Beecher's Cheese

[rickmartin]

Any new information or opinions of Beecher's at Pikes Market in Seattle? I'm in Kansas and need some PNW folks to fill me in. I've often wondered how a concept like this might or might not work.

How is business? How is the cheese? Menu?

Thanks in advance for the responses!

RM

Lawrence, KS

[agnolottigirl]

I was at the Market on Saturday and the whole place was INSANE. Must have been the sunlight. . . at any rate, Beecher's was overrun (looked like tourists, mostly), so I didn't bother trying to fight my way to the little cheese case where they sell maybe 15 or 20 different cheeses.

They are making some of their own cheeses, and their own production seems to be focused mainly on curds (a novelty out here) and cheddar-style (cut and pressed) cheeses. They do carry a nice array of local(ish)--Pacific Northwest (WA and OR), Idaho, Northern CA--cheeses from small farm producers, including some organic ones. Stuff like Laura Chenel, Cowgirl Creamery, Humboldt Fog, etc. Rumor has it they are now selling their own butter for a whopping $9.00 per pound--not sure whether that's accurate or not, and haven't tried it. (Ha! It may be a bargain!)

The big draw, and probably half their floor space (or more) is set up with the cheese-making equipment. Big glass windows, and the store is on a corner. Attracts a LOT of foot traffic. When I was there on Saturday they had a crowd almost as big as at Flying Fish, which is saying something.

They have a counter where they sell panini, their own mac & cheese, a soup of the day, etc.--haven't tried any of those things. No seating. They also sell cheese-making supplies, some books, some fancy but not especially functional kitchen tchotchkes, and the usual assortment of logowear.

Layout of the store is goofy; if they get more than 3 people in there, it feels too crowded; and the cheese case is open (like in a grocery store, and at about mid-thigh height), but they cut and wrap the cheese as you buy it. Biggest gripe is that if there are more than a couple people there, it's impossible to see what they've got in there--and many of the people aren't there to really buy anything, but just to look. Frustrating if you're trying to get in and out.

Have only bought anything there once so far--some LC tomme and a fantastic cheese called Sheepish Blue (very sheepy!) that I hadn't seen before. There was one woman at the case who was very knowledgeable and then a much younger woman who clearly had no clue at all. She was nice enough, she just didn't know anything.

[LEdlund]

Rumor has it they are now selling their own butter for a whopping $9.00 per pound--not sure whether that's accurate or not, and haven't tried it. (Ha! It may be a bargain!)

I bought some right before the holidays and it is fantastic. Very sweet and well-rounded with just the right amount of salt. That makes it a bargain in my book!

[agnolottigirl]

Uh-oh. . . was afraid somebody might say that. Maybe "eating still more dairy" should have been my New Year's Resolution?

[tsquare]

They have a few seats at a counter overlooking the often empty cheese making area. The seats are actual milk cans. It is a good place for a inexpensive grilled cheese sandwich, which can hit the spot. The place does seem to have some logistical deficiencies, but the keep working on it.

As I have been told, the cheddar they are making may be coming out fairly soon - it has to age. They have their curds and a colby (?) cheese for sale now, jack too? And they are working on fresh soft cheese - uh, fromage blanc?

I like what they are doing there - but wonder how economically feasible it really is - or would be duplicate elsewhere. Noticed recently that their office is in the same space as Pasta and Co - same ownership?

[lala]

yes, it's the same company as Pasta & Co...

I find it crowded, too, and usually leave before I can even get in far enough to buy anything. If they removed the freestanding display that's smack dab in the middle of the floor, it'd be easier to actually get in to see the cheese sales area.

[Placebo]

I was in the midst of a fairly involved reply to this when my egullet window vanished. Sorry for the delayed response to this thread - work, school and an upcoming photo show (next door to beecher's) have limited my internet time quite a bit.

It's true, the store gets pretty crowded pretty easily and while the furniture arraqngement is probably not optimal for crowd flow the fact is that it's a long narow space and the issue will be one we'll likely be dealing with for a long while. That said I'll pass along to the folks above that it's a big enough issue that it puts people off from coming in or sticking around long enough to try and buy stuff.

The products we make ourselves at this point are as follows:

- Jack: Very flavorful and rich - much moreso than what I'd been used to as jack before. We offer it plain and in chipotle, asian black bean and jamaican jerk flavors (I'm particularly fond of the later).

- Havarti: We're still refining our making process for this so we've only been releasing small batches of it but we're expecting to make a lot more very soon. For now it's only available plain but there'll be some flavored versions coming down the pike as well.

- Fromage Blanc: We make this fresh as needed. It comes in plain, dill & chive, tapenade, pesto and honey flavors at the moment. More will very likely be added over time.

- Fresh Cultured Butter: Again, we make this as needed in the store. It's quite flavorful and carmelizes beautifully. I've stopped using supermarket butter since we've started making it.

We also have a cheddar-style cheese that we're aging out for a year before selling so look for it around Thanksgiving.

The cafe section has fresh curds (plain and flavored), mac and cheese, scallopped potatoes, sandwiches and soups. Personally I'm particularly fond of the roast beef sandwich and the tomato soup. We'll be making fresh ice cream as well starting probably in a couple of months.

