Cheese Monday: Andante "Trio"

Shock seized my chicken-fried soul, when I realized I've never done a post about my love affair with Andante Dairy!1  Saturday Ferry Building Farmers Market,  I scurried over to their lil' cheese stand and tried to decide on an extra delicious cheese to review.  Usually,  I avoid their big cuts of Triple Cream Cheeses,  since I can only eat so much Triple Cream in a day and they spoil fast.2    But I made an exception since I wanted to do this post, and a picnic was planned for the following day where I could share.  As I oogled the cheeses one more time, I chose a young piece of "Trio" and scurried back to my car a la this dude at 01:45. 

"Trio" is a glorious triple creamy combination of goat's and cow's milk with crème fraîche.   I've said it before, and I'll continue to exclaim it, that I'm always a sucker for fresh cheese in the center of a gooey  shell.  The richness of cow cheese with the slight tartness of goat cheese makes for a dreamy spread on a good crust of bread.  I found it especially delicious paired with some of my homemade pear & fig jam4 or a nice summer salad.  

I first became enamored with Andante cheeses, when I saw their delicate  Figaro.  A young cow and goat milk cheese wrapped in a fig leaf. 5   We loved it, and became even more excited when we found out the cheese maker was an Asian lady by the name of Soyoung Scanlan.  My dear Mr.Phi always felt like the only Asian around that liked cheese, and felt elated to find a leading Asian cheese maker existed!  Later, I found out the cheeses were served at the holy grail of The French Laundry, so my joke has always been eating their cheese is akin to eating at the French Laundry, minus the other 14 courses.   So I said that if I ever go to French Laundry2, I would skip the cheese course.  BUT, then I paused at this impossible statement leaking from my mouth and immediately said "oooh noooo, I would NOT skip it."  Once again my stomach took control of the situation and set the world right.  

My main go-to Andante cheese is their "Tomme Dolce," an aged goat cheese rubbed with June Taylor’s plum conserve and brandy.  Really?! Does life get much better than that description.  Always a picnic "must-have" for  trips to Napa or Sonoma.   And if you arrive to the Andante booth early, sometimes you can get a small piece of their famously rare butter.  Usually, The French Laundry buys it all up, but every great once in a while, it will be available only at the Saturday Ferry Farmers Market.  An unbelievable yellow color, exceptionally creamy taste, and highly sought after for memorable Sunday brunches.  Make sure to arrive before 9am if you're hoping to get some!  The below event happened to me one of the few times I've seen it... 

So if you happen to be in San Francisco, definitely visit the Saturday Ferry Building Farmers Market, because that is where you'll get to see the biggest selection of Andante cheeses(And if lucky, BUTTER.)  Otherwise, you can find a select few of their cheeses at upscale restaurants or specialty stores.   Good Luck and welcome to Andante Addiction!


1  Love affair would be incorrect, because many are in love with Andante.  I would say it's more likely some kind of dairy orgy I'm part of, but orgies never bring up romantic imagery.  So I'll stick with love affair for now...
2  Feels a bit sacrilegious to say I have a limit on Triple Creams...
3  Mr.Phi and I always say we'll go eat there for our last meal living in California.  We have plans to vacate one day.
4  Would anything taste bad with homemade pear & fig jam? just saying....  
5  Read about how Andante wraps the cheese in Fig Leaves here.  Amazing!

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen's "Craft Beer & Grilled Cheese" Dinners

         

        This is a small painting I did of Heidi Gibson and Nate Pollack, the cheesiest couple I know.  Both are co-owners of The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, one of our favorite restaurants, especially since my dear Mr.Phi is a grilled cheese fanatic. Lucky us have been blessed not once, not twice, but THREE times with their Craft Beer and Grilled Cheese Dinners. So you're saying... wellllll why have you not posted about them before. And its totally cause I'm selfish and worried tickets will become even harder to get. I already buy them 2 months in advance! Buttttttt, I finally decided I just have to write about one of these dinners! They are just too amazing not to share with others.

 

  

The First one we went to was for SF Beer Week in 2011 featuring a Firestone Walker and Grilled Cheese Pairing. Death nearly happened that dinner, because we could not pace ourselves. We tried to eat every grilled cheese, Mr.Phi attempted to drink his weight in beer....so many rookie mistakes! I actually don't have the menu for that one, because they wanted to keep it for my sketches. The second dinner was in Fall of 2011 with Shmaltz Brewing Company and we brought good friends H&J to share the glory.(You can view that menu here)  The most shocking part the second time around was it was just as good, if not better! All the sandwiches that night seemed to be odes to different breakfast flavors and I got to try Wise Sons Pastrami for the first time. Countless swoons happened during that dinner!.  Sooooo of course we went to their Firestone Walker Part2 Dinner this past February for the 2012 SF Beer Week!(see menu above) Our friends H&J joined us again and we were all giddy with expectation!1

 

For the first time they served an appetizer for a welcome round. A "Herbed Chevre Fondue with Pink Lady Apples" The Fondue was not as warm as I would of liked, but that doesn't mean we didn't keep it with us to dip our crusts in for later courses after the apple slices ran out. Heady House was a surprise beer guest just like in 2011 and paired their Saison with the tasty Fondue app. I was sad there were no Beer Cocktails like 2011, but that may of been because of how many people went stumbling out that night hah.

