Monday, June 29, 2009

No one can find us?

First: Come drink prosecco with us this Friday as we celebrate our official Grand Opening or something. I know we've been open a month but this feels like a fun way to ring in the holiday weekend to us.

It seems, despite the warm reception we've received thus far, that folks still don't know where we are. Mostly this is my fault as every time I send an e-mail out I forget to include an address. Also we have yet to update the France 44 website with our Saint Paul Cheese info. So in hopes of attracting google searches (I know, I will never outsmart those ingenious google bots) I present St Paul cheese address haiku:

Saint Paul Cheese is at
The corner of Snelling and
the Grand Avenue

One five seven three
In the capital city
Next to Jamba Juice

On Grand Avenue
1573 is
Our exact address

Beautiful. Also I will try this: 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese, 1573 Grand Ave, Saint Paul Cheese, St Paul Cheese,

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Thursday is my Wednesday

Oh so much cheese. Cheese Armageddon has descended on our cheese shop. Lots and lots and lots of delicious cheese in our cases:

My eyes are on:

Marcel Petite Comte--scary addictive cheese, I am officially naming my first child (boy or girl) Comte. Beautiful, no?

Nettle Meadow 3 Sisters--brand new 3 milk cheese from the ladies of Nettle Meadow in upstate New York. Fudgy, unctuous, delish. Plus they're cute as a button.

Brillat Savarin--I don't usually get too excited about brie, but this is serious bloomy rind creaminess.

From cheese slinger Song:

Ardrahan – From Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland and aged at Neals Yard Dairy

Cow’s milk with vegetarian rennet, very low in fat only 25%. Semi-soft cheese with a pungent aroma, buttery textured honey-coloured center. Develops a nutty flavour with maturity.

Berkswell – Sheep’s milk cheese from West Midlands, England

Hand made at 16th Century Ram Hall, situated on the edge of Berkswell village from where the cheese takes its name. Berkswell is located 5 miles west of Coventry in the heart of England. In 1989 sheep milking began at Ram Hall with a flock of Friesland (or East Friesian) and Friesland x Poll Dorset ewes, which has now grown to 900. Ewe's milk is excellent for making quality cheese, with higher solid content than cow's and goat's milk. It also has properties, which allow it to be eaten by people with intolerances or allergies to dairy products.

Ploughgate Creamery Located in Albany, VT.

Ploughgate Hartwell - Cow, soft ripened bloomy rind cheese. It is velvety in texture with a mild flavor.

Ploughgate Willoughby - Willoughby is their newest addition. It is a wash rind cheese with smoky notes and overtones reminiscent of Spring. The rind is washed with Honey Gardens Apiaries Traditional Mead. Willoughby is also washed for special events in a variety of micro-brews.

Cato Corner Colchester, CT.

Cato Corner Fromage d’O Cow - Mark and Elizabeth Gilman are a mother son team perfecting their trade in Colchester, CT. The extensive line of cheese styles they boast is impressive, given the high quality and careful recipe development behind each. ‘Fromage’ is their latest creation. Raw milk washed rind with pungent aroma. The interior is less aggressive, but plenty flavorful. Vegetal flavors, good pungency, and a voluptuous texture remind us of fatty, winter milk French tommes. Better pair with a big red.

Cato Corner Bloomsday – A hugely successful mistake! Created this recipe out of necessity when a different batch did not go as planned. Named for Joyce's Ulysses' protagonist, Leopold Bloom, the Bloomsday is drier textured than many of our cheeses with a fabulous nutty flavor and addictive lingering aftertaste.

Sprout Creek, Poughkeepsie, NY

Sprout Creek Eden - Cow, Rennet: Animal. Related to Tomme de Pyrenees Age: 2-4 Months. Eden is a rare sort of washed rind, very firm and yet pungent. It almost seems to be a washed rind slapped on a firmer style of cheese. Eden has strong acidic notes, balanced by the lingering nutty flavors of a washed rind. The cheese is made on an educational farm started by the brothers and sisters of the sacred heart to help kids get back to the land. Pairings: Belgian Ale, Mountain Whites, Bourbon.

Landaff Creamery, Landaff, NH

Landaff - Made from raw cow's milk, Landaff Cheese is a mild, semi-firm cheese with a delicious combination of flavors, tangy with a clean finish. The open and buttery texture comes with a natural, cave-aged rind. It melts beautifully for cooking, and makes a wonderful addition to any cheese plate.