We've also got a nice collection of, I think, about two and a half to three dozen artisan cheeses, mostly from the PNW though there's some from Northern California and a few from Colorado. I believe we'll be expanding our cheese case selection a bit more over the next few weeks. My personal favorites are as follows in no particular order:

- Bingham Hill Sheepish Blue: A sheep milk blue cheese from Colorado - it's super smooth and tasty. I only just tried it for the first time last week and I just love it.

- Pedroza Black Butte Reserve: A raw-milk gouda style cheese from Northern California I think. Very rich.

- Fiscalini Bandage Cheddar: Another Northern California cheese - I like both the 18 and 30 month old versions.

- Wynoochie River Blue: I think we're actually out of this right now but it's very very good and hopefully we'll have more in soon.

I think that everything in the store is free of additives and preservatives (no nitrites in the meat for the sandwiches even) and our house crackers are free of hydrogenated oils as well.

As for staff knowledge of the cheese case, the person who waslacking knowledge was probably just starting her cheese case training (thus the presence of the much more knowledgable woman working with her).

For the sake of full disclosure, bear in mind that I work there as the apprentice cheese maker (you'll see me working over vats of goodness wed-sunday on the production floor) and the opinions above are mine and not reflective of store policy and suchlike. The store is still very new so expect continued evolution over the next year as we solidify ourselves and then start to rpepare for the spring and summer market rush.

[mamster]

That Fiscalini bandaged cheddar is awesome. I didn't even realize there were two versions. Thanks for the report, Placebo.

[lala]

Thanks for the info, Placebo! I realize that ya'll are constricted by the space, just know that that first display really bottles things up.

That said, I'm thrilled that this place is there! I love the folks who actually produce food in the market (Jack's smokes their own fish there...), so it's great to be able to view the cheese making process, and try the results. Friends and I found several good cheeses over the holidays, and look forward to a lunch of grilled cheese sarnies this weekend.

[rickmartin]

Thanks for all of the responses. I hope to make my own visit real soon. Until then, egullet will have to do.

Placebo: Are you regulated on ageing temperature in Washington? I know here in Kansas the health department strictly enforces the 45 degree maximum which is not always ideal for the ageing of some cheeses. At what temp do you age at Beecher's?

Thanks,

RM

[malarkey]

Bought some of the butter yesterday. Great stuff. Lots of flavor, definitely more like the euro butters.

[Placebo]

I think we do most of our aging around 45 degrees, though I'm not sure what the actual state laws are off-hand. Malarky - I thought that was you popping by the other day. GLad you liked the butter. I love the stuff - now I just wish I had time to actually cook.

[kieran]

we tried some sandwiches from beecher's last weekend and were very happy with them, and today beecher's cheeses and curds were very well received at our super bowl party. i'm so happy this place is there. can't wait to try more products as they get off the ground.

so far i've especially enjoyed the jamaican jerk jack cheese and the herb oil curds.

[malarkey]

Malarky - I thought that was you popping by the other day. GLad you liked the butter. I love the stuff - now I just wish I had time to actually cook.

yep, that were me no time to cook?! no chance to make the duck confit yet, then? I need to be making a new batch soon...

[skyflyer3]

Stopped by there yesterday for the first time, and I really like it. It's a little odd, partially because I'm so used to the garden store being there, and partially because I didn't expect it to be a cheese "bar". But I love the fact they are very generous with samples, and we picked up the Italian curds, some of the Just Jack, the butter and some crackers. Everything we brought home has been great - we intended the curds for a salad, but by themselves they are slowly disappearing, the butter and crackers are very munchable, and I'm already dreaming of Just Jack and Breton ham sandwiches with butter.

I'm curious about the other products - has anyone tried the ice cream or the other cheeses?

*edited typos*

Edited May 30, 2004 by skyflyer3 (log)

[cxt]

I'm curious about the other products - has anyone tried the ice cream or the other cheeses?

Hey, I was there yesterday too. I was the one sneaking way too many free samples of cheese curds.

The butter, as you said, is intoxicating, so I always get that. I like the blank slate with honey and nuts on toasted bagels. Did you try the sample of limited edition Beecher's havarti they were giving out? I thought it was terrific. I haven't tried the others they make.

[laurel]

I was there on Friday, and the employees were sampling the ice cream, but it wasn't out yet. Looks like you were one of the first to see it.

[Placebo]

The ice cream isn't quite out yet but should be available within a week or two. Addtionally, today we've released some new cafe foods. There's breadsticks, made with our flagship cheese, that are quite tasty and garlicky; a bread and curd salad along the lines of a panzanella that I've not yet had a chance to taste; and a gazpacho that I think is really fantastic (I'm eating some right now, in fact). We've also gotten in some new cheeses over the last couple of months, including a very tasty parmesan by Fiscalini and Black Creek Buttery, which is a cow-goat-sheep mix. I can't really distinguish the goat in it but it's a really delicious cheese. Perhaps I should arrange a little egullet tour/tasting type event for our local cheese-o-philes.