With Mother's Day just around the corner, I found myself wondering how to honor the holiday in the course of a post about cheese.  Try it for yourself - not so easy, is it?  I thought about finding a recipe for something to make for Mom that features cheese prominently, but nothing really jumped out.  I considered reviewing a restaurant where you could spoil Mom and enjoy a good cheese plate, but I wasn't in love with the idea.  And I toyed with another post recommending cheese-related gifts, but I suspected that would have limited appeal in this case.

Fortunately, fate intervened in the form of a new vendor at the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market - Clear Spring Creamery.  As seen at the Market on Sundays, Clear Spring is a true family business - the whole Seibert clan, including two children and assorted relatives, shows up to sell their milk, yogurt and cheese.  And Clare Seibert, who owns and operates Clear Spring with her husband, Mark, handles all of the day-to-day operations of the Creamery in the time between getting her children off to school and greeting them when they come home.  What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than to talk about the great things that Clare Seibert is making at Clear Spring - including her newest offering, Clare's Camembert?

The Seiberts' farm has been in the family for more than 100 years, but Mark and Clare have only been in the dairy business for about a year and a half.  At that point, they transitioned from a farm that raised replacement heifers for sale to others to a true dairy.  Their herd consists of Jerseys and Jersey-Holstein crossed heifers, and the milk is primarily from the Jerseys.  Because the cows are pasture-fed on a strict rotational grazing system, they get plenty of fresh grasses in their diet and their milk has a high butterfat content - more than 5%.  This makes for a rich, smooth milk that holds up well to pasteurization (they don't sell any unpasteurized milk, for those who might be looking for it).

All week long, Clare gets the children out the door and on their way to school, then she heads to their retrofitted creamery where she processes a portion of the milk from their herd five days a week.  They use small-scale machinery manufactured locally, allowing them to work on a manageable volume of milk for their purposes.  What isn't processed on site is sold to a co-op, and what they keep on site is made into pasteurized milk, chocolate milk, yogurt and cheese.  The processing is frequently an all-day affair; for example, yogurt is started in the morning, allowed to cool throughout the day and then bottled in the evening. 

In most cases, the process has some down-time built into it, which is when Clare manages to take care of household chores and necessary errands.  But the processing takes up a significant portion of her day and her output is limited by the time it takes to make each type of product.   This also impacts the variety of products Clear Spring Creamery can offer - Clare is considering adding one or more fresh cheeses to their product list and fans still ask about the mocha milk that has been available on a few occasions, but the time required for each forces her to think carefully about what products she will make in a given week.

The newest addition to the Clear Spring lineup is a soft-ripened cheese appropriately named Clare's Camembert.  Before they started making cheese, Clare and Mark made it a point to visit as many of the cheesemakers in the nearby area as they could find, learning what they could about the process.  That research has been put to good use - their first effort at cheese making is delicious and it has been selling out for the past two weeks.

Despite the name, Clare's Camembert is most reminiscent of a young double-cream brie - it lacks the earthy, bloomy flavor that I always associate with camembert, but it has a silken, salty taste that is absolutely wonderful.  Even at room temperature, the cheese holds its texture fairly well, providing a spreadable but not liquefied cheese that cries out for crusty bread, apple slices, crackers - anything with a little bit of a crunch.  The rind is thin and unobtrusive, without any of the chalkiness or bitterness that turns people off.

Because of their limited production capabilities, Clear Spring Creamery only produces a few rounds of Clare's Camembert at a time.  They sell out quickly, so try to stop by before noon to increase your chances of getting one.  The rounds were originally priced at $13 each, though they are now sold by weight for $13/pound.  Most of the individually wrapped cheeses weigh in right around a pound each.

Clear Spring Creamery's milk, cheese and yogurt are rich and full-flavored thanks to Clare Seibert's commitment to small-scale production methods and the quality of their grass-fed cows' milk.  Check them out next time you're at the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market, and wish Clare a Happy Mother's Day while you're there.

Consider this an open letter from a disappointed cheese-lover to any and all restaurateurs, chefs, and managers who see fit to include a "Cheese Plate" or something similar on their menu.  You may recall a post I wrote about the hit-or-miss nature of restaurants' cheese plates last year - let's just say recent experiences have helped me figure out what's wrong with the majority of what's out there.

To whom it may concern:

As someone who appreciates all things cheesy (80's music, Super Bowl ads, puns in blog entry titles), I would love to be able to sing your praises for going all-out in the introduction of cheese plates to your menus. 

It seems like almost every restaurant out there these days is offering a cheese plate, though they're not exactly sure why.  Maybe it's the increased interest in artisanal cheeses and local producers.  Maybe it's a calculated effort to reach out to diners who are passing on sweet desserts with increasing frequency.  Or maybe it's just the fact that most of your competitors are doing it. 

I know what our mothers would ask...if all of your competitors jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you?  Of course you wouldn't - think of what that would do for business!

Even so, there is a distinct air of groupthink - a curd mentality, if you will - that seems to be driving this trend. 

Restaurant cheese plates SHOULD be a great way to expand my palate and try new cheeses.  But there are problems.  And it's not me...it's you. 

Simply put, most restaurants either overlook or ignore the fact that the majority of people who are likely to purchase a cheese plate ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT CHEESE.

This single oversight leads to a host of missteps that range from the minimally inconvenient to the truly ruinous:

• Unhelpful menu listings that offer nothing more than a price
• Servers who can rattle off every ingredient in this evening's specials but who have no idea what comes on the cheese plate
• A boring presentation with minimal accompaniments that fails to deliver on aesthetics OR flavor
• A selection of cheeses that is completely incongruous with the restaurant's primary focus

But there's an easy fix to all of these problems, if you're willing to take the bold step of asking yourself a simple question:

WHY?

If you're going to offer a cheese plate on your menu, you need to know why you're doing it.  Is it to highlight local producers?  Is it because you are passionate about cheese and want to share that with your customers?  Is it because your suppliers offer some great choices that go well with your menu?

