They do support American small producers which I love, but the unfortunate experience I have had is that most American farmstead and small producer cheeses are just too darned much money for what they offer.
Even Pascal Jacquin makes a lot of factory style goat's cheeses where he used to be the king of the RM Goat's milk cheeses. France today is under the dominance of big producers so if your main area of expertise is France, then you will be forced to use a lot of factory made cheese. In cheese, its factory made in and factory made out. In Computers its GIGO- garbage i, garbage out. The result? Factory made cheeses that taste a lot better than they would if you bought them at Whole Foods but not as good as true artisan made cheeses. WHile they do have a number of true small producer cheeses, they also ahve a lot of factory made cheese that has been aged with great care and attention. I think the emperor aint wearing nothing more than a suit from Hect's and paid a Nordstrom's price. If they won't, then just give a little wave and say, "bye." But I've never been told no. Reach into the fridge, grab that uncut wheel of whatever you want, and tell them you want half of it, or a quarter of it, or some such thing. If you shop at Arrowine, get the bagels and/or beer.ĮTA: Here's a secret about shopping at Whole Foods or Wegmans where the cheeses are already wrapped and you have no idea when they were cut. So if Jill or Aldo are not available, feel comfortable asking any kind of question to someone there.Īnd to top it off, if you shop at Cheesetique you can get some great meat. Additionally, the rest of the staff at both establishments are also highly knowledgeable about their products and will definitely steer you right. If you live in DC or inside the beltway VA, there is no reason for you to be going to any other place aside from there. I can't say enough about Jill and Aldo at Cheesetique and Arrowine, respectively. I'm told that Maestro gets at least some of theirs from Artisinal in NY.įirefly also sources their cheese from Artisanal. Their cheeses are all precut and wrapped in plastic, and I don't think they're stored at a good temperature-I think they're too cold to ripen properly.īalducci's (the store formerly known as Sutton Place) also precuts their cheeses, and I have not been impressed by the knowledge of the folks behind the counter when I've asked for help (like, when I ask about soft-ripened cheese and I'm steered exclusively to brie).Īs far as restaurants, I will be interested to know where they source their cheeses. I shop more often at Whole Foods, but rarely buy cheese there, except for hunks of parmesan for grating.
They also offer "flights" of cheese, which are really little cheese plates of nicely matched varieties that are ready to eat, and can be taken home on a festive cheese platter. Although many of their cheeses are precut and wrapped in plastic, they have a nice counter where they do cut to order, and they have labels on the cheeses in the glass case that tell whether they're ready eat now or when they will be. She's also very committed to educating people about cheese, evidenced by her classes and tastings. I am personally less familiar with Cheesetique, but I was very impressed with the quality of Jill's products and the care she takes with the cheeses. He knows his cheeses, knows when they're ready, and learns what his customers like. Aldo, at Arrowwine, formerly of Dean & Deluca, is a fantastic cheesemonger, who has never steered us wrong. Also, I've heard rumors that Cowgirl Creamery is going to open a cheese shop in Penn Quarter. I'm sorry to inform our DC and MD friends, that for serious cheese you need to cross that river.ĮTA: Forgot about Wegman's but I was thinkig inside the beltway. Dean & Deluca are a number of notches below Cheesetique and Arrowine. I know of several top city restaurants which source their own cheeses there, rather than from their regular food vendors.
I've always heard that the best source for cheese in D.C. Which restaurants have the best cheese plates? What are your favorites?
#TRADER JOES HUMBOLDT FOG CHEESE FREE#
Wisconsinites, feel free to extole the virtues of your state's signature comestable. Let's find out the best places to buy it, not only in our area, but in New York (from all accounts that I've heard, the source of the best imported cheeses in the U.S.A.) and elsewhere. I'd like to start this thread to explore the wonderful world of fromage.
0 kommentar(er)
