Cheese Shops?

Anyone know of a good cheese shop in LA or OC areas? I'm looking for a good selection of various cheeses, open to tasting samples is a plus. Thanks

[OCEllen]

There is Frog's Beath on Glassel in Orange just north of the circle - it isn't wildly wonderful in terms of selection (or knowledable staff) but friendly and I think they want to grow.

[Hughlipton]

If you are in the Valley give the Village Gourmet a try. They are on Tujunga just South of Moorpark, basically right next door to Vitello's. Very good cheese and gourmet smoked meats selections. Imported sopressata and italian salami. Imported chorizo. Good and fresh cheeses. Love that Humboldt Fog.

[mojoeater]

I highly recommend The CheeseStore of Silverlake. Excellent cheese, knowledgable staff, and good wine selection. It is located right at Sunset Junction. Say Cheese is a different place next to Trader's. Nice people, but not as good selection.

[perk]

I certainly agree with the Beverly Hills and Silverlake Cheese Shops.
But you might be surprised to know that there is a little marketplace attached to Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock that has a wonderful cheese section. Service is quite knowledgeable and they really pride themselves on the selection. Prices are good, too.

[SauceSupreme]

Curds... could someone be making POUTINE!?!

[bulavinaka]

I hear Stroh's on Abbot Kinney does... Hrhboo made a couple of mentions about this about a month ago... haven't heard anything since...

[Dommy]

There is a guy at the Hollywood FM who had curds...

--Dommy!

[SauceSupreme]

I could never find him; where is he in relation to the Ivar/Selma crossroad?

[Dommy]

He is on the Ivar wing close to Sunset.

--Dommy!

[maudies5]

The Cheese Store in BH is the gold standard.

[PseudoNerd]

My favorite is the Cheese Store of Silver Lake, as the one in BH is rather...lacking in terms of service. If you're not an older woman in an old school (not a newfangled) St. John suit who's planning a party, expect to wait until other such women have been assisted. Both stores are nice about samples-- the CSSL much more so, I'd say...

While M. Marcel has a decent selection at times, I don't think it's competitively priced at all. The cafe, however, provides a good place to eat them in some quantity...

[epop]

there's supposed to be a cheese shop on la brea but i don't know the name--- anyone been?

[bite bite]

They sell cheeses at the La Brea Bakery shop next to Campanili. Not huge but some good cheeses and they do samples. Whole Foods on Santa Monica and Fairfax has a really good selection. I'm another fan of the Artisan Cheese Gallery -- they make some damn tastey sandwiches here too -- but service not super-fast .

[ecco22]

I just have to say that for the prices, WF is the worse. How can I possibly pay 20 or more a pound for a cheese that they precut over a week before? Cheese degrades, quickley, even when wrapped in plastic wrap and should not be precut.

[Chowpatty]

I think you're thinking of Cube -- fairly small selection, but well-edited. Great charcuterie, too.

[epop]

that's it! thank you. haven't been but will

[mrbyll]

Frogs Breath on Glassel in Orange, just off the plaza. Good selection and easy to sample.

[lilygirl]

I have found cheese curd at the Hollywood Farmers' Market (hollywood blvd.) on Sunday Mornings.

[shnomac77]

Any places to get good o'l curds out here in Cali?

[glutton]

They've appeared at some farmers market... when they appear, it's all very dramatic. The sky breaks, a ray of sunlight shines on the vendor, the angels sing, and the cheese curd sample is offered to me. It's quite miraculous, really.

[shnomac77]

Ah the power of curds.... Thats really what the slogan should be!

[bulavinaka]

Ok folks - now you're getting a little too cheesy...;->

[Dommy]

Love Surfas for Cheese, it doesn't have the widest selection, but it's priced a bit lower than most places! :)

--Dommy!

[bulavinaka]

Venice has two small but great offerings: Market Gourmet, 1800A Abbot Kinney, and Stroh's Gourmet, 1239 Abbot Kinney. Market Gourmet has cheese tastings regularly - not much of a cheesehead personally but folks in the neighborhood really like both.

