Welcome, officially, to Patrick, our resident Cheesemonger, who has agreed to stay on and keep writing about cheese. Patrick is also a cheesemonger at Murray's Cheese (Grand Central Market location) in New York. He began at Murray's while attending the Institute of Culinary Education.
In an effort to report on local cheeses in other parts of the country, Patrick would like to know what your favorite area cheese shops are, both in and out of New York. And if you're in the Grand Central area, Patrick encourages you to stop by Murray's and say hello.
Name: Amarelo de Beira Baixa
Producer: Various (Portugal)
Milk: Raw Sheep and Goat
Age: 30-60 days
Price: $17.00-25.99
In a search to expand my cheese horizons, I've decided to check out some new cheese counters in the city and see what they have to offer. This week, I stayed within my borough and headed to Stinky Bklyn, a small storefront in Cobble Hill (look for a store review tomorrow).
Perusing the selection, my taste buds went to the heart of Portugal. Most Portuguese cheeses are famous for a distinctly sour, earthy taste due to their use of thistle rennet. The Amarelo is no different. It's soft, rich borderline cloying interior is filled with this signature flavor that a fellow cheesemonger once noted was the kind of cheese that makes you imagine nights of abundant drinking and hot summer parties.
Fitting for its region, the Amarelo would pair perfectly with a variety of meatier seafood dishes such as grilled shrimp or lobster bisque. If you're looking for something lighter, go for fruits that match its flavors, like grapes, cherries or plums.
For this week's wine pairing, I turned to The Kitchen's resident wine expert, Jenny. She recommends Italian Amarone, which she describes as having "a rich, distinctive raisin taste, along with some bitterness that is rounded by the sweetness of the concentrated sugar".
Amarelo de Beira Baixa is available for $4.25 per 1/4lb at Stinky Bklyn (where it is sold under the name "Por Amarello de Baixa"), $24.25/lb at Artisanal, $25.99/lb at Murray's Cheese and $9.99 per 8 oz. chunk at iGourmet.
- Patrick
Favorite Cheese shops in NYC: Fairway is No. 1, with Zabar's at a close second. Murray's is EXCELLENT, of course, but more of a schlep than my dear West Side favorites.
Mmmm... cheese.
Over here in LA, I'm lucky to live right around the corner from a small place that opened up about a year ago, the Artisan Cheese Gallery. Fantastic people in the place.
Not only do they have that most important trait of a good cheesemonger, a free hand with the samples, but they take the time to listen to what you'd like and steer you towards interesting choices. And they do it all without being stuffy, thank god.
In San Francisco: Cheese Plus on Polk Street, Cowgirl Creamery at the Ferry Building and Bi-Rite in the Castro.
Saxelby Cheesemongers in the Essex Street market may have a smaller selection than many other shops, but everything she's got is solid gold. And American artisanal. And she's a girl working for herself, which you gotta admire.
I also love Biercraft on 5th in the Slope.
i tried this chese recently, or perhaps a very similar basque country variant. INCREDIBLE. one of the best cheeses i've ever had. it might even come close to edging out "my preciousss" Taleggio.
in la:
surfas (and they have wine & cheese tastings every saturday at 4), beverly hills cheese shop, cheese truck at the larchmont blvd farmer's market on sunday, wally's on westwood, silverlake wine & cheese, monsieur marcel at the farmer's market in the grove (also super olive selection) -- trader joe's in a pinch for the basics...and bread from breadbar on 3rd street to eat it all with!
does anybody know about the cheese made by "AMUL" in india ?
I am in Nebraska, so pretty much the best cheese shop I've found is Whole Foods...
Thanks for all the suggestions! The only one I've been to is Bierkraft, which isn't far from my apartment. Though, to be honest, I've gone for their awesome beer selection and not the cheeses ;)
Right now, my plans are to, in the coming weeks, hit: Bierkraft, Tuller Foods, Bedford Cheese Shop and Fairway.
I looked into Amul cheeses for you Run and though no one at the shop had heard of them, an little googlings turned up some info. It seems they make a Emmental and Gouda cheese with vegetarian rennet and a few processed cheese products.
Andy, I did notice that Univ. of NE makes cheese, but couldn't find any further info on it (like what kind of cheese they make). Have you ever seen it?