Cheese Tuesday at L'Espalier

I have a not-so-secret confession to make.  I love cheese.  In fact, I adore it.  There is nothing I look forward to more than eating cheese with a really delicious glass of wine.  In fact, I could make a whole meal of it. 

Lucky for me, my friends love cheese and wine just as much as I do.  Thus, I was happy when my friend KV suggested that a few of us check out L'Espalier's Cheese Tuesday event.  One Tuesday a month, L'Espalier hosts a four course meal incorporating cheese to each plate along with a different wine pairing for each dish.

I was completely impressed by my previous dining experience at L'Espalier so I was really looking forward to participating in this month's Cheese Tuesday event.  KV made the reservation well in advance and it was a great idea since every table was full.  Our friend K also joined us and she had dined on a Cheese Tuesday at L'Espalier's previous location where all of the diners were joined at a community table.  Here, we were given our own table but the entire room was very casual with presentations throughout the evening from Louis Risoli on the cheese and Erich Schliebe on the wine.

This month's Cheese Tuesday focused on local New England cheeses with a few of the cheeses coming from Shy Brothers Farm in Westport, Massachusetts.  The farm is actually run by four brothers and we were also lucky to have one of the "Shy Brothers" present at the event and partake in the dining experience with us. 

Our meal included the following:

First Course:
Spring greens with citrus and Rosemary Hannabells (paired with 2008 Huber, "Obere Steigen", Gruner Veltliner, Traisental, Austria).  The greens were very heavily dressed and a perfect complement to the adorable Hannabell cheeses.  This wine was also one of my favorites as it was very similar to a Reisling, which is one of my favorite types of wine.

Second Course
Pollock po'boy with caper-Nuage dressing (paired with 2005 Dutton-Goldfield, "Dutton Ranch", Chardonnay, Russian River).  Although I'm not a huge fan of the oak in Chardonnay, this wine had a very spicy taste and was perfect with the dish.  The po'boy was tender and flaky with a tarter sauce made of capers with the soft and creamy Nuage cheese.  The po'boy was sandwiched on a flavorful albeit salty foccaccia bread.  This was probably my favorite course in the meal.

Third Course:
Breakfast baked ham with caponata and Great Hill Blue cheese (paired with 2007 Chateau de Segries, "Cuvee Reservee", Lirac, Rhone).  While I'm not a huge fan of ham, the caponata on top of the ham and the polenta underneath softened the saltiness of the meat.  The acidity of the caponata really matched the blue cheese while simultaneously bringing out the flavor of the red wine.

Fourth and Final Course:
Our final course was of course the house cheese sampler with Nuage (from Shy Brothers Farm), Classic French, Rosemary and Lavender Bud Hannahbells (also from Shy Brothers Farm), Divine Providence cheese (from Narragansett Creamery in Providence, RI) and Great Hill Blue cheese (from Great Hill Creamery in Marion, MA).  This generous cheese platter was paired with fresh sliced baguette along with the a sweet and bubbly Carod, "Traditon", Clairette de Die, Rhone.

After four courses with wine pairings along with the generous bread servings (which included a piece of foccacia, mini popover and mini salted baguette), we were incredibly stuffed and couldn't even look at the dessert menu.  This was a cheese-lover's dream meal with dishes that thoughtfully paired wines and cheeses together.  Plus it is a great way to try out L'Espalier without breaking the bank since the entire meal is only $68 per person for all four courses and wine pairings.  The environment is casual with presentations on the cheese and wine before each course and a sing-along entertainment at the end of the meal.  I never thought I'd ever find myself singing in L'Espalier to a song about cheese.  Seriously.  Towards the end of the meal, the representatives from Shy Brothers Farm also spoke about their cheeses and answered any questions from the tables.  My favorite cheese throughout the evening was the Nuage cheese and I was delighted when Barbara Hanley informed me that this product is sold at Savenor's!

If you are a cheese lover, I highly recommend you check this monthly event out.  You will eat well to the point of almost being "cheesed out" (in the good way) and you will also learn a lot.  The tables fill up fast so I'd also suggest making a reservation well in advance.

Here are the upcoming Cheese Tuesdays:

April 20: Cheese and Chocolate
May 18: Paris in the Springtime
June 15: Roman Holiday
July 20: Summer in Vermont