I second and third the Silverlake Say Cheese store. It's terrific, and right in the midst of chowhound grocery heaven next to Gelson's and Trader's.

I can't agree with the Artisan Cheese Gallery rec., though. I find thei selection weird, the service weird and often uninformed, the prices high, and the store strangely empty of other stuff. I have been there three or four times now and each time I leave shaking my head.

I like the Artisan Cheese Gallery on Ventura in Studio City. They'll let you sample whatever, and they have hundreds of cheeses. Mmmmmmmmmmm triple cream....yummy, montgomery cheddar, and who can turn down a good piece of Amish cheese? Stilton?

Oh golly.

Link: http://www.artisancheesegallery.net/

By the way, the site is still sort of under construction!

Say Cheese has a nice assortment.

Located at: 2800 Hyperion in Los Angeles

[rednyellow]

I love Say Cheese!

While I agree with DanaB re the Cheese Store of BH and of Silverlake, I now get my cheese from Monsieur Marcel at Farmer's Market (tucked in a little corner, it's a real find). They have cheese by the truckload, and only buy the best. They give you samples (unlike the stingy folks in Silverlake) and, best of all as far as I am concerned, Monsieur Marcel has a cafe attached to the cheese and gourmet food shop where you can stop for a lunch / dinner of delicious quiche, soup, salad or other. I highly recommend both the store and the cafe.

As a side note: Monsieur Marcel is less expensive for the same cheese varieties than either Cheese Store (BH or Silverlake). They also have some really terrific, very affordable wines if you want something to go with your cheese...

Monsieur Marcel
6333 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90036
[phone]
Cross Street: Fairfax Avenue

Oh i'll have to check out Monsieur Marcel next time I go to the Farmer's Market. I must have not noticed it before.

[ecco22]

I gotta say, that I don't go to marcel anymore b/c the cheeses I've gotten there haven't been in good shape. I also wasn't happy with the service. I have found that BH maintains the highest standards with their cheeses and they have a far far larger selection than either other store. I liked Say Cheese in Silverlake as well, but their selection is tiny.

I don't think that price comparison always holds between the two stores. The last time I was at MM the prices were very high for several popular but industrial cheeses. They were not good value, nor where meats or sausage.

[glutton]

I'm very surprised to see this recommendation. My experience with cheese at monsieur marcel has been less than gratifying. The service has little to no knowledge and they are relatively slow to respond. They did not offer a sample unless prodded, which should never happen at a proper cheese store. Their prices were roughly in line with other stores in the area. And their greatest transgression... they mingled their blue cheeses with non-blue cheeses. Consider the blue cheese to be the fox and the other cheeses to be the chickens and you'll get an accurate picture of the ensuing tragedy. Frankly, their handling and serving of cheese was very amateurish.

They had many other nice things at the store, especially in the wine section. Their cheeses, however, are a different story.

[jazmin]

i buy most of my cheeses ast monsieur marcel mostly when this young twenty something guy is working. he knows his cheese. the other people that work there, i can't comment.

In Los Angeles County, I would say the best is the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, followed by the Cheese Store of Silverlake. The proprietor of the Cheese Store of Silverlake trained at the B.H. venue. They aren't formally affiliated, but both have excellent standards, and offer samples.

The link for the Cheese Store of Silverlake, with address, etc., is here:

http://www.cheesestoresl.com/

The link for the B.H. store is below.

Link: http://www.cheesestorebh.com/

If you're in the Valley, your destination is the Artisan Cheese Gallery -- after a rocky start it seems to have improved dramatically, both in terms of selection of cheeses and in knowledge of the cheeses.

I haven't been to the Beverly Hills or Silverlake cheese shops, but I did like the Artisan Cheese Gallery. They give you samples of everything, and I was very happy with the cheeses I bought. Prices were reasonable as well, especially since you can buy whatever size chunk of cheese suits you. The woman who helped me was kind of snobbish, but the other employees I observed seemed friendly.

I liked the taste of the Spanish goat cheese I bought at the Artisan Cheese Gallery, but it was $24.50 per pound.

Thank you two very much, exactly what I was looking for!