And be honest - if the answer is really "because it lends an air of class and has a high profit margin," own that.  But do yourself a favor and think twice about it before you move forward...cheese lovers will know if you're just going through the motions.

If you've asked yourself "why" and you're satisfied with your answer, the next step is to make sure you do things properly.  Because I'm not one to complain without offering constructive suggestions, I've taken the liberty of putting together a short checklist that should help you show off your cheese plate to the greatest advantage.

To thine own self be true. 

If your restaurant is known for its commitment to local artisans, think about featuring cheeses from small regional producers.  If you're part of a famous French chef's empire, perhaps your cheese plate should highlight some of the best French cheeses available stateside.  And if you are best known for a cuisine where cheese is used sparingly (if at all), maybe you should rethink the idea of a cheese plate that would only confuse the palate.  As much as I enjoy seeing cheese plates on the menu at Spanish, Italian and French restaurants, I find it really hard to get excited about cheese after Thai, sushi or even 'Asian-fusion.'

A great example of this can be found at McSorley's Old Ale House, New York's oldest continually operational saloon.  This is a no-frills, sawdust-on-the-floor kind of tavern.  Women weren't even welcome in McSorley's until 1970.  Even so, their menu boasts a cheese plate that fits their image to a T: a plate with a few squares of all-American white cheese (it used to be Liedenkranz, a Limburger-like spreadable cheese), some sliced raw onions, a mug of spicy mustard and a sleeve of Saltine crackers.  You were expecting maybe brie and apple chutney?

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

If a cheese plate is going to set me back $12 or more, I'm not going to be impressed with a few hunks of cheese strewn haphazardly across a white plate with some crackers and grapes here and there.  Pay as much attention to the plating as you would to the average entree or dessert - think about serving on marble slabs or walnut cutting boards that complement the color and texture of the cheese (both of which should be points of pride if you're serving quality products). 

And give a thought to the accompaniments you provide - while some, like quince paste, grapes and crackers, work well with almost any cheese, there are other options that show you really care: sliced apples or pears, dried fruit, toasted nuts, and tangy items like cornichons can complement certain types of cheese very well and reflect an attention to the specific cheeses on the plate.

Knowing is half the battle.

For some reason, the cheese plate remains the 'terra incognita' of most restaurants' menus.  More often than not, the components are omitted from the menu and curious patrons are required to ask their servers for details.  If you've settled on a static list of cheeses, it stands to reason that your servers should be familiar with what those cheeses are.  Sadly, that's rarely the case.  And in restaurants where the cheese plate changes on a regular basis, it's almost unheard of that a server be able to offer even an educated guess without heading back to the kitchen to ask.If you want cheese-lovers to seriously consider your cheese plate, this needs improvement. 

Local wine bars like Proof and Vinoteca are far better about communicating their cheese offerings (and, in the case of Vinoteca, their various accompaniments) on their menus, and there are some restaurants like Dino that take enough pride in their cheeses to list them for individual or grouped tastings.  In the absence of that kind of detail, however, it is incumbent on your servers to be as familiar with what's on the cheese plate as they are with the components of other menu items.  This may sound a bit daunting, but it's essential if you're going to convince people who care about cheese that yours is worth their time and money.

What Would Cheeseheads Do? 

Put yourself in the place of your customers.  Take a look at the menu and ask yourself if you would have any interest in the cheese plate based solely on what you see in front of you.  If you're a cheese lover, there's a pretty good chance you won't.  So what are you going to do about that?  If you can't draw the people for whom a cheese plate is a natural attraction,  why offer one at all?

If you keep these things in mind, you're sure to jump to the head of the class when it comes to local cheese plates.  With the wide range of cheeses available through local sources, there are plenty of opportunities to put together the perfect plate to complement (and maybe even enhance) your menu and provide diners with a savory way to finish off a great meal.

I'll be waiting.

There are some books that attract Foodies for their engaging prose and subject matter - "Kitchen Confidential" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" are just two of the numerous examples that have emerged in increasingly greater numbers over the past decade.  But there are others whose value lies more in the depth of the information they provide - reference books that become go-to volumes for Foodies who want to learn more about things like how to make salumi (Michael Ruhlman's "Charcuterie: the Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing") or a broad range of esoteric details (David Kamp's "The Food Snob's Dictionary").

For me, the most valuable resource book I have come across since I started writing about cheese is Jeffrey Roberts' "The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese."  Unlike other volumes that provide introductions to cheese-making or the differences that distinguish the various categories of cheeses, The Atlas serves a very specific function: it provides a catalog of almost 350 artisanal cheesemakers throughout the United States broken down by region.

Jeffrey Roberts took on the daunting task of cataloging these cheesemakers as a way to celebrate and acknowledge their commitment to preserving (and in some cases resurrecting) traditional foodways and methods of production.  Through interviews and surveys, he verified that each cheesemaker he profiled in the Atlas was a licensed dairy producer who worked primarily by hand to craft the cheeses that they make and sell.

Thankfully, Roberts did not simply dump all of this data in his readers' laps.  Instead, he dedicates a page (and in some cases, a little bit more) to a narrative that gives some background information about each producer.  He shares stories about how cheesemakers came into the trade (it's interesting to note just how many emerged from dairies that sought to profit from the surplus milk their herds were producing), who runs the operation, and how they perceive the impact of what they do.  Despite the brevity of these descriptions, they definitely help to put a human face on each farm, elevating this book beyond the ranks of simple reference volumes.

For those who use the book for its reference purpose, Roberts also provides a more cut-and-dried recitation of the cheesemaker's details.  These include the year it was established; the owners and cheesemakers; the address, telephone, email and website (where possible); and the types and varieties of cheeses produced.  Each page also alerts readers to whether or not visitors are permitted and where the establishment's cheeses can be found, though this information is rarely detailed beyond an indication of "limited regional distribution" or "local farmers' markets."  Icons across the top of each entry identify the types of milk used (cow, sheep, goat and water buffalo) as well as whether raw milk is used, if the milk is organic, and if the milk used in cheesemaking comes exclusively from the farmstead where the cheese is produced.  These indicators can be helpful if you're seeking a goat cheese made in Maryland, like the ones from Firefly Farms, for example.

