All cheese dinner at Artisanal Bistro and Fromagerie in New York, NY

If you recall, my last post about Artisanal concerned brunch. Jodi and I wanted to go back for dinner as the brunch experience was remarkable. We were ready for an all cheese dinner in this temple of cheeses! 

When making our reservation, we even asked to be seated in the Cave a Fromages (cheese room) where they setup a table for four. Unfortunately, they told us that we could not have the table on a Saturday night for the two of us...They were gracious about it, apologized and proposed to sit us next to the cheese bar. I was in fact impressed by the selection of cheeses they do have from all over the world: France, Italy, USA, Spain...

We started off with a cheese fondue, small size (petite). The cheeses used were gruyere, emmental and I believe comte. This divine mix is called the artisanal blend that they also sell. The fondue came with some pieces of bread that you dip in the melted cheese as shown in the video below.

The fondue was very good and the taste of the cheese was perfect, smooth and so not too strong. However, the bread was not the best choice: a more neutral bread such as a baguette would have been preferable so it does not overpower the taste of the cheese. Anyway, I enjoyed it. They should add to the experience the "religieuse" that is the thin layer of burnt cheese that forms in the bottom of the pan and that people would fight for!

Then, we decided to go with a selection of four cheeses, all French.

From bottom left, clockwise:

• Roquefort (sheep milk): a creamy, balanced with some spicy nuance blue cheese. Very popular in France, it is a bit expensive in the USA because of the taxes imposed to it few years ago following a ban on hormone beef imported from the USA by the European Union.
• Crottin de Chavignol (goat milk): a firm, delicate and sweet goat cheese.
• Epoisses (cow milk): a classic and soft cheese washed in Marc. It had a strong taste that is particular to cheese several days after being opened...
• Pont L'Eveque (cow milk): with a savory apple flavor, very creamy.

The best for me was the Pont L'Eveque! It reminded me my Grand Father on my mother side who liked stinky cheeses and used to buy Pont L'Eveque as well as Munster "Les petits amis" (different from the soft Munster cheese you find in the US). I think at that time I thought they were stinky cheeses, although now I think that it was my Grand Father who liked them this way and let them sit few days so they got that smell and taste. A lot of people do that in fact and love this pungent taste that is so particular. I can tell you: the Pont L'Eveque at Artisanal was not stinky at all and was amazing!

Then came dessert!

We picked the tarte tatin (upside-down tart made with caramelized apples), not only because I love it but also because it was a Cheddar cheese crust!!! I loved that one! The cheese crust was amazing: it was buttery and you could definitely taste the cheddar. The apples were perfectly caramelized and I really appreciated the fact that it was not too sweet. Definitely a hit!

This was a fantastic dinner and I will certainly go back, but next time I will wear stretch pants...

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!