Attended a Spanish cheese tasting class at Cheesetique over the weekend. The class started with a brief overview of the cheese making process followed by a tasting of 10 different cheeses. Other Spanish goodies (lomo and serrano hams, chorizo, marcona almonds, and membrillo -- quince paste) were on the plate to compliment the cheeses.

Cheeses in the tasting were a Nevat, Queso Tronchon, Mahon, Drunken Goat, Tetilla (shaped like the name), Garrotxa, Manchego with Rosemary, Raw Milk Manchego, Torta del Casar, and a Valdeon.

My favorites were the raw milk manchego and the torta del casar. The very creamy and earthy torta is a rare raw sheep milk cheese that is completely made by hand.

Overall a fun introduciton to Spanish cheeses and worth the $15.

That sounds great. Do they have a mailing list for events?

Edit: D'oh. Of course they do - you just have to look at the website.

I would like to apologize to Jill Erber for having purchased a thorougly ammoniated Camembert at Whole Foods yesterday: a waste of my time and money, and the business should have gone to Cheesetique.

Sick of damaged cheeses,
Rocks.

And very well you should apologize for doing that Rocks!

Jill wasn't in when I stopped by, but I was ably assisted and walked out with some great dairy. Unfortunately, I don't get across the river a lot (I was there to do double damage by attending jparrot's tasting at Rick's).

Maybe she'll open a kiosk at Ray's Classic!

Jill from Cheesetique in DelRay posted on eG today, that she did indeed get her order for Castelmagno cheese. I'm looking forward to trying it out tommorow. Already scoping out rissoto recipes in anticipation.
I'm going to pair that with a visit to Planet Wine for a free wine tasting of Itatlian wine poured by the winemaker himself.

Have they started selling meat yet? (An email was sent out a little while ago announcing that they were going to start selling meat from small farms).

They do have the meat, (fresh and not frozen ) in the small cooler to the left when you walk in the door. The last time I was in they had a good selection of beef and pork along with whole chickens. I do not remember the exact prices, but they were not out of line with Sunnyside at DuPont if I am recalling correctly.

I was in just yesterday and saw the meat cooler. For the life of me I can't remember what they had other an a pork tenderloin. Clearly that's what caught my eye. There were several other items as well.

I bought a Cypress Grove Chevre called "Purple Haze". It's made with lavender and fennel pollen. I can't wait to try it tomorrow evening.

New delivery is arriving today, I'm told. Usually, I've seen beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Varieties of cuts and chops.

Hi, All.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier - we did indeed receive our meats and let me just say - WOW! They are so amazing, my husband thinks he's the luckiest man in the world. Here's what we have now:

Pork: Tenderloin (coming soon: double chop)
Duck: Double Breast
Beef: Hanger Steak, Cowboy Ribeye (bone-in), New York Strip (boneless)
Chicken: Whole
Lamb: Loin (boneless). Rack (bone-in)
Other: Kobe beef hot dogs

All meats are hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and free range. If you need special cuts, let me know and I can get you almost anything within a day or two.

Also, if you have any recommendations for new cuts, let me know.

Jill

Just had a fabulous Burrata (mozzarella filled with creamy mozzarella). I ate the whole thing in one sitting by myself. Jill said she just got it in today. It was too good.

Oh my! Burrata is simply decadant. I MUST get to Del Ray soon!

Got this info in an email from our favorite Cheese Lady and thought some of you might be interested.

Our Next Cheese Class: Stinky Cheeses
What more could you ask for? A whole evening of stinky cheeses! We will learn to savor the stink of some of the finest washed-rind and otherwise "fragrant" cheeses in the world. This is not for the faint of heart - or weak of nostril.
Available Dates:
Tuesday, August 16 at 7:00 PM
Thursday, August 18 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, August 21 at 6:00 PM

Please email tastings@cheesetique.com to sign up for the tasting. Please let me know the date you prefer and how many are in your party. The cost is only $15 per person. Act quickly - this will fill up in no time. Participants can expect to spend about an hour learning and tasting. Sparkling water and accompaniments will be served.