As the entries are arranged alphabetically by state within seven regions, searching for a specific dairy (or a list of the cheesemakers from a given state) is exceptionally easy.  Less easy, unfortunately, is determining exactly where in the state each cheesemaker is located.  Nowhere in the book does Roberts provide the sort of detailed state maps that could be useful to a cheese-lover planning a road trip or hoping to visit farmsteads in his or her nearby area.

On the whole, however, Roberts, has provided those of us who are eager to know more about the artisanal cheesemakers both near and far with an accessible and informative resource.  I have definitely benefitted from having it as I've acquainted myself with the various artisanal producers who sell their cheeses at the farmers' markets in and around Washington.

The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese
Jeffrey P. Roberts
With forewords by Carlo Petrini (Slow Food International) and Allison Hooper (American Cheese Society)
2007, Chelsea Green Publishing Company

When Cheesetique opened in its new location last month, one of the most exciting developments was not yet in place.  As I mentioned in my write-up, proprietor Jill Erber's big plans for the new space included a cheese & wine bar at the rear of the shop.  This week, those plans came to fruition with a Tuesday night opening.

Fans of the cheeses and charcuterie sold at Cheesetique can now enjoy them paired with wines by the glass in a casual dining environment.  Reminiscent of a small bistro or cafe, the space is dominated by a white marble bar that runs the length of the left-hand wall.  Behind the bar, large smoked-glass mirrors and red shelves give the space a warm and friendly character.  The remainder of the cozy dining area features table seating (marble makes another appearance on the unadorned tabletops) for roughly thirty guests at any given time.

And those guests are in for a treat.  Chef Cat's menu goes beyond meats and cheeses in delicious, if predictable ways.  Several salads and sandwiches are available at very reasonable prices, with none of the entree offerings coming in over $10.  Artisanal quiches and panini featuring a variety of fillings will rotate on and off of the menu on a regular basis - the prosciutto panini we ate on our visit was definitely a highlight of the meal.  And the gazpacho that accompanies the upscale grilled cheese packs a delicious chili pepper heat in with the crisp, cool chunks of cucumber that swim in the tomato base.  The soup is available on its own for $3, a bargain compared to standard restaurant fare.

Even so, the stars of the show are naturally the meats, cheeses and wines that you would expect to feature prominently in this setting.  Though you might anticipate the entire catalog of cheeses to be avialable in the bar, there is actually a small but diverse selection of ten different cheeses. They are featured on the Cheese Cart that stands at the ready beside the bar and can be wheeled to your table to show off the goods.  Our choices included a triple-cream brie, a honey goat cheese, a raw-milk aged cheddar, and a pair of blue cheeses among others - enough to give us pause, but not as many options as we might have hoped. 

These cheeses can be enjoyed on their own or in groups, and they come served with fresh, crusty bread.  If you're looking to make a more substantial plate, a variety of charcuterie choices are also available.  They range from the familiar (prosciutto, soppresata) to the more unique (lomo - a cured, pressed pork loin that was rich and flavorful).  A combination of three cheeses and three meats that comes with cornichons, olives, grainy mustard and bread runs $25, and it is a great way to experience a diverse group of flavors in one sitting.  The advice of your server can be invaluable as you try to balance your order - but don't hesitate to focus on your favorites if you know what you like!

Cheesetique's bar offers almost two dozen wines by the glass or the bottle, with prices starting at $7 per glass.  They run the gamut from sparkling wines to dessert wines, with a wide range of reds and whites to choose from.  Some basic pairing notes are included on the menu, but again your best bet is to ask your server for a recommendation to make sure your pinot noir and your Parrano don't clash.  A selection of beers that match up well with cheeses is also available, and the connection between the restaurant and the retail space is reinforced by a 10% discount offered on the purchase of wines that are featured in the cheese bar.

As with any completely new venture, there are still some small kinks to be worked out - the most noticeable is the Cheese Cart's inability to navigate the spaces between some of the tables when filled.  Additionally, my wife's order was inadvertently delivered to another table, resulting in her sandwich arriving just as we were finishing my panino. But the service was very friendly and quick to respond, and the team at Cheesetique seems like they are already off to a great start with only one night's service under their belts.

Cheesetique's Cheese & Wine Bar is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 PM to 9 PM, and they do not accept reservations.  They are located at 2411 Mount Vernon Avenue, in the heart of Del Ray.  Street parking is available, and there is a small lot on the block for patrons.
www.cheesetique.com

A pinch is the penalty for failing to wear green on Saint Patrick's Day, but if you're looking to put together an Irish cheese platter to celebrate the holiday in your home, you would be smarter to avoid the green cheese and look at more traditional hues.  It turns out the most recognizable green cheese, Sage Derby, is actually an English creation - not at all appropriate for celebrating your Irish roots!

There is a wealth of Irish cheeses that are readily available in the Washington area, including a mildly salty blue, a range of traditional Irish cheddars, and a pair of unique cheeses streaked with a Guinness-like porter and Irish whiskey from the heart of County Limerick.  Any (or, if you're like me, all) of these provide a great taste of the Emerald Isle's rich cheese-making tradition and a colorful approach to a Saint Patrick's Day cheese platter.