Dancing Cow, Bridgeport, VT

Dancing Cow Menuet – Raw cow’s milk, uncooled, from only a single milking. A tome style cheese that is sweet and nutty with a creamy texture and long, clean, lingering finish. It reminds you that contented cows make great milk and thus great cheese. The name Menuet comes from a French dance of the baroque period that was described as a dance of many small steps, not unlike the many small steps taken in the crafting of this cheese. Menuet in aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill for a minimum of five months and available directly from them, year round.

Dancing Cow Bourrée - Bourrée is washed rind cheese with an earthy aroma, supple paste and a rich, creamy texture that melts into a beautiful smoky, meaty, lingering finish. Bourree is made from raw cow's milk, un-cooled, from only a single milking. The name Bourrée comes from a French peasant dance with rapid foot movements, much like the cows when first turned out into lush, green spring pasture. Bourrée is aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill a minimum of eighty days and available directly from them. Bourrée was a 2008 American Cheese Society winner.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Freedom of Press

When I first took the helm of the cheese shop at 44th and France my first instinct was to try and get us some press. The little neighborhood restaurant I had worked at in Brooklyn, NY was packed for months straight after it was named the 46th best restaurant in the entire city of New York (that's right 46th out of thousands and thousands) and the best restaurant in the borough of Brooklyn (4th largest city in the country). Good press really made the difference for the owners of the restaurant

So we got a few mentions in the press when the France 44 cheese shop opened. A little bit here and a little bit there but really not too many folks really took notice of our place. Then we were named "Best Cheese Shop" by the City Pages a couple of months ago and we began to see a few new faces.

By opening a cheese shop in St Paul you'd think we had opened the hot dish hall of fame or something. Everyone and their long lost nephew is hearing about us.

Today we had a huge spike at the blog because we were featured in the City Pages Epic Sandwich feature. I've been wondering for months why the Minneapolis shop never appeared in the epic sandwich. I mean, where else are you going to get a house-made duck confit sandwich to go or a oil cured tuna belly? Um, no where else. How about house smoked pastrami featuring local grass-fed meat? Yeah, we have one of those sandwiches too. House-made pork brawn (or head cheese for you francophiles) sandwich--totally made one o those today.

Let me be clear, this is not a complaint. We love that folks are coming en masse to our new shop. In fact it is quite humbling because we still haven't entirely figured ourselves out yet and Minnesotans have proven to be a forgiving lot (unless y'all are just being Minnesota nice and won't ever tell me that your sandwich took too darm long, in which case...). And if folks are going to write about us in papers, blogs, chat boards, etc that's great too. It's the risk you take when you open a business in which you interact with the public. I may not like everything that is written about the shop but we'll certainly take to heart any and all constructive critiques of our business.

In the meantime our cheese case is brimming with delicious, delicious cheese. I can see the news headline now: "Local Cheese Shop Claims to be Selling Cheese"

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Slow Food

We received a nice blurb this week from Kathie Jenkins in her eating blog. It's funny that lots of folks are finally taking notice of something we've been doing down in the Bermuda triangle of Minneapolis for a year and a half now. I hope some of the love that the St Paul shop is receiving will draw attention to the awesome mothership down at France and 44th.

One of the points that Ms. Jenkins makes in her write up about the shop is "Keep in mind that the place is small and new and service can be is a little slow. The sandwiches take time to make so if you're in a hurry it's best to call ahead". She's right and wrong on this one. Yes we're a little slow but it isn't because we're new. That's just the way we choose to make our product as yummy and satisfying possible.

Not intentionally slow (and I don't even think we're particularly slow for the style of shop we are but that is subjective I suppose), but we like to show our sandwiches love and care. We make every sandwich to order as fast as possible, but just bear in mind that your meat will probably be sliced and weighed to order to maximize the freshness of your sandwich. We won't pre wrap them in plastic so that they're gooey and bulging and soggy and drippy and sad.

For the most part I don't like pre-made sandwiches. Often they're gross. It seems counterintuitive to take really nice ingredients and then make them sit around for an hour or two or three or more while waiting for someone to rescue them from their refrigerated prison. On Saturdays at the shop we might pre make a couple of sandwiches but they never, ever sit more than an hour. If they do then they are feeding one of the staff. One of my most favorite places in town that sells some of the most incredible products has pre done sandwiches that are often soggy and inedible. Puzzling.

