Ah, dammit, a review for Formaggio's is going to be awhile...what do I leave out?
As the holiday season approaches, I'm bi-manic. One, oh, pray tell, what gifts to get?, which is manic stress. Two, is what foods do I bring to my family, and that's pretty much foodie mania, dare I say nirvana. With a little help from our friends at Hi-Rise, we got a little gourmet ghetto in exclusive Huron Village.
So, holiday food, right! Pretty much a fam tradition to kick off with a wheel of Vacherin Mont d'Or. Vacherin is a seasonal Christmas time cheese only. If that wasn't exclusive enough, Formaggio's doesn't have just any Mont d'Or, they have one made by a little old Swiss lady in the hills of Jura and 5 cows with names. At home, we bake it just as they do in Europe. After it's warmed, we crowd around the kitchen table, carefully lift the wood top, and without further ado, unceremoniously violate the camembert-like rind with rustic Hi-Rise bread. We scoop up oozy lactic treasure, pop it in our mouths, savor, and wow, it tops any fondue any of us had anywhere. If you are not with your family, but your lover, Mont d'Or bukkake style would definitely top the foodsex scene in 9 1/2 Weeks if you are looking for thrills beyond whipped cream and fruits. Kiss-slurp-lick. Maybe not in that order, dunno what's your flavor profile would be.
The other seasonal cheese I like very much comes out in spring. The name escapes me but it is a special Camenbert with fern leafs on top of it. It's dag nasty stinky enough to blow off the French, so you must practice the self-love if you eat it. Perhaps that's why they ship it here. Commie Jerks.
I will pronounce, Formaggio's is still the best cheese shop in the country. Don't buy at Whole Foods, they can't ripen as well as these world-renowned experts. They deserve cheese knighthood.
Moving on, have to point out the Turkish variety of pistachio's here. They are likely co-owners Ihsan G.'s find, and as a Turk, he knows full well that Turkey has the best nuts and dried fruits on the planet. Absolutely addictive, I can never buy enough to last through Christmas.
An esoteric item that they stock recently is Jamón Ibérico. If Prosciutto puts you in pillow-talk mode, the Black-footed Pig of Spain will have you completely undone, foodie devastation to the heart. This year I hope to score the ultimate Jamón, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, which is the same pig, exclusively raised on it's natural diet of acorns. Yes, acorns. This is one very serious, very black, and monk-like eating pig. I'm vegetarian and will make exceptions for this. I'll eat a fellow vegetarian monk, sure, why not. I have not seen any Iberico's in NY, not even the Spanish provisions store in SoHo. (But they probably got it this year.) It's fairly pricey though, at 100 dollars a pound. Slice thinly?
Chocolate? I'm not a huge fan, but Côte d'Or, not to be confused with Mont d'Or, is my favorite affordable chocolate. It's still real Belgian, even though Kraft bought them a few years back. The bar called Noir de Noir 56% is just about perfect, even though I typically favor 65% cocoa solids density. The same blend comes in cute single servings called "Mignonettes". Of course, they have a million other to try.
Well, there's way too many things at Formaggio to discover. It's foodie spelunking. Let's cheer the Sidewalk BBQ on Saturday. It is the best BBQ in Boston. Hallie's Flower Garden, the best florist in Cambridge.
But there are things are things I'm not to jazzed on. You can't just buy everything here, you have to be selective.
Bread, Hi-Rise is better and around the corner
Prepared Foods, I've had better
Wine, the selection doesn't share the same uniqueness as the cheese.
Why a million Olive Oils? Just give me the one that will blow me away. I know my profile.
Panettone in a box is lame.
Updates:
I forgot to mention that Ihsan G just got knighted on November 10th. So that makes him the 4th Knight on Yelp. Bill at Brasserie Beck, Kermit at Kermit Lynch, and myself. We own the knight.
I got the lowdown on Jamón Ibérico de Bellota after picking up some pistachios and things there today. 2 things.
1.) They just received their first shipment 3 months ago
2.) The FDA has somehow banned the hoof of the ham. So the hooves are chopped off.
They have 3 hams left with hooves still on them, so those will be the last you will ever see like that. It doesn't affect the taste, but it loses some of the appeal, and you also cannot verify that in fact it is a black-footed pig. Lame. I might have to take some pictures or ask them to save the hoof, because it's cool.
The price is 185 dollars a pound, while normal jamón ibérico remains 100 dollars.
They sold out of Mont D'Or but will get some more in tomorrow.
I wonder if I should defect to Chowhound...cuz no one here cares that much? read more