I started with a cheese that I've heard quite a bit about lately - Cashel blue cheese from Tipperary.  Last month's Food & Wine magazine featured an article that followed local celebrity chef Cathal Armstrong home to County Donegal.  This is Ireland's first farmstead blue cheese, made from cow's milk and first created in 1984.  It has a smooth, creamy texture that is reminiscent of Roquefort, but it tends to hold its shape better at room temperature.  The flavor of the cheese is at once mildly sweet and bracingly salty.  As Cashel warms up, you can even start to detect a bit of a musty scent - but the scent is not at all overwhelming.  Cashel works well as a component to a varied cheese plate: the saltiness can balance against sweet accompaniments like apples or grapes, and the creamy texture begs for crunchy counterparts like peppery crackers or unsalted nuts.

The second cheese in my Irish cheese platter was at once an easy choice and a difficult one.  It just wouldn't be an Irish collection if I did not include a cheddar, so that was the easy part.  The difficulty was choosing one -- many of the most readily available Irish cheeses are cheddars.  Rather than just pick a run-of-the-mill cheddar, I decided to seek out a truly unique cheese to fill this role in my platter.  I went with a readily available option that blends the dry bite of an aged cheddar with the nuttiness of hard cheeses like parmesan: Kerrygold Dubliner.  Dubliner is aged for about a year, and during that time it can develop naturally occuring calcium crystals that give the normally smooth cheese a little bit of a granular texture.  It is a firm cheese that crumbles and grates easily, but I tend to enjoy it in small chunks with a slice of apple or pear.

My third and fourth selections came as a package.  I set out fully aware of the porter cheese made by the Cahills in County Limerick, so it seemed only appropriate that I should include it on my platter.  This is the cheese that many shops refer to as "Guiness cheese" because the porter used is very similar in style and flavor to that most famous of Irish exports.  What I didn't know until I arrived at Bower's Fancy Dairy Products in Eastern Market, however, is that the porter is not the Cahill's only alcohol-infused cheese...and their other offering is perhaps even more appealing to those who like to celebrate with a bit of Irish cheer. 

Cahill's Whiskey Cheddar has a network of deeper yellow veins running throughout the cheese where the whiskey was allowed to seep into the cheese through naturally occurring 'faults' that run throughout the mold.  I was taken by the sweet notes that the whiskey imparts to the cheddar, smoothing out its normally dry taste and giving it a mellow, caramel-like flavor.  The porter, as seen in the picture to the right, has an equally veiny appearance where the beer was allowed to run its course.  If you love the deep, rich, chocolatey notes of a great porter, you're in for a bit of a disappointment with this cheese.  The beer's impact on the flavor is more subtle - though it definitely gives the cheese a depth of flavor and a heft that the whiskey cheddar did not possess.  Both of these cheeses struck me as more novelties than go-to choices for the future, but I enjoyed the unique character they lent to the platter.

The four cheeses I selected are fairly representative of the Irish cheeses you're most likely to find in cheese shops throughout the area (and through online retailers like iGourmet).  If you're looking for more of an artisanal approach, however, I would encourage you to pay a visit to Cowgirl Creamery.  A phone call to the shop resulted in no fewer than three recommendations of farmstead cheeses brought in through their relationship with Neal's Yard Dairy in England, including Cashel blue; a washed-rind cheese called Durrus; and Coolea, a gouda-style cheese made by a Dutch family in Ireland.  If you're looking for the cheeses I've featured on my platter, you can find them at a multitude of price points.  Normally, you can expect to pay $19 or more per pound for the Cashel blue, $12-$15 per pound for Kerrygold's Dubliner, and $16-$18 per pound for the Cahill's offerings (the porter is less expensive than the whiskey cheddar).

Because of the upcoming holiday, however, the good folks at La Cheeserie in Calvert-Woodley are running a special sale on Irish cheeses.  They announce their sales on Wednesdays through their advertisements in the Post's Food section and they generally run until the weekend.  I was told by an employee that this week's sale would feature Cashel blue and Cahill's cheeses at $12.99 per pound and that Kerrygold cheese would be on sale for $7.99 per pound.  Those are significant savings relative to standard prices, so if you've been tempted by any of my descriptions above, I would encourage you to pay a visit to La Cheeserie and try them for yourself.

Most of the local cheesemakers who sell their products at farmers' markets throughout the DC area consciously focus on one or two specialties (small-batch goat cheese, mozzarella from Jersey cow's milk, etc.), allowing them to fill small niches in the average shopper's basket.  Keswick Creamery*, on the other hand, seems to aspire to be all things to all shoppers.  The funny thing is, they seem to succeed. 

Despite its relative youth (Keswick was founded in 2001), the creamery has continued to expand its line of cheeses to include something for just about everyone.  Looking for a semi-firm cheese studded with an assortment of hot peppers?  Try the Dragon's Breath.  Looking for a blue cheese with a sense of humor?  Step up to the Blue Suede Moo.  Looking for a dry, aged cheddar?  The Carrock is likely to please.  Looking for a moist yet crumbly feta cheese that blows the store-bought varieties away?  Not only does Keswick have it, they also have it flavored with tomato & basil, Italian herbs, and herbs de Provence!

No trip to the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market is complete without a stop at Keswick Creamery's stand.  They are generous with their samples, allowing customers to try everything from quark (a yogurt-like spread that is hugely popular in Germany) and fresh yogurt to blue cheese dressing, marinated feta and most of their cheese offerings.  And they are competitive with their pricing - not just within the market, but compared to larger producers, as well.  That's nothing to sneeze at, as most folks who frequent the markets do so knowing that they will be paying a small premium for the fresh, local goods they can find there.  But Keswick's cheeses can hold their own against many of the national brands in terms of value almost as well as they do in terms of quality.

On my most recent visit, I picked up Keswick Creamery's Feta Sampler.  Talk about value!  For $5, I received samples of three different flavors of their feta cheese - original, tomato & basil, and Italian herbs.  Each cheese came vacuum-sealed in its own package, allowing me to use them as I chose instead of forcing me to use them all at once.  The cheese crumbles easily, but it is moist and tastes fresh and tangy.  This is a far cry from the pre-packaged, pre-crumbled feta on offer in grocery stores, and I definitely appreciated the absence of that chalky residue that seems to accompany most of them.

