Whispers have been going around Bed-Stuy that there’s a new cheese on the block. We cannot confirm nor deny the rumors that we smuggled a top-shelf American cheese with more natural ingredients than your typical Kraft single all the way from LA. Greenberg’s Bagels was the first to get their hands on it, and what they concocted might force the traditional BEC to retire. New School Quality American Cheese is teaming up with Greenberg’s to drop this unagi-glazed spam, pineapple, egg n’ cheese bagel sandwich exclusively available on 8it. We sat down to chat with the founder of New School, Chef Eric Greenspan, about the upcoming drops and how New School is changing the game.

Tell us a bit about New School American. What’s the concept?

EG: New School Quality American started out as a conversation with my friend Alan Levitt about why are there no good artisanal, small batch, quality American cheeses on the market? Like right now everybody cares about ingredients- someone will be like, “I grind brisket and chuck dry-aged meat and I hand-whisked my herbed mayos and I bake my brioche and then I throw Kraft on it.” Right? And it didn’t make any sense. That coupled with my obvious love for grilled cheese sandwiches, and the best grilled cheese sandwich is American cheese on white bread, we all know that. But American cheese, as delicious as it is, is garbage, right? And so me and Alan set out to try and change that over the past five years.

It took you five years to develop?!

EG: Here’s the deal, there’s like ten people in America who make American cheese. Big country, lots of cheese, ten people who make it. When we told them we wanted to make a quality American cheese with aged cheddar, and real cream, and real butter, they were like, “I don’t know, I don’t get it. Why would anybody want that?”.

We finally found the right people, but even once you get somebody on board, because it is such a commodified market, you gotta cook these huge batches to test things out and see if they work. And very few people have that entrepreneurial R&D spirit in the processed cheese industry. We found the right guys out of Wisconsin, but even them, they got cold feet because they were like, “It doesn’t melt quite the way I want it to melt.” Because you’ll see, New School is unlike most American cheese, which does something called tabling, where you melt it and it kind of stays in its shape.

“We wanted it to completely embrace the product that the cheese melts on like a warm, cheesy, high-quality hug.”

Props to you, first of all. What was the hardest part of the process?

EG: The hardest part of the process was getting people to believe. You know this is a brilliant idea, and I know this is a brilliant idea. And the people that we know, know this is a brilliant idea. This is something that needs to exist, but like the fat cats in Wisconsin who make giant batches of American cheese for the people at large, if they thought this was a good idea, they would already have done it. So it takes people to have their ear to the street to know that this is something that the world wants and then getting people to believe this was something worth taking a fly on, that was always gonna be the biggest challenge. But we made it.

There’s always gonna be the haters and the people who are complacent with the way an industry just kind of goes.

EG: Yeah, and I don’t know if haters is the term as much as just like, people get set in their ways.

“Like I said for a hundred years, American cheese has been a commodified garbage pile.”

You’ve been doing some drops out in the LA market. Some collaborations, introducing the brand in LA. Can you talk a little bit about some of the ones you’ve done out there?

EG: So right now, New School is in food service in Los Angeles limitedly, which means I drive it around in my Volkswagen. The whole idea of this for now is to get it in the hands of people who know how to use American cheese, and love American cheese, and want to take that step, and give them the product they deserve to have and let them run with it.

For example, Amboy Burgers, which I think is the best burger in Los Angeles, we’re the only American cheese that they use. They slice it in house. They also sell it for retail in pre-slices. That place and there’s a place called Surface in LA, those are the only places you can buy it retail right now.

We’re the only cheese at Wexler’s Deli outside of the Reuben, like you gotta put swiss on a Reuben. I ain’t mad at them for not putting New School on a Reuben. Although, it’s better.

Ggiata sandwiches uses it in their chopped cheese.

Bub and Grandma’s uses it on their grilled cheese, and in their egg sandwiches.

Oui Melrose killllls it. It’s on Melrose and the quality that comes out of that place is crazy. So we’re on his Nashville hot cod sandwich, which is like a spicy Filet O’ Fish basically.

That’s naughty! And you’re coming to New York, baby!

EG: We’re coming to New York. For all you food service people out there, we’ll be in Chef’s Warehouse by May at the latest. We’re coming in like the lion. We’ll be up and down the West Coast, San Diego, Phoenix, Arizona, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, but then on the East Coast we’ll be New York, Philly, Boston, DC. So, we’re coming.

For some of the people that are in the audience that may or may not have a slicer at home and be able to buy a giant block of cheese, Chef Greeny hit up 8it, and said “How do we drop New School in New York?” And we got a little something up our sleeve.

We may or may not have smuggled a block of cheese from LA to Brooklyn. I may or may not have brought it to Greenberg’s Bagels, and they may or may not have made a Hawaiian Bagel Sandwich. Which we’re very excited about dropping this weekend.

EG: Which is bonkers, by the way. Bonkers that they did it and I love that they tasted the cheese and were like, is it great on a bacon, egg, n’ cheese? Sure. But to do something out of the box and special is very, very, very cool and that unagi spam, and the sweetness of the pineapple, with the sharpness of the cheese is like (chef’s kiss) beautiful.

I’m not a pineapple on pizza guy, but I took a bite out of the love I have for New School, with a little dab of Frank’s Red Hot, and I was a convert. So that’s dropping on Saturday morning at Greenberg’s in Bed-Stuy, it’s also available on Sunday.

And we’ve got a couple other collabs cooking up that we may or may not be able to talk about on this. I don’t know, can we? Should we?

EG: I think we can. I think we can tease it. We’ve got a couple more 8it x New School drops that you’ll see more information about on all the socials. April 1, we’re doing something with Gotham Burger Social Club, and it may or may not have a caviar element to it. Because if you’re going high-end with the cheese, then you might as well go all the way high-end. We might definitely have our pinkies up for this one.

Then after that one, if you think unagi-glazed spam and pineapple on a bagel with cheese is crazy, we’re gonna be doing something with The Doughnut Project. And that is bonkers. Bonkers what Leslie has got planned. So lots of fun, interesting ways to have New School. And it’s only gonna be available on 8it, right?

Yeah, you can only lock it down on the 8it app. Hit the link in bio on 8it or Greeny’s profile, that’s how you pre-order these drops. The Doughnut Project, Greenberg’s, Gothamburger Social Club. I’m really excited for all of them. We spent some time in the lab with Ms. Willy Wonka Leslie from The Doughnut Project and she is up to some madness with the cheese. It’s actually crazy.

EG: What I love about that one too is we’re not deciding what it’s gonna be, we’re gonna let the people decide. So you guys have to tune in because you’re gonna choose your own adventure. It’s a choose your own adventure collaboration. I’m pretty fired up about it.

New School Quality American Cheese and 8it have a juggernaut lineup of drops teed up for the Spring. The Hawaiian Breakfast Sandwich is just the tip of the iceberg. Hit the button below to pre-order your New School Hawaiian to cure this weekend’s hangover. Available for Pick-up & Delivery.

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