Boogie Down Bites: Jibarito Shack

It's known as New York's version of the Philly cheese steak and one Bronx resident is turning his memories of this popular sandwich into a growing food business.
The chopped cheese - it's one of the reasons why Bronx-native Angel Medina decided to start up his own business, Jibarito Shack.
"Chopped cheese is just, I think it's nostalgic. Pretty much everyone grew up in the Bronx or in Harlem eating a chopped cheese," says Angel Media, owner of Jibarito Shack.
Medina, known for putting a unique spin on the famous chopped cheese, sells his sandwiches at pop-up shops across the city, including the Bronx Night Market at Fordham Plaza.

"So essentially a chop cheese is our version of a Philly cheese steak. So, we take ground beef, onions, peppers, we chop them up, cheese and what we do here is instead of lettuce and tomato, we take organic coleslaw, make her own dressing and use that instead, because we find the tanginess of the coleslaw offsets the fattiness from the sandwich,” says Media.

Also, instead of putting it on a hero, Medina uses fried plantain buns.

"We use all organic ingredients locally sourced,” says Media. “We roast our peppers and our onions, and I sort of think those flavors set us aside from everybody else.”