To further compare Keswick's feta with its mass-produced counterpart, I reached for some of the store-bought stuff I conveniently had on hand and laid it out side-by-side with a few crumbles from the block of plain feta I purchased at the Farmers' Market.  You can see them in the photo to the right of this paragraph, though it's not quite as sharp as I would have liked.  The most obvious point of comparison you can see is the color - a rich, buttery tinge to the Keswick feta on the left compares quite favorably with the white and dried out look of the feta from Harris Teeter.  But there was another easily observed difference when viewed up close.  The textures were decidedly different, with the Keswick feta having a soft and natural look to its crumbles while the other's chunks seemed more rigid and less cohesive.

Pleased to see that the locally produced option measured up quite favorably to the comparably priced, mass-produced alternative, I wasted no time in putting it to good use.  Although I normally prefer to plate my cheese selections and enjoy them as a pre-cursor to a meal, I figured the feta would work better as a component in a dinner made almost entirely from locally-grown ingredients. 

I started with a fresh chicken purchased from Capitol Hill Poultry at Eastern Market.  We brined the chicken and roasted it with some sweet potatoes purchased from Toigo Orchard's stand at the Dupont Circle Market.  I paired the feta with some diced yellow pepper (from Trader Joe's, the one non-local ingredient) and served it atop the Loudon Lettuce blend from Endless Summer Harvest, who also sell at Dupont Circle.  My wife and I were thrilled with the depth of the flavors that came from quality ingredients simply prepared.

Keswick's wide range of dairy products offers plenty of choices and lots of reasons to keep coming back for their samples week after week.  Though not everything they sell represents as great a value as their feta sampler, you can rest assured that quality and flavor are prevalent throughout their product line.  You can find Keswick's cheeses at several FreshFarm Markets in DC - look for them at Dupont Circle on Sunday mornings year-round, Foggy Bottom on Wednesday evenings from April to November, and H Street Northeast on Saturday mornings from May to October.

* = EDIT:  Turns out the folks at the FreshFarm Market site and in the Atlas of American Artisanal Cheeses had a bad web address for Keswick.  I have edited the first paragraph to include a link to their actual website, http://www.keswickcreamerycheese.com/.  Thanks to Sandy for bringing it to my attention!

For a lot of people in the Washington area, Cheesetique was a revelation when it first opened four years ago this month.  Even longtime devotees of Calvert-Woodley's La Cheeserie and Bower's Fancy Dairy Products in Eastern Market were thrilled to find an actual store whose main focus was CHEESE.

Located on Mount Vernon Avenue in picturesque Del Ray, Cheesetique got some great press early on and D.C. Foodies' word-of-mouth quickly made it a hit.  It probably didn't hurt that Jill Erber, the owner, proprietor and 'Cheese Lady,' has such a deep and obvious passion for what she does.  Despite the small space and the rather noticeable aroma (heavenly for cheese-lovers, but an acquired taste for sure), patrons would line up five and six deep to wait for the kind of attention usually only found at tailors' shops and other more personal establishments.  Jill (or one of her able assistants) takes the time to walk each customer through the myriad cheeses she has to offer, eliciting likes and dislikes, offering tastes as she goes and helping to arrive at the perfect choice. 

She can then help you match it with the perfect wine, or recommend some Fra'Mani salumi or some tupelo honey to serve alongside.  As Cheesetique's popularity continued to grow, Jill made it a point to bring in a wide range of foods and accessories to accompany the star of the show.  Arrangements with nearby bakeries and farms introduced fresh bread and organic meats to the inventory, and a schedule of wildly popular cheese tasting classes has helped to broaden even the most knowledgeable palettes.

With Cheesetique's loyal following and a desire to continue to offer more and more complementary products to go with her cheeses, it was only a matter of time before Jill felt the need to expand.  Thankfully, the opportunity presented itself toward the end of last year, and Jill announced that she would be moving a few doors down into a space almost THREE TIMES as large as the original.  On Saturday, the doors opened to this new and improved Cheesetique, and the response was impressive - even with added staff and increased floor space, lines were as long as I have ever seen them in the original store. 

Fans of Cheesetique would have been happy if the expansion were the only improvement, but there was even more good news: plans to integrate a full-service tasting bar into the new Cheesetique!

By next week, those plans should be a reality.  Tuesday through Saturday, from 5 PM to 9 PM, Cheesetique will offer a wine and cheese bar where guests can sample a range of products sold in the store.  The plan is to offer cheese plates and charcuterie, as well as fondues, panini and quiche from local producers.  The focus will be on small, artisanal purveyors and is likely to rotate.  In addition to the food offerings, wines will be available by the glass, so you can try before you buy.  When I stopped by on Saturday, the bar space was not yet open, so I can't offer any sneak-peeks, but I am definitely planning to check it out for myself sooner rather than later.

In terms of selection, Cheesetique stocks a wider range of cheeses than most of their competitors because they have more space and do not limit themselves to artisanally-produced cheeses (like Cowgirl Creamery does).  So you can find Saint Andre brie side-by-side with Sweet Grass Dairy's "Green Hill" here, allowing for easy comparison.  Their prices are competitive, though I have found a few instances where they were on the higher-end of the scale compared to other cheese shops in the DC area.  Even so, I find myself drawn to Cheesetique for its warm, inviting atmosphere, its friendly staff and their ability to track my purchases so they can help me recall "that great melty goat cheese I bought last month" (it was the Monocacy Ash I wrote about a few months back).

Despite the inconvenience of its location in Del Ray (which is set back from Glebe Road and Route 1 and is not really served by the Metro), D.C. Foodies will have even more reason to check out Mount Vernon Avenue in the near future.  Jill informed me that the space formerly occupied by Cheesetique will now house a purveyor of grass-fed beef and other naturally-raised meats.  Run by an Australian butcher, it will be called "Let's Meat on the Avenue" and is likely to open within the next few months.  The new sign is already hanging out front, and it looks to have the same light-hearted approach to quality foods as its predecessor.

