Provincial Fine Foods "About Cheese"

[Darksyde]

I went to a little cheese shop at 3467 Yonge St., in search of a bottle of delicious spruce beer. (It's the only place I know of in Toronto that sells it!) What I found was a foodies dream.

All sorts of different cheeses, both "regular" and artisan, high quality foodstuffs, and a wonderful assortment of spices.

The staff there was wonderful as well, knowledgeable and friendly, they greeted my friend and myself with some samples of a wonderful goat cheese, and helped us find everything we needed.

An overall wonderful experience, I highly recommend it!

[domesticgodess]

I went a year ago and didnt find a huge selection of cheese...or anything else of substance (a few crackers, vinegars were on the shelf).
cheese emporium on avenue road is my fave (in the neighborhood).

[juno]

About Cheese occupies a small store front on Yonge St. a few doors south of a big Loblaw's at the City Limits, south of York Mills Rd. So naturally, it hopes to snag trade from shoppers bored by the large, pre-packaged cheeses on display at the nearby supermarket. As domesticgodess has pointed out, their cheese selection is smallish, but also select - no standard-issue three-year-old cheddars here - and, if you're a cheese buff and are prepared to pay the considerable pop, you may like what it offers, which seems to be mainly artisan cheeses from Quebec. The amiable staff offered me slivers of Magic de Madawaska ($50 a kilo) and Cure Hebert ($60 a kilo), both of which had distinct tastes I found appealing. I may even be back (after I save up awhile) for a small chunk of the Madawaska. Aside from the main course - the cheeses - there are prepared soups, vinegars, spices and assorted noshes, many of which are startlingly priced. I noted the spruce beer, mentioned by Darksyde, resplendent in the fridge, in a glass flagon topped by a cork similar to that used in some bottles of Grolsch beer, but was afraid to ask the price, in case the answer would send me screaming from the premises. I never did think birch beer tasted substantially different from root beer anyways.

In short, if you have discretionary income - as many in that neighborhood do - it might be fun to drop in to About Cheese, if only to see jars of soup priced up to $20. Knowledgable staff.

[mrbozo]

Ah, spruce beer knocks birch beer flat. Did you happen to notice if they had any Pied-de-Vent cheese from the Magdalen Islands?

[juno]

None of the cheeses on display sported signs indicating what they were (or their prices), and I didn't much care to ask "What's this?" or "What's that?" or "How much is that?" more than once or twice. I also don't know what a wheel of Pied-de-Vent looks like, or even if it comes in a wheel, so if it was present in the showcase, I'm unaware of it. I suspect the names of the cheeses aren't evident so the staff can engage you in a dialogue about the glories of their cheeses and the justification of their elevated prices. One thing's for sure: if you like Kensington Market's Global Cheese, you won't like this joint.