  

Our mouths were watering with anticipation as the first Grilled Cheese appeared among us. "Bellwether Farms Carmody, Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold, and Redwood Hills Goat Cheddar on Acme Pain De Mie." Squeeallll, I always find myself falling in love with the first sandwich of the night, because it's just a simple grilled cheese. I'm a big fan of simplicity in food and just letting the ingredients shine. So of course, this was my fave of the night, especially with such an amazing combo of California cheeses.2 I could not help but eat all of it IMMEDIATELY, and was happy to wash it down with a Pale 31, the first Firestone Walker of the night!

 

At this point in the dinner everyone is certainly cheery. The anticipation of the first course is gone and everyone has settled in for a great meal. The second grilled cheese to arrive was a "Jasper Hill Cabot Cheddar Clothbound Cheddar, Golden Gates Meats Roast Beef, roasted Yukon Golds, Garlic-chive butter and Horseradish cream on Pinkie's Bakery Levain." Holy Moly, shi8t just got real. Potatoes on a Sandwich, that is definitely going after a Texan gal's heart. I love the commitment here to using local butchers and bakeries. I never knew of Golden Gate or Pinkie, until these dinners and now I love to visit each. Mr.Phi experienced a slight wave of jealousy as I proclaimed "This sandwich is my boyfriend." I guess it was too manly with all that savoridelishiness! Paired with FireStone Walkers DBA and after taking a few sips of that beer, Mr.Phi forgot all about my 5 minute epic love affair.

 Usually the third course for me can be a lil disappointing for me...BECAUSE, I realize we're in the middle and the end is looming around the corner. Wah!  But American Grilled Cheese has fixed this by serving a mini-biscuit. I'm a complete sucker for biscuits, so I feel like they belong to a whole other elite category for me.3  And I have to proclaim that The American produces some of the most prolific biscuits EVER!  These were called "Breakfast in Bed" mini biscuits-"Beehive Cheese Co's Barely Buzzed and Tumalo Farms Fenacho topped with a fried quail egg"....can I get a hallehujiah ehhhhhh! Nate Pollak was really kind and made it rain biscuits at our table. Giving us a few to take home as well as he noticed my tears of joy as I shoved them with glee in my mouth. Paired with FireStoneWalker's Reserve Robust Porter..... life got too good to bare for a few minutes.

 

 Now for the bittersweet part of dinner, the final grilled cheese....le sigh. But, this is the one Mr.Phi always waits in giddy expectation for because it is S-P-I-C-E-Y!!  The secret to the extreme spiciness at The American is they use raw jalapenos and I must agree, it is amazing. A "Pondhopper Cheese, Laura Chenel Chevre, Zoe's bacon and freshly cut jalapenos on Artisan Sourdough" This is the one that makes Mr.Phi cry, not for its hawtness, but because the last bite signifies the end until the next grilled cheese dinner. Luckily it was paired with FireStone Walker's Union Jack, so we had an amazing beer to drown all our sorrows.

 Of course, the sorrow is fleeting when Heidi's Stout Chocolate Cake is laid in front of us.4  This is no-joke, one of my top 5 chocolate cakes ever, maybe even #1. Our friend J commented that every time he took a bite he could hear Barry White singing. Seriously, the cake is so rich, moist,deleshious....ooooh baby!   There is just so much love packed in the cake, it just knocks all the wah out of you.  Heidi uses the Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin to make the cake, so of course it pairs unbelievably when you have a glass of the beer with it.

 So that was the night in February and it was unbelievable as usual. On a small side note, Heidi Gibson was a super trooper and came in even though her leg was in cast. Not to diss the kitchen at all, because the food was amazing... BUT, I could tell having eaten at the previous 2 dinners that there was something missing from the food with her not being present in the kitchen. Does she sprinkle magic cheese dust or something, because the food is epic when she's in charge?! I guess that's why she was a Grilled Cheese Champion for so long!
 To close up, what I love about these dinners, besides the amazing food and beer, is the camaraderie of the evening.  From everyone in the kitchen, to the brew masters who give great talks, to the waitstaff who put so much effort into making sure you have a grand evening... you can just tell this is a big labor of love.  Hope to continue our lucky streak of attending these amazingly cheesy dinners and wish to share one with you in the future!

Notes:
1. The space is small at The American, so I would say party of four at most.
2.  California Cheeses are always unbelievable.  What is up with this and why am I so lucky to live here?!
3.  If there is a biscuit involved with any meal I have, it is always my favorite part! No matter what is served with is...fancy meats, intricate dishes.. its all about the biscuit! Texan 4Life...
4. I still need that recipe, Heidi! ;D