Artisanal

Last night I had the pleasure of visiting Artisanal Bistro on Park Ave in NYC with some good friends, Mike & Michelle Richter.  Artisanal is a French Brassiere and Fromagerie, and we went a bit crazy with the cheese. Here’s what we had for dinner:

-    ARTISANAL BLEND Fondue, a traditional blend of Swiss and Gruyere cheeses with bread and crudités

-    SAUTÉED SKATE WING, with a delicious hash of blood oranges and cauliflower (split with Bill to conserve appetite for cheeses)

-    Accompanied by a CHENIN BLANC VOUVRAY ‘Argilex’ GAUTIER

Quite delicious. But the best part of the night was the cheese course, where they offer a large selection of cheeses a la carte and also some themed cheese & wine “flights,” which consisted of three cheeses paired with three wines for sample.  I had the “Unusual Ones” –

UNUSUAL ONES

Cheeses
Ibores (Goat, Spain*) – Spicy, Herbal and Rich
Amarelo da Beira Baixa (Goat/Sheep, Portugal*) – Yeasty Aroma, Vegetal and Unctuous
Uplands Pleasant Ridge, Wisconsin (Cow) – Nutty, Undertones of Garlic, Wild Onions

Wines
Grüner Veltliner Domaine Wachau 07
Vouvray ‘Argilex’ Gautier Loire 06
Dolcetto D’ Alba Ada Nada Piedmont 07

Unfortunately the wines don’t have descriptions on the menu (though I feel that like cheeses, this should be an essential component of the wine list, it appears most of the restaurateurs do not feel similarly).

My favorite cheese of the flight was the Uplands Pleasant Ridge. I don’t have photos from the main event, but I did purchase some of this one – for research purposes, of course. It’s got a strong flavor, finishes smoothly, and has a slight crystallized crunch to it.  As you can see, the color of the cheese is a milky yellow, and the texture is creamy with a slight flakiness.

According to the Uplands website,

Pleasant Ridge Reserve is an artisanal cheese made from the non-pasteurized milk of a single herd of Wisconsin cows fed and managed using natural, “old world” practices. Our cows graze lush pastures from early spring through fall, just as all cows did before the industrialization of our food system. The resulting milk has better nutritional value and more varied and subtle flavors that are expressed in the delicate flavor profile. […]Pleasant Ridge Reserve is an original cheese inspired by farmstead cheeses from the alpine provinces of southeastern France. The aging techniques we use were originally developed in the Middle Ages when cheeses similar to Pleasant Ridge Reserve were aged in limestone caves and washed frequently with a brine solution. Washing the rind keeps it free of unwanted microbes and produces a variety of pleasing flavors. Because of the time-consuming hand work involved this practice is rarely used today. Our Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese is the end product of a process linked to the seasons and life cycles of our animals as well as to the prairie soils and climate of southwest Wisconsin. The sweet flavors of the pasture grasses, clovers, herbs and wild flowers are experienced in every taste of our cheese.”

Artisanal paired this with a full-bodied red wine that elicited exclamations of surprised pleasure from the members of our table. The other cheeses were certainly delicious – but this one was exceptional.

I was, of course, very impressed with Artisanal. In addition to our terrific meal, they had a sizable spread of cheeses for purchase and a large back room lined with refrigerators for displaying the cheese called the Cheese Cave. Unfortunately there was a company meeting and later a private dinner going on in the Cave, so I did not get a chance to linger in it although I did take a few peeks. Now I know I’ll have to return just to get a private meal in the cheese cave.

I also purchased one other cheese, an eye-catching, bell-shaped goat cheese called Clochette, primarily for its cuteness factor following a single sweet sample of the milky cheese.  Clochette, in fact means “little bell” in French, and it is produced by Chevrechard. This specialty goat cheese manufacturer is located in Poitou-Charentes of France, a region known for the traditional mold-ripened goat cheeses like Clochette and its more famous cousin, Chabichou. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Clochette is matured for around 2 weeks prior to shipping, and has only a 45-day shelf life, which surely unnerves proprietors. I expect this cheese will be difficult to find outside of New York and other large cities, so I am especially pleased to have a little half-bell slice sitting beside me now.

The flavor is soft, earthy, musty, and enchanting. Taken without the rind, I like to let it dissolve on my tongue, really spreading the flavor around the mouth. The rind adds a slight bitterness to the cheese, making it a bit tart, strengthening the flavor. Like many goat cheeses this one can be consumed with or without the rind, however a user prefers.  Typically I prefer to eat cheese without the rind, but lately I have been trying both combinations. It’s a new and ever- exciting way to learn about cheese, and if I want to be a true connoisseur, I have to eat the rind. So basically I’ve been trying to be more open-minded and have been pleasantly surprised.