Christo's — Restaurant in Bloomfield

I feel a little embarrassed that I've lived in New York City for nearly all my life and waited until now to have my first chopped cheese sandwich. When the algorithm started pelting my social media feed with salivating images of Christo's offerings, I figured it was time to rectify things.

If you've seen any pictures of these sandwiches, you already know there's no way it could taste bad. My husband got the New School, which comes with soft, seeded loaves that are absolutely loaded with a hot, gooey blend of beef, onions, and Cooper sharp American. While delectable, I actually preferred the chopped cheese sandwich, which also comes with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and ketchup. I'm as happy with beef and cheese as the next red-blooded American, but I felt the extra veg and tangy condiments helped offset the sheer volume of cheesy beef that are stuffed into these sandwiches.

While the standard orders are incredible, there's a decent level of customizability here. Not a fan of Cooper cheese? Sub it out for whiz, provolone, Swiss, or habanero jack. Not a ground beef person? Get chicken, steak, or even a veg medley instead. If it's too early in the day for chopped cheese sandwiches, they even serve up egg + meat breakfast sandwiches. In short, there's something here for everyone.

Inside, there's a decent amount of tables and chairs, but with all the hype surrounding this spot it can be hard to find a seat, especially...

Tonight’s video is a serious one for me. Not only because this is easily the best cheesesteak I’ve ever had in North Jersey, but also because the North Shore Beef (NSB) sandwich is just as good, maybe even better. Welcome to Christo’s Wake and Steak in Bloomfield. I want to add that the owner and the employee working the counter were both incredibly nice and helpful.

The cheesesteak I got is “The New School”. This is fresh shaved ribeye (no gristle might I add) with fried onions and Cooper Sharp on a seeded roll. If you order the old school it comes with whiz instead. Good amount of meat, tasty roll, cooper is just so good, and at a good price ($12.50). The North Shore beef is a massive pile of rare cooked roast beef topped with a tangy bbq sauce from Massachusetts (the owner drives there to get it), cooper sharp, and horseradish sauce on a toasted onion roll. These flavors together were fantastic. It’s so messy they give you gloves to wear! I used roughly 17 napkins 😆. Also had some fried corn fritters topped in a Big Mac style sauce that were really tasty.

If you haven’t been here yet and you’re in the area, you should absolutely check this spot out. Christo’s certainly...

For starters, careful if you go on a weekend for lunch. The place was slammed and it took me 40 mins to get a cheesesteak. My fault, I should have ordered ahead. Be warned though, this is not a quick stop kind of place.

Staff was super friendly and helpful. I ordered the new school cheesesteak as is. The flavors were solid. You could taste all of the ingredients and the steak was high quality. I found the seeded bread to be a nice touch and it was soft with a good chew. The texture of the beef and cheese combo was not my favorite though. It was very one note, somewhere between mushy and chalky. It wasn’t bad. It was just different. I think it was the cooper cheese they use. The sandwich held up really well and wasn’t messy at all. But I think I missed the messiness and drippy-ness of a traditional Philly cheesesteak. But I get it. This is “new school”.

The interior is nothing to write home about, with a few 2-3 seater tables. Most people were taking their orders to go, as did I. Not many options for waiting around either, so just ended up waiting in my car.

Overall, a solid sandwich and at a decent price point. I want to go back to try the old school and the roast...