Brookville is a great neighbourhood supermarket serving the Cleveland Park community. It’s small, but carries all the essentials that you might need and prices aren’t too inflated. It even has a great meat section, with duck confit and duck bacon from D’Artagnan or marrow bones, kosher food and a great little cheese selection. I actually had a hard time limiting myself to 4 cheeses, but here is what I selected there:
Champignon German Brie with Mushrooms ($5.98) is a double cream, soft-ripened cheese enhanced by the addition of handpicked mushrooms. There’s a reason Germany isn’t known for its cheeses. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a perfectly fine piece of cheese and it’s not too expensive so I can see adding it to a large cheese tray for a wine and cheese party. Its “mushroomy” flavour is supposed to develop as it ripens so maybe I just need to wait a little longer because right now, it’s kind of just bland…
Cypress Grove Chevre Humboldt Fog $7.20 – This California aged goat cheese isn’t cheap, but it is worth it!! It’s a beautiful lusciously creamy cheese, with a distinctive ribbon of organic vegetable ash running through the center. Humbolt Fog is a rather complex cheese, with flavours ranging from a mild center to a more distinctively goaty rind. Like many goat cheeses, it pairs well with white wines like Sauvignon Bland. I would recommend taking it out of the fridge at least a few hours before serving.
Chaumes Soft Riped Cheese $5.67 – In my Trader Joes Fromage Friday, I tried the Port Salut, a semi-soft cheese made from cow’s milk with a distinctive orange crust and a mild flavour. Chaumes is a similar cheese, also characterized by a mild flavour and a distinctive orange crust. This orange crust creates a noticeable aroma, which makes Chaumes the perfect introduction to France’s smelly cheeses. It stronger (and more pungent) than Port Salut but smells like roses compared to Munster 😉 I personally don’t love its rubbery texture but it’s a very popular cheese in France and it adds a little colour on a cheese plate.
Bucheron Soignon ($3.24) is a semi-aged goat cheese from the Loire Vallee. It is produced in short logs (hence the name: une bûche is a log, un bûcheron is a lumberjack) that are sliced and sold in smaller rounds. With bucherons, you almost get two cheeses within one: the center is creamy and mild while the edge near the rind is harder tangier and more complex that your average goat cheese. The rind is definitely on the salty side and melts very well in an omelette, while the center is perfect crumbled in a salad. All around, a great (and affordable) cheese!
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