Based purely on the wonderful experience we had with a previous tasting with fellow DR.com'ers (as well as our love of stinky cheeses), my wife and I have RSVPd for the 16th. We can't wait to see what Jill has in store for us.

Signed up for the class on Thursday the 18th

I put in for Sunday the 21st. Looks like DR.com'ers will have this class covered!

Plans are in the works to have a Stinky Cheese tasting just for dr.com'ers. Stay tuned for details.

You can read about our first cheese tasting here.

You can read about and sign up for our stinky cheese tasting here.

That's almost exactly what I have to do with the hangers I buy at Cheesetique. When you're ready to take the lesson at Ray's, let me know. I'm willing to serve as your faithful sidekick. (Of course that means you pay close attention to the job at hand, whilst I just sit back and drink heavily! )

Here is the info from a recent email.

The 18th is already full. I think she's adding a 25th tasting, though.

Once again we will have a dr.com only tasting on Sunday, October 9th. For more information click here.

bump

stopped by Cheesetique yesterday with a $75 gift cert clutched in my sweaty palm - the moral hazard was killing me

ended up with a frankly amazing Brin D'Amour (note this bears no resemblance to the tiny dried out discs masquerading as Brin D'Amour at your local Whole Food) - not cheap but worth every mouthful of oozing buttery goodness

also bought some Fourme D'Ambert, Alderbrook, and another whose name currently escapes me but was good - a hard cheese, mild, grassy

I think it was the Ossau Iraty - a new one for Cheesetique. It's a raw sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrenees in France. Mild tomme style... Glad you enjoyed the brin d'amour - I keep staring at it myself!

Congratulations to Jill Erber and all the staff at Cheesetique, Retail Store of the Year in the City of Alexandria! A well-deserved honor. But we all knew that already, didn't we?

ISO SF Drake: Cowgirl Creamery's limited run triple-cream, washed in Baume de Venise with currants on top. A drunken Red Hawk. Bring it on the plane with you for your Thanksgiving trip and make a lot of friends.

Exciting news from the Cheestique newsletter:

Let There Be Wine!
At long last, Cheesetique is now proud to offer a lovely selection of perfect wines to accompany your cheeses.

Our wine selection IS:
1. Hand-selected to pair perfectly with whatever style of cheese you select (look for our helpful notes)
2. Representative of smaller producers and/or burgeoning regions
3. Always changing

Our wine selection is NOT:
1. Meant to replace your regular wine shop
2. Representative of every nation, producer, and varietal on the planet

One final note: When you purchase wine, will ask for identification to confirm your age. Even if you look old enough to have invented wine. Please bear with us as we get our footing.

And most importantly... get in here an get your wine!

Too funny! I was just coming here to post this very thing! The wines are going wonderfully - fun to match to the cheeses.

I was in today and checked out the wines (and bought my Thanksgiving cheese). Jill and our mutual acquaintance Michelle) picked out a nice small spread of wine. I am interested in trying the Proseco that Cheesetique is selling.

Planning for Christmas eve and I want a few cheese to nibble on while watching A Charlie Brown Christmas.

How long does cheese last? If I go on Thursday will I be okay for Saturday night? What about Wednesday?

Thanks!

Jennifer

Your cheese bought on Thursday will be fine on Saturday. Just leave it wrapped up as it was at the store. Keep it in the vegetable bin in your fridge, which has more humidity. Take it out of the fridge on Saturday afternoon.

Having it keep until Wednesday is pushing it for some styles, but not all. Ask at the shop for some selections that you plan to keep for a week before you eat.

I swear by her hanger steak. Quality stuff. You'll be pleased.

I had a short business trip yesterday without any reading material. Flipping through Southwest Airlines' Spirit magazine I came across a one page write up on Ricotta Salata featuring Cheestique and advice from Jill.

On another food note - interesting cover story with the magazine's cover girl Rachel Ray being ranked last among ten TV chefs. Encouragingly to me, Jacques Pepin ended up #1 in their points system.

