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A raclette sandwich made from a melty cheese wheel is going viral. So I tried it.
By
Lee Walker Helland
Published Dec 22, 2023
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Lee Helland for Gothamist
By
Lee Walker Helland
Published Dec 22, 2023
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A few weeks ago I did a deep dive on fun and affordable activities around New York City this winter.
I couldn’t stop thinking about raclette: A hot, bubbly cheese that's scraped from a giant wheel and served on a baguette. It's available in the Bryant Park and Union Square holiday markets this month thanks to Wisconsin-based vendor Baked Cheese Haus.
A close up of the raclette.
Lee Helland for Gothamist
Why I wanted to try the raclette sandwich
With the aid of social media algorithms, my mind continually returned to the oozy treat.
On the one hand, I worried that raclette seemed a little gimmicky, and culinary stunts don’t prioritize flavor — a sad lesson Dippin’ Dots taught me at the tender age of 9.
But on the other hand, raclette has history. It’s a traditional Swiss dish in which cheese made from Alpine cow's milk is drizzled over potatoes. The word derives from the French word racler, which means “to scrape," and the practice is even mentioned in 13th century writings.
The raclette prep station at Bryant Park Winter Village.
Lee Helland for Gothamist
But in a modern twist, Baked Cheese Haus swaps potatoes for bread, and neatly wraps the sandwich so you can munch while you walk or maybe keep a hand free to snap pics for the ‘Gram.
The sandwich has TikTok abuzz. I’ve watched that cheese melt onto bread dozens of times now, as part of foodie highlights and featurettes that are occasionally accompanied by a sexy soundtrack.
And though folks touch on the long lines and how stinky the raclette is (“don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like that,” advised one social media user), they mainly extol its deliciousness in voices that make you think their eyes might roll back in their heads.
This year I’ve mostly avoided New York’s most popular holiday displays. I’ve heard accounts of Black-Friday-at-Walmart-level crowds near Rockefeller, and experienced it for myself when I decided to “wander through” Union Square on a Saturday afternoon — I don’t know what I was thinking.
My family and I found relief that night at dinner in Chinatown, if that tells you something. Union Square, I love you, but in December I hardly know ye.
Raclette combines hyperpalatable fat and salt with a heavy dose of popularity and scarcity — a recipe for desperation. I needed to try it. I had to be brave.
Lee Helland for Gothamist
What it was like to try raclette
I arrived at Bryant Park’s Winter Village around lunchtime on Wednesday. Though I knew there would be crowds, I hoped my midweek, mid-day play would offer toned-down congestion.
The installation is made for aimless wandering — the event’s map is laughably void of detail, but that’s cool. So I set off with my eyes peeled and my nose on alert for the stench of cheese.
The line for raclette.
Lee Helland for Gothamist
The crowd got thick around the cluster of vendors along the park's southern edge, but it was nothing like my misguided Union Square adventure. I gently shouldered, elbowed and hipped my way forward, worried I’d miss Baked Cheese Haus in the chaos.
I caught a whiff of something savory and amazing — a false alarm in the form of cheesesteak, which had attracted a line perhaps 40 people strong.
But as I neared the park's southeast corner a moment later, I noticed a thick crowd of people just standing there with their backs to me. I sensed a raclette vibe, and I’d indeed arrived.
When I entered the line at 11:53 a.m., there were 23 folks ahead of me. I observed many parties in and out of line rejoicing that they’d finally found “the cheese place” they’d heard about, including a father-daughter duo from Chapel Hill, visitors from Tennessee, and a French man who ordered 10 sandwiches for some fortunate companions.
I picked up pungent scents as I got closer to the booth. The cheese smelled a little funky, but in a good way: I noticed a nuttiness, and a richness that reminded me of chocolate.
By noon, it was my turn to order. I selected the Jambon Cru — consisting of baguette, cured ham, raclette, onions, pickles and mustard — and a hot apple cider chai for $22 plus tax and tip. Only later did it occur to me that this is really steep for a bread-based meal.
I joined the calmly waiting crowd and together we watched the raclette magic, and observed as others documented it with their phones.
The sandwich prep works as follows: First, a sliced baguette is placed on a heated platform — the top of the raclette contraption that melts the cheese with electric coils.
Ham or salami are layered on as the bread toasts and the cheese bubbles. Then, the lucky recipient’s name is called so they can watch through the plexiglass as the cheese wheel is removed from the heat and generously scraped onto the open sandwich.
Finally, the sandwich is wrapped halfway up the baguette to be held vertically, then topped with more melted cheese in spectacular fashion.
At my turn, when I asked if I could take photos of the process, the man making my sandwich kindly smirked and told me where to stand. He paused as I positioned my phone, then asked, “ready?” a true pro, creative director for thousands of sandwiches and counting.
With my raclette sandwich in hand, I found a communal table nearby and dug in. The cheese was delicious, melty, creamy and salty. The bread was perfect: lightly toasted on the outside and soft on the inside. It was easy to bite, but with no risk of sogginess or disintegration. The bright acidity of the onions and pickles offered a nice complement.
Eventually I grew increasingly annoyed by the pigeons and began to feel slightly sorry for my tablemate, who was eating a corndog, so I got up and decided to linger near the ice rink, where I watched staff members rescue a novice skater. It was NYC holiday spectacle at its finest.
What to know before you go
Give yourself time.
While Baked Cheese Haus is an efficient and cheerful machine, this isn’t the spot for a quick bite. I visited off-peak (if that can describe any minute of December’s tourism surge) and received my lunch about 25 minutes after entering the line.
Take a stroll.
There were seats available, but the pigeons were doing their thing and Bryant Park's chairs are the worst. Leverage the advantage of a handheld meal and stay on foot. As I did so, my heart went out to the folks trying to eat a clamshell container full of rice with a plastic fork on one of those flimsy desk chairs.
There’s a second location at Bryant Park.
As I was finishing my Bryant Park loop, I happened upon another Baked Cheese Haus booth at the northwest corner, where only six people stood in line. Consider scoping out crowds at both locations.
Don’t delay.
The cheese remained warm and melty for about six bites — after that, the chilly breeze had a refrigerating effect. It never got hard, as it’s a soft cheese even at room temperature. But to really experience raclette, dig in immediately.
And you’ll want to go soon – the Union Square location closes Dec. 24 and the one in the Bryant Park Winter Village is open until Jan. 2.
After that, you’ll have to go to the Midwest.
Lee Walker Helland
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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