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Cheesetique Wine Bar, Jill Erber in Several Virginia Locations


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22 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Parking, parking, PARKING! :(

Part of me wants to say that it's a shame having this so close to Arrowine, but maybe the competition will keep the prices down some.

It *sucks* that cheese in the U.S. has become a luxury item.

It is close to Arrowine, but there are a lot of people in Ballston (like me) who once they get home loathe to get in the car again.  For parking- the Ballston mall has really cheap parking.  But I would be surprised if there isn't parking under the building if a Total Wine is going in?

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On Friday night I got home to a quiet house as Mount Vernon is in production of some new videos and Hubby has been on a hectic filming schedule the past couple weeks.  I debated between leftovers at home, and going out, and after some motivation from SeanMike I went out.  I have been trying to find a new bar in Ballston for nights like this when Hubby is gone and I feel the need to be around people.  That was Willow for me, when Chris was there he would pour me wines he thought I would like and we would talk about food stuff, it was great.  After he left the guy who replaced him was also nice, he was the appropriate amount of chatty in that situation.

I took a book to Cheesetique, well my iPad to be honest, but I have been reading, "One Last Thing Before I Go" and the Kindle Reader App estimated I only had two hours left on it (I am slightly competitive about how fast I read, so I like to try to beat their estimates).  They have a decent selection of wines by the glass.  I got a chenin blanc and then a refill.  I was debating between so many food options that looked good.  I ended up getting the pimento cheese sandwich with grilled chicken and side salad and olives to start. (They have a nice amount of cheese options which have a little less lactose in them, which I appreciate) The olives are a little salty if you aren't eating them with other things.  I thought about asking for a little bread, and I am sure they would have given me some, but then my sandwich came and they were good with the salad and sandwich.  It was a really good sandwich, just gooey enough, and just enough food.  I liked the bread, cheese, chicken ratio.  I took some home which will go in a salad this week.  The bartenders aren't overly chatty, but I was also reading.  The guy two seats over from me was in front of the cheesemonger and they had a nice little conversation.  I will remember that is a good solo seat.  My bartender left about an hour in, and the closing bartender took over.  He was really nice and was asking what I was reading because from time to time I would accidentally laugh out loud.  He poured me the end of the bottle of chenin blanc, gratis, which I drank while eating the little chocolate chips at the end of the meal. The food here is really reasonable and I think drinks are on par with lots of other places, and so this place could be in contention.  So many bars in my area are sports bars, or just bars that I wouldn't want to hang out at, this place feels a little more comfortable for a girl just wanting to hang.

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Took Hubby to Cheesetique.  He go the iberico sandwich- he didn't love the jam on it and said it took away from the sandwich and the ham itself.  I got the sassy goat with goat cheese, bacon, avocado and roasted tomato.  It was crispy and very good, I bet it's on the brunch menu as it would make a great breakfast sandwich.   We also got a very nice cheeseboard.  Hubby had a wine and a beer.  I had a couple types of wine, a chardonnay, orange wine, and another white, the bartender was really nice and poured some things for me.  One of the reasons I just love this place is the bartenders are just so nice!  

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I think the sheer size of the space and the fact that the retail aspect of the shop seemed like an afterthought (at this specific location) likely were problematic.

The retail component is one of the big things I think Screwtop over in Clarendon does very well.  Though with Total Wine on the other side of the development, maybe that was a hard sell.  Its unfortunate as I enjoyed the bar for after work drinks with colleagues when I was in the area (and its walking distance from my house).

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On 6/17/2019 at 2:58 PM, Rovers2000 said:

I think the sheer size of the space and the fact that the retail aspect of the shop seemed like an afterthought (at this specific location) likely were problematic.

The retail component is one of the big things I think Screwtop over in Clarendon does very well.  Though with Total Wine on the other side of the development, maybe that was a hard sell.  Its unfortunate as I enjoyed the bar for after work drinks with colleagues when I was in the area (and its walking distance from my house).

I completely agree. I will miss it. But the cheese counter there really and truly was an afterthought. Every time I stopped by early evening to buy some cheeses it seemed like I was causing problems for the staff.

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Yeah, I really don't see a need for the curtains, the Ballston space was much more airy, but I agree the retail space wasn't separated well enough.  I love the menu though- it all tastes good to me, and it's great for a casual meal, and really easy to take someone who is low carbing and get a nice cheese plate (in which I hog all the bread).  I just had lunch at the Alexandria location a few months ago Cubano sandwich was good.

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