Cheesetique is closed on Mondays, but you owe it to yourself to pay a visit during the week if you've never been.  And if you are a real cheese-lover, you need only ask "What's good?" and give a few examples of what you enjoy to experience a new favorite you didn't even know existed.

Cheesetique
2403 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA  22301 (Nearest Metro is Braddock Road, which is not especially nearby)
703-706-5300
Tuesday through Friday: 11 AM - 7 PM
Saturdays: 10 AM - 7 PM
Sundays: 12 PM - 5 PM
Closed Mondays 

Even in the dead of winter, the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market is a great source of locally-produced vegetables, pasture-raised buffalo meat, and artisan baked breads.  Not surprisingly, the selections are significantly limited compared to the bounty that can be found from late spring through the fall, but there is still quite a bit that can be found and enjoyed.  Just make sure you show up early: although the FreshFarm website lists the market's winter hours as 10-1, I have seen vendors breaking down as early as noon when there's a chill in the air.

The changing seasons and colder temperatures have less of an impact on dairy products than they do on produce, so it should come as no surprise that most of the local cheesemakers who sell at the Dupont Market are still going strong through the winter.  One of them, Blue Ridge Dairy, has been catching my eye from the first time I saw them set up at the Penn Quarter Market.  Their hand-chalked sign advertising yogurt, cheese and creme fraiche from Jersey cows' milk caught my eye, and the samples on offer made the sale even before I had a chance to ask about them.

Since that first encounter, I have learned quite a bit about Blue Ridge Dairy through conversations with the sellers and the Atlas of American Artisan Cheese.  Located in Leesburg, Blue Ridge turns out fresh cheese and cultured milk products using milk from Jersey cows.  Paul Stephan, who has been working at cheesemaking for almost a decade, cultures the milk at his facility and then stretches the curd by hand to make his fresh mozzarella, which is sold in 8-ounce balls for $6.  Other fresh cheeses are also hand-made, including a naturally low-fat small-curd ricotta and lightly sweet and creamy mascarpone.

Some of Stephan's most flavorful offerings, however, require a little more attention.  Feta is aged for two months before the 8-ounce squares are offered to the public, and their tangy bite is well worth the wait.  Slow-churned cultured butter is silky and rich, with a definite flavor and a higher fat content than what you'll find on most grocery shelves.  It is supposed to be excellent when used in baking, though I have not used it in that capacity myself.

And the most distinct of his offerings, for my money, is a smoked version of his fresh mozzarella.  Using applewood, which is popular with enthusiasts of barbecue, turkey and bacon for its deep, slightly sweet smoke, Stephan uses the "low and slow" method of bathing the mozzarella in wave after wave of applewood smoke until the finished product emerges with a latte-colored skin and an aroma more like bacon than anything else.  These smoked balls of mozzarella are sold dry in 8-ounce portions for $7, and a little goes a long way.  Unlike the fresh mozzarella, whose delicate taste and soft, moist texture encourage you to keep coming back for more, the strong smoky flavor is almost overwhelming when eaten by itself.  If you've ever tasted a packaged smoked mozzarella like the ones that can be found in Safeway and Giant (or even the ones that can be found pre-packaged at Trader Joe's), you will be hard-pressed to identify this as even remotely related...the taste is so distinct, the texture so much less rubbery.

It begs to be used in cooking, paired with caramelized onions or other semi-sweet flavors where it mellows into the taste equivalent of a deep bass rhythm.  Blue Ridge Dairy's applewood smoked mozzarella is wonderful on homemade pizzas, as well, where it can stand up to spicy ground sausage and sweet red peppers with equal aplomb.  It can be melted atop crostini or paired with fresh tomatoes and basil for a twist on a standard caprese.  Whatever you do with it, just make sure not to overdo it or you will find yourself overwhelmed by the smokiness to the detriment of your other ingredients.

Blue Ridge Dairy can be found year-round at the FreshFarm Markets in Dupont Circle, Courthouse and Penn Quarter (check the FreshFarm website for each market's hours and dates of operation).  They also sell some of their products through Whole Foods, but it's far more fun to walk up to Paul or one of his assistants at the market, take a taste, and get to know the people who make this delicious local cheese.

When your favorite cheese shop has a sign like this one outside, it's a pretty safe assumption that you're in good hands.  This month's Washingtonian magazine has a great article about cheese, and La Cheeserie is right to be proud of the coverage they receive.  But what does this mean to the average customer?  If my recent experience at Calvert-Woodley Liquor is any indication, it means quality, knowledgeable service and an extensive selection with an emphasis on recognizable varieties primarily from Europe.  Although you're not going to find some of the smaller, artisanal producers that are prominently featured at boutique shops, you will find great deals on well-known cheeses like Roquefort, Parrano, and Manchego.

Calvert-Woodley Liquor boasts an impressive selection of wines, a full-service deli, and a wide variety of coffee beans sold by the pound.  With all of its various offerings, the place is more like a small, focused gourmet foods shop than a wine store, but I'll leave a general review for another time.  I was there for one reason and one reason only: La Cheeserie.  Despite the separate name, La Cheeserie is really just the cheese counter within Calvert-Woodley; but this is no mere case of cheddars and bries!  A selection of cured meats and pates first catches your eye, followed by the open refrigerated unit that contains wheels and wedges of familiar names and harder-to-find specialty items (Gourmandise with walnuts, anyone?).  Stacked in front are baskets of bread and crackers from local favorites like Breadline and Firehook at prices that compare well with those of other retailers.  Standing behind the counter, no fewer than three employees work La Cheeserie at any given time, keeping the lines short while making sure that customers get the attention and the expert advice they need to choose wisely.  Beyond this is a tall refrigerated unit featuring yogurts and pre-packaged cheeses (Camembert, Livarot, etc.)   