Good issue to pick up if you're sitting on a Soutwest plane.

Okay. I'm sold.

I see the driving directions on their Web site. Any love for the carless? Does Metro drop off nearby?

No Metro in the area, but it looks like the 10A and 10P busses will get you there (using Crystal City as my starting point).

If the weather's nice, it's only about one or one and a half miles from the Braddock Road metro, straight down Mount Vernon Ave. I can't say that you could really make a whole day out of it, but you pop in on a Saturday afternoon and check out the retro fashions at Remix, have lunch at Taqueira Poblano, dessert at the Dairy Godmother (closed for the month, though), get some cheese at Cheesetique and then add to your wine collection at Planet Wine. All of these fine establishments can be found on Mt. Vernon Ave.

Take the bus back and forth from Braddock Road. More options going up/down Mt. Vernon Ave from there rather than Crystal City.

?
The shops in Del Ray are emminently walkable from Braddock Road metro for most people. It'll take about 15 minutes to get to Cheestique on the shoe leather express.

But...that would require me to leave Crystal City and take the bus from somewhere else. I'm already taking the bus! I hate the bus! Work with me here!

JPW: Really? Just 15 minutes? It seems like it would be a lot farther. That's not so bad.

Segway?

Just ran it through mapquest.
It's about a 1/4 mile to get the front door of GW middle school from metro and then mapquest shows .77 miles to Cheesetique.

About a mile between Braddock Road Metro and Cheesetique would be my guess as well. But there is a whole lot of stuff in between as Cheesetique is at the north and of the Del Ray section and the Braddock Road Metro station brings you in from the south.

Where are you coming from? Im in Takoma Park and have been known to drive over the river just to go to Cheesetique. Fieldtrip?

I'm in Adams Morgan, but judging from my utter lack of self control around cheese, a mile walk to and from the Metro is probably a smart idea...

I received the latest Cheesetique newsletter today and was thrilled with the new gift suggestions. Unfortunately they don't ship. What a shame. I live/work in DC and wanted to send the cheese bucket to a contact in Mclean. It's cute enough that I might have to drive out there this weekend and deliver it personally.

They also have a new class for February. She ran this earlier for her frequent tasters and it was enjoyable.

QUOTE

Please join me for a special tasting event this month as Cheesetique partners with a local favorite: Rob Kingsbury, owner of Kingsbury Chocolates in Old Town Alexandria.

Rob will talk about the life of a chocolate bean – how it gets from tree to cookie. We’ll learn about (and taste, of course) different types of chocolates and chocolate treats. As most of you probably know, Rob’s are the best. Naturally, cheese will also be involved – we’ll be focusing on decadent chocolate-friendly cheeses. There’s even a rumor that Rob will bring some of his famous truffles custom-made for this class!

The cost for this special event is $35 per person. Act quickly - this will fill up in no time!

The three dates are:
Sunday, February 19 at 6:00 PM
Tuesday, February 21 at 7:15 PM
Thursday, February 23 at 7:15 PM

Anybody going to the tasting this Sunday? We're thinking about getting a bite at Los Tios afterwards, depending on how full we are...

Just make sure you do it on a Saturday because unless something has changed, Cheesetique is closed on Sunday. Dairy Godmother is closed for the month (noted above) but you could try Caboose Cafe for lunch as a somewhat lighter alternative to Taquieria Poblano with a side trip to Sundae Times for ice cream.

Cheestique is open at noon on Sundays. They're closed Mondays for the winter but, I suspect, will return to 7 day operation in the spring.

Hmm, we were there a couple of weeks ago and I could swear that the sign in the door said they were closed on Sunday. I could be wrong (and in this case, would happily be wrong) but we ended up at Caboose Cafe and had to eat lunch because breakfast was already over. Now, on Sundays we're not early risers so I'm sure it was later than noon...but as I said, I could be wrong. Only take 5 minutes for me to drive by there and see if I'm really and truly losing it (as my wonderful +1 thinks sometimes).