Cheese, Glorious Cheese

According to this article, the average American ate more than 30 pounds of cheese last year! I am sure I influenced that figure with my cheese consumption alone. (I influenced my figure too!)

How does one satisfy these cravings the Salli Vates way?

Well, you could start your day in Little Italy by sampling the smoked fresh mozzarella at Alleva Dairy (188 Grand St., Little Italy. 212-226-7990). Then make your way to Ninth Avenue Cheese at Grand Central Market (212-370-4136), which offers a delightful selection of domestic and imported cheeses. Of particular interest to me one day was a Gjetost (a caramelized goat cheese from Norway with an intriguingly complex flavor). Norwegian mariners traditionally took this with them on long voyages, so you might want to bring some along on your strenuous outing today. I also fell head over heels for a Fromage D’Affinois Brie. There is a good selection of Spanish cheeses like Mahón and Cabrales, and many kinds of fresh goat cheese.

(Many are partial to Murray’s Cheese Shop in the Village. Although I appreciate the friendly and knowledgeable staff, I have found that their cheeses are not adequately sheltered from the elements, which include buzzing flies!)

Next, have lunch at Artisanal (2 Park Ave. @ E. 32 St. 212-725-8585). Don’t skip the fingerling potato, melted raclette and coarse salt appetizer. Artisanal lovingly tends to hundreds of cheeses in their specially built “cheese cave”.

You could then meet one of New York's most passionate advocates of raw milk cheese at Tuller (Note: This store was sold in 2007, now renamed Cobblestone Foods. There is still a wonderful cheese selection.) (199 Court St., Brooklyn. 718-222-1661). When I asked Robert Tuller which cheeses were made of raw milk, he answered, “Which aren’t?” I tasted a spicy Berger Plat and a raw milk Brie. I was also fascinated with a chevre with herbs and violets, but I will have to sample that on my next visit.

If you’d like to dine on cheese as a main course, you could try the richest dish known to mankind: paneer sautéed with ghee in a spicy tomato cream sauce, at Pongal (110 Lexington Ave. 212-696-9458), a vegetarian Indian restaurant. You probably won’t need to eat for another week, but why don’t you finish things off with a slice of ricotta cheesecake at Ferrara Bakery and Café (195 Grand St. 212-226-6150).

As a final note, I wanted to let you know that while I am writing this, I am munching on “Les Crêperolles de Pont-Aven, Fourrées au Roquefort”; small flaky tube-shaped crackers filled with creamy Roquefort cheese. Where did I buy them? Jacques Torres Chocolate Factory, a subject that merits its own journal entry.