Santa Monica gets a cheese destination

Tommy Pollio braids fresh mozzarella

I got a little testy with a Chowhound poster the other day who had the typical New York transplant attitude -- none of the cheese shops in L.A. are good enough for him, the counter people at Cheese Store of Silver Lake are too hip to understand good cheese, wah, wah. I guess I'm just not a cheese snob like that guy because I'm perfectly happy with the Cheese Store of Silver Lake and an occasional expensive trip to the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. But cheeselovers west of Beverly Hills had few choices until recently, when Andrew's Cheese Shop opened on Montana in Santa Monica. Andrew Steiner was maitre de fromage at Patina, so he knows his cheese. Last night we sampled several selections at the sleek little shop, including mozzarella bocconcini stuffed with proscuitto handmade by guest mozzarella maker Tommy Pollio, who comes in each Wednesday morning to shape the curds and braid the mozzarella. However, Pollio is soon returning to New Jersey to open a sandwich shop, so Steiner is working on learning the braiding technique himself. Open just over a month, the shop is adding an array of cheese-showcasing sandwiches and will soon start grilled cheese night on Sundays. The shop also holds Cheese 101 classes every week. One of my favorites was Crater Lake blue, made in Oregon by Ignacio Vella, which won 2nd place in the World Cheese Awards. And everyone loves the pricey Timanoix, a dessert-like cheese from Brittany washed in walnut liqueur.

Palate tickles Glendale's tastebuds

It's usually a good idea to give restaurants several weeks to shake out, but I had a feeling Palate Food + Wine was already firing on most of its cylinders just a week in, so we stopped by Tuesday evening. With no reservation, we squeezed in between two couples, and one of the gentlemen next to us suggested that the way to go was to have Steve Goldun, the wine director, suggest wine pairings for the small plates in small 2.5 ounce pours. Over the course of the meal we were helped by Steve, who also pours two wines he makes himself, handsome French server Alexandre, who is conversant in wine, and another, less-experienced server who is still working on his cheese knowledge, but everyone was friendly and helpful. It was a little tricky getting the plates and the pours coordinated, so make sure to specify if you want them in courses or all at once. The menu is short but attractive, and Palate is quite serious about the ingredients and preparations. There's a "porkfolio" as a starter with prosciutto, mortadella and lardo, as well as a few potted spreads for bread. The butter served with sliced radishes and fleur de sel is made in-house (pictured above left), as is the vinegar we spied fermenting in a storeroom. We started with the fried squash blossoms (right), a nice-sized pile in a light tomato sauce. Then we tried the scallops with corn pudding and chanterelles (below left), which managed to be crispy, tender, salty and sweet all at once. I persuaded Kathy to try the pork belly, a luscious, modest slab that didn't make you feel too guilty about devouring the crispy skin, melting fat and rich bacony meat. A salad of chioggia beets, apples and fennel alongside was a good tart complement to the rich pork. By then we were starting to make friends with everyone around us, from Christine Splichal and her two sons to Fred Eric. After a lovely cheese plate, chef Octavio Becerra offered to show us what's going on in back of the restaurant. (At this point no one knew we were writers, they're just all very excited to show off all the parts of the place). Octavio (shown in the cheese room, below) pointed out the bookshelves waiting for the gastronomic library, the long steel tables for impromptu wine tastings (an abbreviated menu will be available in back in the tasting room), the super-chilled walk-in cheese room where tastings will also be held, the loading dock patio, and the wine store space. It will all be ready in a week or two, he promises. He's also got ambitious plans for ordering whole animals and doing caja china roasts, having small private lunches in back and plenty more. I don't know if the residents of Glendale will be able to tear themselves away from the new Cheesecake Factory to check out Palate, but for sure people from nearby Silver Lake and Eagle Rock and other areas are going to be all over it.
Palate Food + Wine
933 S. Brand Blvd.
Glendale
818-662-9463

It's the Wisconsin cheese at Lou

Lou's chalkboard wall shows where the restaurant sources its meats and cheeeses

One of the coolest things about being a food blogger (well, besides eating lots of tacos and the occasional free artisanal chocolates) is the chance to meet people who actually create great ingredients. Thanks to the Cheese Impresario, I've been able to meet several cheesemakers, and Monday I was invited to Lou for a Slow Food-sponsored Cheesemaker's dinner with Tony and Julie Hook from Hook's Cheese Company in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. I never even liked cheddar until I tasted Wisconsin aged cheddar, and we got to sample Hook's cheddar in two dishes, and talk to Tony and Julie about how they got started making cheese.
First up were crostini made with Lou's house-cured duck ham and Hook's 12 year old cheddar, and that smoky, dense duck ham was one of the best things I've eaten in a long time, complemented by the pungent cheddar. A refreshing salad followed, with frisee, apples, walnuts and Hook's Tilston Point Blue cheese. I had never had beer and cheese soup before, but Lou's "fancy pants" version with Reinaert Wild Ale and Hook's 10 year old cheddar was a standout version, topped with 12 year Cheddar cheese popcorn -- why don't more people use popcorn in cooking? The blue cheeses continued with a Niman ranch flat iron steak with Hook's blue paradise and a Sauternes-poached pear for dessert with Hook's original blue. My favorite wine of the evening, even though I'm not normally a white lover, was the Scholium Project Gemella 2006 with just a hint of raisiny sweetness ("aroma of sticky bun," says the website).
Hook's cheeses are available at Cheese Shops of Silver Lake and Beverly Hills, Artisan Cheese in Studio City and some Whole Foods, so if you haven't had a 12 year cheddar lately, I think it's high time.
And check back with Slow Food and Lou for more artisanal producer dinners, because it's fun to meet the people who slave in humid cheese barns all day so we can eat well.

Cube meets the cheesemakers

Eating L.A. had a lovely time meeting several artisan cheesemakers at Cube Thursday night. My notes are at the office, so I'll embellish later, but here were a few highlights:

We started with a sampler platter of all the evening's cheeses including Dante and Mena from the Wisconsin Sheep Co-op, Toussaint and Ouray from New York's Sprout Creek Farm, artfully served on a slate with the names written next to the cheeses.
We moved on to a platter of pates from Fatted Calf; proscuitto pizza with Mouco Colorouge cheese:

rich squash ravioli; wonderful fegatelli sausage on a bed of ancient chickpeas from Italy and then meltingly tender lamb shank with cheese-infused polenta.

Desserts were Valrhona chocolate pudding with goat cheese and poached pears with blue cheese and mascarpone, both with cheeses from Massachusetts' Westfield Farm.

The evening benefitted Slow Food in Schools, and we enjoyed hearing about Slow Food as well as talking to each of the cheesemakers. Cube is really committed to highlighting the best artisan products, and will likely repeat the cheesemaker dinners as well as adding other types like a charcuterie maker dinner.
Cube is at 615 N. La Brea, and is open for lunch, dinner and cheese shopping from 11 to 10 daily, and until 11 on weekends. BYOB, no corkage.