IPA. Or, for underagers, Bella Lula. You’ll also get one ping pong, one vote, to drop in the jar at your favorite table. The winning chefs will get a half-page ad in Edible Manhattan, a big certificate and the crown of best sandwich in the city.

The Big Cheesy runs from 1-7 pm both days and tickets are $25. To purchase tickets, go to Time Out New York Offers & Experiences. To try your hand at free tickets, visit our Facebook page all week and submit your cheesiest joke. Each week day from now until Friday February 24, we’ll be giving away a pair of tickets.

To purchase tickets before they sell out, GO HERE!
To get free tickets by submitting your favorite joke, GO HERE!