This past Sunday, I had an afternoon to myself. Usually, I'm a homebody, and on these sorts of occasions, I busy myself with household chores (oh yeah, and eat cheese). It was such a gorgeous sunny day though, I decided to get out of the house and do some exploring. I hopped on BART, and headed towards San Francisco. It was time to check out other cheese shops - although it had been on my mind for a while, Justin's comment a couple weeks ago codified it for me. Because most of the authors of The Cheese Diaries live in the East Bay/Berkeley area, we invariably gravitate towards the Cheese Board. So besides the Cheese Board, what's out there for us?
As I rode back home, it occurred to me that I had actually visited more cheese shops than just The Cheese Board. But I guess the first issue I should address is why I'm seeking out specialty cheese shops in the first place. What's wrong with buying cheese from Safeway, or Trader Joe's or or even Andronico's? Well, nothing. There are good cheese shops, and there are bad cheese shops, and in some cases, you're better off buying cheese from Safeway. With a good cheese shop, there is a notable difference... sort of like the difference between buying precut, prepackaged meat from Costco, versus picking out choice cuts from a local neighborhood butcher, but it gets more complicated. Not only does a decent cheese shop have more variety than a local supermarket, but more importantly (in my opinion) has a knowledgeable cheesemonger. A decent cheesemonger knows his wares. He knows when it arrives at the store, how to store it, how much longer it will keep, how to ripen it, what to eat and drink it with it and of course, how it tastes. Having your cheese cut to order, as opposed to buying it precut, prewrapped and prepriced virtually guarantees that the cheese you buy will be fresher, as well as an opportunity to taste before you buy. The best cheesemongers will store their cheeses (whole, and unwrapped) on straw mats to allow air to circulate underneath. I have yet to see cheesemongers in the states adopt this practice, although the slatted wooden trays some use seem to serve the same purpose. Others use marble boards, presumably to maintain a constant cool temperature. Because cheese is a living substance, with active cultures, it is important not to suffocate it by sealing it for too long in saran wrap, which leads to slimy rinds, discoloration and an ammoniated and overripe (not to mention unpleasant) flavor. On the other hand, you don't want it to dry out. How does one walk this fine line? To tell the truth, I don't really know. I buy my cheeses in small quantities so I can consume it before it ever goes bad. I tend to gravitate towards shops that store their cheeses in open-air refrigerated counters, on top of the aforementioned marble slabs and wooden trays. Here is a list of shops that I've visited:
24th Street Cheese Company
Located in Noe Valley, about 6 uphill blocks from the 24th Street BART station, this shop carries a smattering of imported cheeses, as well as wines and imported foods. However, all its cheeses are kept in behind refrigerator doors, wrapped in saran wrap. The staff seemed more interested in talking to each other, than assisting customers.
Say Cheese
I actually discovered this tiny shop when visiting my wedding dressmaker in the Haight. It's a cheery little neighborhood place, that also sells wines. They carry less cheeses than the Pasta Shop or Market Hall, and have a small open air refrigerator counter. There's also refrigerators containing more cheese behind the counter. Strangely, they also wrap their open air counter cheeses, even the chevres, loosely in saran wrap. [sidebar: Saran wrap prevents air from circulating, and since stasis results in rapid decomposition for young chevres, it actually brings out negative qualities in goat cheese]
Castro Cheesery
This is a tiny place in the Castro, and a good example of a case where it's better to buy from Safeway. It appears that this shop is not only a cheese shop, but also a coffee bean roastery. While I applaud buying freshly roasted and ground coffee beans, it is a really bad idea to place them in close proximity of cheese, since cheese will absorb strong flavors nearby like a sponge. Out of morbid curiousity, I bought some drunken goat cheese (a relatively common spanish cheese... this was their most exotic product of the five they had available) and well... you can only imagine.
Cowgirl Creamery
This open-air cheese counter at the Ferry Plaza carries a stunning variety of local artisanal cheeses (not just Cowgirl Creamery - Cypress Grove, Redwood Hill, Laura Chenel, and quite a few I'd never heard of), and just a few imported cheeses. Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk recently won Best in Show at the American Cheesemaker's Society's annual conference. I'm allowing one to ripen at the moment, but unfortunately, during the last visit, the counter was extremely busy.
The Pasta Shop
One of my favorite cheese counters. Everything is stored properly, the cheesemongers are nice and helpful, and the selection, though not as big as the Cheese Board, or the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, is supremely well-edited. The only thing is, there's quite a markup (which probably has something to do with its 4th Street location) in comparison with the Cheese Board.
Market Hall
Another decent cheese counter. They carry a little more than the Pasta Shop, and the blue-haired cheesemonger lady totally rocks. However, they've got the same markups as the Pasta Shop (they're in Rockridge), and the confines are a bit more cramped.
The Country Cheese Company
On a whim, I popped into this shop on my way to Acme Bread on San Pablo. They've got a decent variety imported cheeses (Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu D'Auvergne, the brand new Fromage d'Affinois with black pepper) but it's all prewrapped, prepriced, stored on metal cookie sheets in tall refrigerators.
The Cheese Board
What can I say about the Cheese Board? Read my description here. Like I said before, it's a bit daunting for first-timers, but once you get the hang of it, you will never leave. This Gourmet Ghetto institution has the widest variety of cheeses I've ever seen, and the prices are right. However, there are definitely certain cheesemongers (I think there's like, 10) who are more helpful than others.
The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills
Although this one is down in LA, I thought it deserved a special mention. It's as pricey as you might imagine - they're a block over from Rodeo Drive, not far from the site of Winona's klepto incident and I believe they carry Screaming Eagle wine - but the cheesemongers are extremely knowledgeable and generous with samples. Everything is stored properly, and they even use specific knives for each variety of cheese when sampling. (like the tete de moine scraper, and the stilton scoop). This is the only shop I've been to that has come near the variety of cheeses that The Cheese Board carries.
Posted by connie at August 21, 2003 11:36 PM | TrackBack