Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Joy of Cheese in February: It's Better With the Brits!!

In February, our theme is It's Better With the Brits. Why? Well, think of the Monty Python cheese shop skit, or the Beatles and the Stones (or Elvis Costello and The Clash), or Wallace and Gromit. Where would America be without cheddar, which we learned to make from the Brits. February is better with British cheese.

February 2 at 7 at d.b.a Brooklyn, 113 N. 7th St. (between Berry and Wythe), English Classics and Beers to match.
Awesome Cheddars, the very best Stilton, hand crafted Leicester and Lancashire highlight this tasting of cornerstone English cheeses at d.b.a. I'll sample seven cheeses and Ray Deter will present seven amazing beers to match them. Tickets are a mere $20 and available via Brown Paper Tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/95957.

February 9 at 7:30 at Stella, 213 Front St. (near the South St. Seaport), It's Better Without the Brits.
Who needs the Brits anyway, there are great hand crafted cheeses being made in Ireland. And for good measure we'll sample a couple from Wales and Scotland too. Overall, at this tasting we will celebrate eight great cheeses with wines (no not beer or whiskey, wine as these new Irish cheeses are better representatives of the French monastery tradition than most French cheeses). I'll present the cheeses and Vanessa Conlin will discuss the wines. Tickets are $25 and available via Brown Paper Tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/95960

February 16 at 7:30 at The Clerkenwell, 49 Clinton St. (between Stanton and Rivington), The New British Invasion
The contemporary trend back toward hand crafted cheeses didn't start in California or Vermont; it started in England with the publication of Patrick Rance's Great British Cheese Book and his campaign for Real Cheese. It's grown from there to the formation of Neal's Yard and a cheesemaking renaissance of extraordinary proportion. At this tasting we will explore magnificent sheep cheeses from Devon and Reading, a unique cheddar from Lincolnshire and several other new creations. Tickets are $25 (you pay for your drinks separately) and available via Brown Paper Tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/95967.

And in March? The theme will be Only The Strong Survive. Hmmm.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Sneak Preview of February

The theme for February is It's Better With the Brits!
It's not etched in stone but the tasting sked looks like this.

Feb 2nd. It's Better With the Brits: Classic British cheese, classic British ales at d.b.a Brooklyn
Feb 9th. It's Better Without the Brits: Irish, Welsh, and Scottish hand crafted cheese and wines to match at Stella
Feb 16th The New British Invasion! Contemporary British Hand Crafted Cheeses with wine or beer to match at The Clerkenwell, 49 Clinton Street, A NEW VENUE!

Tickets will go on sale later this week