The deals here are further enhanced by sales - something that definitely sets La Cheeserie apart from the other cheesemongers I've visited in the DC Metro area.  Published weekly in newspaper Food sections, Calvert-Woodley runs advertisements that mark down various cheeses from their already competitive prices.  On my visit, I saved $3 per pound on a favorite blue cheese.  The deals change from week to week, but they always encompass a wide range of styles and they include the familiar as well as the unknown.

As if that weren't enough, La Cheeserie offers one more reason for cheese-lovers to celebrate: Cheese Treasures!  What is a Cheese Treasure, you ask?  It's a stroke of genius.  More than twenty years ago, the cheesemongers at Calvert-Woodley decided that they were sick of getting stuck with small, leftover pieces of cheese when larger wheels were sold piecemeal.  Rather than throwing them out or combining them into large quantities of fromage fort, they simply re-wrapped the bits and pieces and started selling them for 99 cents apiece, regardless of the cheese's original price point.  Needless to say, customers responded.  Today, the tradition lives on, and the counterpersons at La Cheeserie are happy to tell you all about the day's Cheese Treasures, whether they be smoked gouda, Comte, or brie superieure.  This Dollar Menu approach to cheese is a great way to try something new without committing to a full purchase.  Although the cheeses are sold unlabeled, the sales staff can help you identify your purchases - even if you come back and ask about them at a future date.

Calvert-Woodley's La Cheeserie is definitely unique in the Washington area in terms of selection, specials and setup; it's a great place to find deals on big-name cheeses from around the world.  If you're looking for locally-produced, small batch goat cheese, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you're eager to try something new you can't beat a 99-cent Cheese Treasure and some Firehook Bakery crackers!

La Cheeserie at Calvert-Woodley Liquor
4339 Connecticut Avenue, NW (one block from Van Ness/UDC Metro stop)
202-966-4400
Monday through Saturday, 10 AM - 8:30 PM
Closed Sundays

The popularity of soft-ripened cheeses like Brie and Camembert is undeniable - in addition to their prevalence on cheese plates at local restaurants, they figure into appetizers, entrees - even desserts.  A trip to any grocery store turns up mass-produced versions from companies like Ile de France and President, as well as pre-packaged appetizers featuring brie wrapped in phyllo dough or topped with fruit and baked into a puff pastry.

Unfortunately, this level of attention results in quite a few offerings that are - in a word - tasteless.  Many of the soft-ripened cheeses you can find in stores lack any real flavor beyond a basic creaminess.  Their rinds are even worse - bitter, dry, and chewy, not at all appealing.  The experience is enough to turn some people off to Bries altogether.

But writing off all soft-ripened cheeses as bland and unworthy of a place on your cheese plate would be a big mistake - and I have not tasted a better example of why than Sweet Grass Dairy's "Green Hill."  A double-cream cheese made from the milk of Jersey cows, it has a deep yellow color that hints at its richness.  When served at room temperature, Green Hill has a smooth texture that reminded me of creme brulee inside a thin, easily split rind.  The taste is salty like butter, but the mouth feel is much softer and less greasy.  This is a cheese that begs to be spread on a crusty baguette or scooped into with a slice of tart apple.  Put aside any bad experiences you've had with the rinds of store-bought bries in the past - you shouldn't think twice about eating this one, which has just a hint of mild earthiness in its bloomy exterior.

A word to the health-conscious, though.  As I mentioned before, Green Hill is a double-cream cow's-milk cheese, which means that it has a fat content greater than 60%.  One bite will reveal this with its depth of flavor and silky richness, but it definitely bears mentioning.

If you are interested in serving Green Hill as part of a cheese plate, I would probably recommend offering a salty cheese (a blue would work well), a semi-hard cheese like a cheddar, and a nutty cheese like Parrano or Gouda to provide complementary textures and flavors.  Apples, crusty bread, crackers and toasted nuts (especially walnuts) round out the plate nicely.  For a more adventurous combination, try serving it alongside a chutney or something similarly spicy-sweet.

Sweet Grass Dairy's Green Hill is sold in pre-wrapped 8 oz. rounds.  In our area, you can find it at Cheesetique for $15.50 and at Cowgirl Creamery for $11.50.   According to their website, it is also available at local Whole Foods (though none had it in stock currently, nor could they tell me the price they charge).  Finally, D.C. Foodies can find Green Hill on the cheese carts at CityZen and Old Ebbitt Grill, should you want to try before you buy.

There's no shortage of quotes and sayings about the subjective nature of taste - pick your favorite.  Just because a reviewer prefers mozzarella di bufala to cow's-milk mozzarella doesn't make the one inherently better than the other.  And one person's appreciation of goat cheese has no bearing on whether or not anyone else is going to enjoy Firefly Farms' Allegheny Chevre.

I write about cheeses I've enjoyed and the shops where I find them because they represent my individual frame of reference.  Really good cheeses present a wonderful variety of flavors and textures, and there are plenty of bland or unpalatable cheeses out there that offer clear comparisons.  But it's just like tasting wines - no matter what experts may tell you about the sample in front of you, it comes down to personal experience.

Thankfully, D.C. Foodies have no shortage of opportunities for experiences of their own when it comes to cheese.  With so many restaurants highlighting farmsteads and small producers on their cheese plates, almost every meal can offer a chance to sample a new cheese or three.  Even better, there are an impressive variety of cheese tastings and classes on offer throughout the area at any given time.  More than merely allowing you to taste a given cheese, these formal tasting opportunities can offer pairing advice, recommendations of similar cheeses and details that the average restaurant server may not know.

Rather than give you my thoughts this week, I wanted to provide you with a couple of upcoming opportunities to do some tasting of your own.  This list is by no means exhaustive - and I would welcome anyone who knows of other upcoming events to share them so I can add them to the list.  And if you happen to attend any of these events, please let me know - I'm always eager to hear someone else's impressions of classes, tastings and (of course) the cheeses themselves.

