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Cheese Heads
The masterminds behind the stinky and sublime
By TYLER BALLIET, ERIKA BARRIE + RYAN ROSE WEAVER
del.ico.us
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NO. 9 PARK | JESSICA KINNEY
No. 9 Park house manager Jessica Kinney holds the reins of the cheese programs at No. 9 Park and The Butcher Shop. Kinney meets weekly with waitstaff to review the current offerings and explain the complexities involved in choosing and serving each cheese. Working with Great Barrington cheesemonger Matt Rubiner and the affineurs at Formaggio Kitchen, Kinney also coordinates her selections with wine director Cat Silirie. Kinney notes that it's not just the varieties of milk types and cheesemaking styles that make cheese a perfect and interesting end to the meal: "Cheese is about history, geography, people." No. 9 patrons can explore its new cheese flights—four selections from the same region (such as the Pyrenees) allow for focus on the cheeses' terroir. Boards featuring one type or style of cheese (such as Swiss) allow customers to enjoy the craftsmanship of artisan cheesemakers around the world, such as the Winnemere from Vermont's Jasper Hill Farm or Cappuccetto Rosso from Italy's Piedmont region. Kinney is also expanding the complements served on the cart; she just added a honey of the week. [EB]
[9 Park St., Boston. 617.742.9991. no9park.com]
TROQUET | CHRIS CAMPBELL
Like good or bad luck, the cheese plates at Troquet come in threes: $13 for three selections, $24 for six, and so on. Owner Chris Campbell rolls up a tray of over a dozen choices, a palette of plump, creamy dairy delights with wheels ranging in size and color from a big buttery yellow to a short stout gray. "I like to be able to see the cheeses before I order," he says. "Sometimes you think you know the cheese, but when it comes out it's not what you expected."
Campbell helps us choose a representative variety of regions and textures, slicing thick wedges of each. The waitress slides a wooden cutting board under our elbows, adorned with fresh berries and apples, candied macadamias and walnuts and orange triangles of apricot preserves. Another waitress sets down a plate of freshly baked thick raisin-nut bread. From there it is up to us to mix and match flavors.
A winning combo: walnuts and the Langres, a washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Burgundy, which Campbell counts as among his favorites for its compatibility with wine and its complexity. This one's been rinsed in Marc, a heady wine by-product wrung from stems and skins, retaining a fruity sweet flavor. My companion and I concur: "It's the perfect dinner." [RRW]
[140 Boylston St., Boston. 617.695.9463. troquetboston.com]
UPSTAIRS ON THE SQUARE | MATTHEW REISER
Every night, Matthew Reiser, wine director and manager of the soirée dining room at UpStairs on the Square, meticulously and individually wraps each of their cheeses to preserve the true flavors for another day. "It's not just having the platter, it's taking care of it," explains Reiser. The trolley contains up to seven different cheeses, accompanied by house-made confit, almonds, toasts and even a beer or wine pairing.
The continuously rotating selection is obtained from the coagulated-milk mecca of Cambridge, Formaggio Kitchen. With an inside hookup, UpStairs obtains a high-quality exclusive selection.
Though he's from Wisconsin and should have cheese flowing in his veins, Reiser is lactose-intolerant. However, very young goat's milk, sheep's milk and aged cheeses contain a minimal amount of lactose and aren't bothersome. "Sometimes I do have to take a Lactaid," Reiser confesses. When the stinky cheese trolley makes its way around the restaurant, it's hard to say no.
Reiser suggests tasting in the "official" order of goat, sheep, cow and then blue. His current favorites are a sheep's-milk Brebis Ossau Black Label from France, a hard cow's-milk Mimolette Losfeld and the über-creamy Gratte-Paille. [TB]
[91 Winthrop St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 617.864.1933. upstairsonthesquare.com]