Need French cheese!

[rereboom]

I am a poor American who doesn't have the pleasure of sampling some of France's best cheeses because they're illegal in the US. Where in Montreal can I go to sample some fine cheese ideally with a wine glass in hand? And anyone have any favorite types to try?

[Maximilien]

there are 2 (IMHO) good cheese shops in montreal worth visiting :

Hamel at Jean Talon Market (I never really tried the other one,

and

Yannick Fromagerie D'Exception (in Outremont).

The later is really a hidden gem in town.

To sample cheese with wine, I'm not certain where there is the best selection and even if we have something like that in the city.

There are a few places that offer a limited (but good ) selection of cheeses, but for a large sampling, you better buy them, get bread and get a bottle of wine and "do it" on a parc bench on a warm summer afternoon.

[emerilcantcook]

Hamel has cheese tastings, but I haven't tried it personally. The atmosphere will be very very lacking, but alas you can sit at the patio and ingest the vibe of the Jean Talon Market. Apparently, they also offer wine pairings if you call ahead. Here is the info:

http://www.fromageriehamel.com/degust...

Ooops, edit: I didn't see it before, but it says this is for 8 people or more. :(

[carswell]

For a cheese and wine, Bouchonné wine bar should be high on your list. The owner used to be the manager of one of the city's best cheese shops. The selection isn't huge but the quality is impeccable.

A lot of restaurants also serve interesting cheese courses, though many feature Quebec, not French, cheeses.

My favourite cheese store is Yannick, Fromagerie d'exception on Bernard West. If you go outside of peak hours, the shopping experience is more like a consultation. Jean Talon Market has three fine cheesemongers: Hamel (huge choice, though something of a madhouse on evenings and weekends), Qui Lait Cru and, for Quebec cheeses, Le Marché des Saveurs du Québec. More than enough to keep you busy. Atwater Market's eponymous Fromagerie is also a great source. And if you hit the Fromentier complex on Laurier East, you can get excellent bread, cheese and charcuterie in one fell swoop.

A few personal favourites are:
- raw-milk Comté, espeically the 24 and 30 month versions (Hamel and Qui Lait Cru)
- Maroilles à la Maudite, French raw-milk Maroilles repeatedly washed with an excellent local Belgian-style ale (Hamel)
- Pied de Vent from the Magdalen Islands
- the locally produced Chèvre Noir raw goat's milk cheddar
- brébis (sheep's milk cheese) from the Pyrenees (they often have Ossau in the name)
- chèvre (goat's milk cheese) from the Loire (Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Selles-sur-Cher, Valençay, Crottin de Chavignol)
- just about everything from Corsica (Yannick's the place for these)
- raw-milk Munster, especially melted on potatoes
- raw-milk St-Marcellin
- the locally produced Tomme d'Iberville
- the blues, especially Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu d'Auvergne and, of course, Roquefort.

Still, the best thing to do is go to a reputable cheesemonger (not one that prepackages and plastic-wraps everything), explain your needs and ask what's good, what's special and what's *à point* (at its peak).

Good luck!

[moh]

If you like stinky cheese, get your hand on a ripe Epoisses. Washed rind cheese from Burgundy. I have had the best luck buying it from Yannick. Everytime I try to buy it from Hamel, it isn't runny enough. It should be very runny, so runny you could almost drink it. Only problem, it is best bought as an entire round. It might be tough to finish on your own, so you might want to round up a few friends to help.

For goat cheese, i have had some wonderful Pic cheeses from Hamel. They are fabulous!

Brillat-Savarin smeared on a cracker with a blob of pepper jam ( can be easily found at Jean Talon-market at Marche de Saveur) - yum.

Yes yes yes to Conte and Ossau-Iraty. Perfect cheeses.

There are also some excellent Quebec cheeses. Riopelle is one of my favorites, and Victor and Berthold is a crowd pleaser. Easy to find throughout the city.

I would say that Yannick is a must for you to visit. No wine, but they have great cheese.

[Moosemeat]

Hamel has an option to buy cheeses at store cost + $5 flat fee, and sit down in their cafe.
That extra five bucks gets you some nuts, fruit, and bread. If you don't know exactly what you want they offer a daily tasting plate for about $10 (this also includes fruit ect.). They also offer wine by the glass. IMHO this fits exactly with what the OP is asking for. Of course, no one says you can only visit one cheese shop while you're here.

[cherylmtl]

Pullman wine bar has a selection of Quebec cheeses to be enjoyed with their wines. Not exactly what the OP was asking about, but a more than decent alternative nonetheless (assuming he or she wanted raw milk cheeses).