plat du fromage

[frogprince]

cheese, it would seem, is back - risen from the nether region it had been relegated to by polly-o's string cheese, velveeta and kraft singles. the fabulous if not terribly garrulous cheesemonger at eastern market continues to sparkle like a jewel - the lapidary at work polishing and carving his lactic gems and oh! how marvellous they are: that irish cashel blue like a lump of sourgrassyhay with a refreshing clean-tasting bite - mother nature's listerine.

so who else titilates with plates of scrumptious morsels of this grand and glorious foodstuff?

ive had memorable experiences at palena (tyrolean almond bread where are you now? oh yes at amernicks) cashion's always offers something special, mostly artisanal american with nutty raisin sourdough and some kind of fruity counterpoint to complement the cheese (fresh figs, grilled pears, tangy apricot jam and a bigger bolder heftier cousin to membrillo). jaleo does the big daddies of spanish cheese admirably (murcia, manchego, idiazabal, picon) plus a remarkably boozy "queso de tupi". the fromager for vidalia and bistro bis offers a truly remarkable selection from around the world, the best being the explosive montenebru from avila in central spain: a goat cheese aged in ashes that simply blows away anything ive ever had.

so as not to prattle on incessantly, the wares i've sampled at two amy's (where can i get chestnut honey for gorgonzola?), obelisk and bistro d'oc have all been highly successful. i do not get out a lot but i can recall tosca and equinox immediately offhand featuring a cheese plate on their menus and have never experienced the galileo cheesecart. "grizzled restaurant veteran:" what sort of magic does m. richard offer?

so, fellow cheese enthuisiasts, who does justice to and harnesses, quoting the american cheese board, "the power of cheese?"

[babka]

NECTAR!

responsible for a new and far-too-pricey-weekly-habit at fresh fields.

actually, fresh fields is a pretty good place to play with cheeses--they let you sample the good stuff, and their prices are cheaper than most other retail operations in town.

that said--does anyone know where you can get Cowgirl Creamery here?

[JennyUptown]

I like the cabrales at Bardeo. Yum.

[John W.]

Charlie Palmer does a nice plate with all artisan US items.

Nectar has served me Epoisses with a straw before. Which is a good thing.

[mnebergall]

While I have nothing by way of commment to the substance of Frogprince's posting, I would like to offer my best compliments on the form.

Edited to add: We need to convince this guy to show up to the next eGDC event. He definitely has something to teach the rest of us.

Edited April 8, 2004 by mnebergall (log)

[DonRocks]

Nectar treats their multi-chese progressive plate with enormous respect and must stand alone atop the heap

Maestro had the best cart I've seen in town lately, but it's been awhile

Taberna del Alabardero NOT Equinox (cheeses are ill-conceived, served too cold, and come with a gross fig jam and the same nasty nuts they serve at the bar)

2 Amy's pipe farms goat cheese with fig jam or gorgonzola with chestnut honey NOT nasty pecorino/fennel/celery salad at Sette Osteria (with due respect to their fine pizzas and charcuterie plates)

Phone call to Formaggio Kitchen www.formaggiokitchen.com for the ultimate in next-day-air-delivered world-class cheese for no more than you'd pay for the overripe stuff you often find at Dean & DeLuca.

[vengroff]

Nectar. Jarad studied cheese at Gordan Ramsay. He knows his cheese.

[Mark Sommelier]

Froggy, you scare me. Yes, we have cheese at Citronelle. French cheese. Rocks, you scare me too, but that's a different matter.

[JPW]

Just in counterpoint on cheese at Sette Osteria. The cheese board that we got along side the salume selection was pretty darn good (maybe not spectacular but really good) even if the waitors were completely clueless as to its contents. I recall a gorgonzola, a pecorino, some funky fizzy mozzarella type thing, and I can't remember the other.

[John W.]

2 Amy's pipe farms goat cheese with fig jam or gorgonzola with chestnut honey NOT nasty pecorino/fennel/celery salad at Sette Osteria (with due respect to their fine pizzas and charcuterie plates)

Lay off the pipe Rocks. It's Pipe Dreams Farms. I recall eating in your presence at Two Amy's a nasty fennel salad with sec unilateral mozzarella, an interesting experience considering the two levels of blandness playing off each other.

Cheese at the office (BDC) isn't bad - Good French Muenster, Morbier, and Camenbert usually, served by a quaint gentleman wearing an assortment of shiny velvet shirts and possesing a cigar with at least 2" of ash at all times.

[Busboy]

Cheese at the office (BDC) isn't bad - Good French Muenster, Morbier, and Camenbert usually, served by a quaint gentleman wearing an assortment of shiny velvet shirts and possesing a cigar with at least 2" of ash at all times.

That would be the owner, wouldn't it?

[DCMark]

That would be Michelle, the most loveable asshole in the city.

Almost knocked him out cold in 1996 at Les Halles but he has improved since then.

[Busboy]

I got into a bit of a shouting match with him myself, back at les Halles. My wife wanted to boycotte BdC when it opened, ("I'm not giving that asshole my money")but she came around. BTW, he probably spells it Michel, though the pronunciation of both names is the same.

I like the way they cheese out at BdC, near the door, under a mesh dome, so you can see how nasty (in the best sense of that word) and runny it's become as you walk in. Almost looks like my fridge at home.

[DCMark]

I got into a bit of a shouting match with him myself, back at les Halles. My wife wanted to boycotte BdC when it opened, ("I'm not giving that asshole my money")but she came around. BTW, he probably spells it Michel, though the pronunciation of both names is the same.

I like the way they cheese out at BdC, near the door, under a mesh dome, so you can see how nasty (in the best sense of that word) and runny it's become as you walk in. Almost looks like my fridge at home.

My spelling of his name was intentionally so.