Cheese Classes

Wednesday, February 6th - 7-9:30 PM
Introduction to Cheese with Cheese Expert Michael Kiss
This class, run by TasteDC.com, will feature a presentation on cheese making, purchasing, storage and pairings by Michael Kiss, who sources cheeses for Whole Foods here in Washington.  For $65 per person, the class will offer a tasting of 9 artisanal cheeses, wine tastings and a light dinner.  For more information, or to sign up for the class, visit TasteDC.com's website.

Wednesday, March 5th - 7-9:30 PM
Introduction to the Cheeses of France with Cheese Expert Michael Kiss
Like the general introduction to cheeses offered by TasteDC.com in February, this $65 class will offer a tasting of 9 cheeses, wine pairings and a light dinner.  But the focus of this class will be some of the 400 unique varieties of cheese produced throughout France.  It will include a discussion of regional variations in French cheese-making and will likely touch on the difference between the raw-milk cheeses produced and consumed in France and their American counterparts.  For more information, or to sign up for the class, visit TasteDC.com's website.

Thursday, March 27th - 10-12 AM
Cheese Counter - Cooking with Cheese
This class, offered by L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, is less about tasting cheeses themselves than it is about cooking with cheese.  This is a demonstration class that will feature recipes for: cheese and ham strudel; raj rabbit; Boursin with focaccia crisps; Gorgonzola gougere; and honey blintzes.  The cost is $65 per student.  Contact L'Academie de Cuisine for more information.

Additionally, both Cowgirl Creamery and Cheesetique offer frequent cheese classes, though neither one has any classes currently scheduled.  Cowgirl tends to offer classes that focus on specific regions, production methods, or styles of cheese.  Unfortunately, their classes are generally offered only once or twice each, so you need to be sure to sign up right away if something catches your eye.  Cheesetique, which will soon be moving into a larger space a few doors down from their current location, offers the same class five or six times per month, and their themes are often a bit broader in scope than those of Cowgirl.  Keep an eye on both of their websites for announcements of upcoming cheese classes.

Cheese Events

Monday, February 11th - 5-6:30 PM
Cowgirl Creamery Welcomes Paula Lambert
After returning from a trip to Italy, Paula Lambert started the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas, in 1982.  She has been making fresh mozzarella and other products ever since, and she is the author of "The Cheese Lover's Cookbook" as well as her new book, "Cheese, Glorious Cheese," which she will be discussing at this event.  Tickets are $35 per person and space is very limited, so call Cowgirl Creamery soon (202-393-6880) if you want to attend.

Thursday, February 21st - 6:30-9 PM
3rd Annual International Cheese and Wine Festival
TasteDC.com is billing this as the "must attend" event for DC cheese lovers - over 40 cheeses with an emphasis on smaller, artisanal producers; 25 wines selected for their ability to pair with various styles of cheeses; handmade pastries from Patisserie Poupon; and a full buffet-style dinner.  Tickets are $65 in advance or $80 at the door.  This sort of event is a great way to try a lot of new cheeses at once, though it's often hard to keep track of exactly which ones you liked and which you didn't unless you take good notes.  Once again, details and signup can be found at TasteDC.com's website.

D.C. Foodies are fortunate to have quite a few choices when it comes to locally-produced cheeses.  In fact, the Atlas of American Artisan Cheese includes more than two dozen dairy farms in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, many of which sell their cheeses at farmers' markets and retail locations in and around Washington.  Of course there are cow's milk cheeses (like the Cave-Aged Cheddar from Chapel's Country Creamery), and there are even a few farms specializing in sheep's milk cheese (the well-known Everona Dairy, for example).  But to taste all of our local offerings, you cannot overlook goat's milk cheese, or chevre.

Goat cheese, with its sharp tang and lingering flavor, is not subtle.  As a result, it tends to elicit strong reactions - either you love it or you hate it.  And goat cheese doesn't exactly play well with others.  Sliced into rounds or crumbled atop a salad, chevre's bite dominates the milder flavors that accompany it.  A little goes a long way in recipes, too, where the tart flavor is frequently used to offset rich, sweet notes (think pumpkin soup).

As it turns out, however, there is a local goat cheese that offers an alternative.  Allegheny Chevre, made by Firefly Farms in nearby Bittinger, Maryland, is a fresh chevre, which means it has not been ripened or aged.  The result is a smooth, creamy cheese that has almost none of the expected tang.  After allowing the cheese to come to room temperature, we were struck by the texture - my wife hit the nail on the head when she said it looked like whipped cream cheese.  The flavor of the cheese reinforced the comparison, as it was silky and mild, more like creme fraiche or cream cheese than goat cheese.  It was a very different experience from the sharp, almost sour flavor of so many other goat cheeses that I've tasted.

The mild, creamy flavor and soft, spreadable texture practically cried out to for a baguette, and I was fortunate enough to grab one of the Breadline offerings with the cheese at Cowgirl Creamery.  With some sliced apples and a salty blue cheese, it made a great start to a light dinner.  The following day, I decided to put the Allegheny Chevre's mild quality to another test, spreading it atop a split section of the baguette and topping that with some roasted peppers.  After 30 seconds in the microwave, the cheese had warmed nicely and absorbed some of the oil from the peppers, giving it a richer flavor and highlighting what little tang it held.

The best place to pick up Allegheny Chevre is at the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market on Sundays - Firefly Farms is there every week, selling and offering samples of their entire range of goat cheeses.  Once you've worked your way up from the Allegheny Chevre, you can look forward to such treats as their Merry-Goat-Round (a goat's milk Brie), Buche Noire (an aged and ash-coated log), and their Mountain Top Bleu (take a guess).  Rumor has it that they will be sampling an as-yet-unnamed washed-rind variety this weekend, so do yourself a favor and get there early if you want a taste of something truly new!

If you just can't wait until the weekend, you can order through their website, though there is a markup for the cost of delivery.  Or you can find the same 9-ounce packages that