The second part is that we also don't like to pre slice too much of our product. We're not Subway. If you're paying good money for nice product don't you want it as fresh as possible? We like to sell it to you that way and we hope it is worth the wait.

If you're in a big hurry we're happy to have you call ahead and we'll make the sandwich in advance. Otherwise hang out and talk baseball, or opera, and maybe even try some cheese. There are worse places to hang out then in a cheese shop filled with deliciousness. And if you really need your sandwich faster and you forgot to call ahead you can always bring us a cup of coffee.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

The long way back (also Thursday is my Wednesday)

There is a lot of ground to cover these days. I'm feeling incredibly fortunate at the moment. I'm back in the St Paul neighborhood where I kicked off my Minnesota experience. It was my time at Macalester College that really made me love the twin cities. Not trying to suck up to the native Minnesotans, but it really was a great experience. This weekend is my 10 year reunion at Mac. Of course it is a totally, undeniably bizarre feeling to be in charge of a cheese shop a frisbee's throw away from the campus. My route back to Minnesota has taken me through Israel, Egypt, Jordan, India, Nepal, Somerville Massachusetts, Fiji, Raratonga, New Zealand, Australia, Tokyo, and Brooklyn, NY. A long way around but well worth the trip.

I've worked at a hedge fund, been on conference calls, worn suits, been investigated by the FBI (totally untrue), and managed a small but world class restaurant. All of which have prepared me for my life long goal of selling cheese (I've know since I was 29) 10 years later the snake has eaten its tail and I am back where I started. Yes, this is a cliched time to feel nostalgic but I just can't help myself. And now it is about the cheese. I couldn't be more pleased to be in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood and to be welcomed back into the Macalester community.

Okay! Did you know we also have an incredible shop in the southwest corner of Minneapolis? And that shop is now being watched over by a remarkable cheese talent named Song. Everyone needs to go down and visit Song. She's much friendlier than I and knows a heck of a lot more about cheese than I do. For real.

New this week at both shops:

Vermont Butter and Cheese Bonne Bouche: adorable little rounds of soft-ripened goat cheese. yeah, yum.

Water Buffalo Mozz from Italy is back in season. If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: this is the real deal mozz and way better than that squeaky stuff you see around. Well worth the extra couple of bucks.

Song's Pick:

Piave
(pyah-ve) is named after the river Piave, in the northernmost part of the Veneto, Italy. It has an intense, full-bodied flavor, reminiscent of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Oh, and we got some Askinosie Nibble bars in the big ones and we've got samples to share and man are they good.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Opening Weekend Recap

Overall I'd say we had a pretty rockin' time this weekend. Only major hiccup was our point of sale computer system which just did not want to cooperate. Otherwise everything went pretty well. We still have a long way to go. Expect:
  • another 40 or so cheeses in the next couple of weeks
  • house-made charcuterie
  • a full line of sandwiches including our house cured pastrami and corned beef
  • more grocery product
  • other fun stuff (way to be vague!)
I want to give special thanks to all the Macalester folks that came out and visited the shop over the past couple of days and to all of the local business folks that have been talking us up the past few weeks. We are very, very excited to be part of the community.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Saint Paul Cheese Shop Day 1 PLUS Special Bonus Feature

Big thanks to everyone that came down to say hello to us today. We had a great day despite a hinky computer, lack of signage, and sparse product. The vibe was great and I think we're going to really dig the neighborhood. As long as I can resist the Jamba Juice next door I think it might all turn out okay.

SPECIAL BONUS

On Thursday night I returned to the store with a load of products. It was about 8pm and I noticed this sign taped to out door:
What the author of this note is referring to is that our cheese case is on tile but that there is visible tile at the front of the case. In other words, the case is not flush with our bamboo flooring.

As the note is anonymous I don't have a chance to address the author directly. But I thought it would be fun to use this blog as a way to answer the question. We might even start a tradition of random notes being left on our door. Who knows?

Well, the reason our case is situated set back from the bamboo is due to health code regulations. Simply, we had no choice. The cheese case has a cutting surface on it which is considered part of the kitchen and therefore the entirety of the cheese case must be on a food grade surface. I like this feature and encourage anyone walking by our shop (who happens to be carrying pen, paper, and tape!) to leave a question to be answered on the cheese blog.