Today in Cheese

This post originally appeared on Manhattan Style on April 5, 2010. You can view the original post here.

New York is a town serious about its cheese.  From cheese plates and cheese cake to fondue and schmear, here are the top cheese-related happenings across Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Beer and Cheese tastings are taking off across the boroughs, so much so that there are back to back weekly events this week and next.  The first is at Murray’s Cheese, named “New York’s Best Cheese Shop” by The Village Voice, Time Out New York and New York Press.  Since 1940, Murray’s has been delighting store goers with their pungent and runny offerings.  A strong, sour aroma hits you as you enter the store, which is as sweet as Chanel for cheese lovers (or as strong as a skunk for those opposed).  Tonight, Murray’s presents The Harmony of Beer & Cheese beginning at 6:30 p.m.  For $65, Six Points ale brewer Dan Suarez and Murray’s own Taylor Cocalist will play tour guides to “light, spicy wheat beer paired with tangy, citric goat cheese and toffee-noted ale with a salty, aged sheep cheese.”  Be sure to pick up a pack of Murray’s cheddar, Romano, or parmesan cheese sticks on your way out or head down the block to Amy’s Bread for a loaf to go with your favorite fromage.

There will also be a beer tasting next Monday, April 12 at Beer Table in Brooklyn.  This inviting, small Park Slope bar regularly has a selection of bottles and drafts on tap.  For $35, you can try “wheat beers and spring cheeses” from owners Justin and Tricia Philips.  Future events also include a beer and oyster pairing, a home brewers meet-up, and a stinky cheese and stinky beer for the brave—or perhaps just those with a head cold.

If you have yet to get your fill of cheese, there’s an entire factory set to open in the Flatiron District next February.  According to The New York Times, West-coast cheesemonger, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, will be crossing the plains to open a cathedral to the stuff.  All cheese-making will be able to be viewed through glass in a space twice the size as Beecher’s original Seattle location.  The New York spot, located at Broadway and East 20th Street, will include a wine bar and cheese “cave” and a selection of over 20 cheeses and, of course, mac-and-cheese.  The locale is also dangerously close to Trader Joe’s Wine Shop on 14^th street, so you will be able to plan tastings of your own.

[Photo by yummyporky]

Top Passover Events Across Manhattan

This post originally appeared on Manhattan Style on March 24, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Chag Sameach!  Or Happy Passover, for the less Judaically inclined.  There’s more than Matzo going on across Manhattan for this upcoming holiday, which celebrates the Jews’ escape from enslavement in Egypt.  From Seders to wine tastings, here’s plenty to do from the first Seder on March 29 to the last day of Passover on April 6.  If you’d like to try your hand at homemade cooking, visit The New York Times for excellent kosher recipes for the holiday.

• Capsouto Frères: (51 Washington Street) This Tribeca French bistro will continue its 23-year tradition of Seders on March 29 and 20 with a non-kosher meatless menu and a reading led by a cantor.  Sneak some of the infamous chocolate soufflé while you’re there.  Cost: $150 per person.

• Streets International Third Annual Street Food Celebration Benefit : (Astor Center, 399 Lafayette Street) Streets International is a not-for-profit, sustainable, social enterprise initiative for street kids and other disadvantaged youth.  On March 24, they will hold their third annual benefit featuring top chefs like Tom Colicchio (Colicchio & Sons, Craft), Floyd Cardoz (Tabla), Zak Pelacchio (Fatty Crab), and Karen Demasco (Locanda Verde).  If these top chefs aren’t enough of a draw, there will be a Vietnamese cooking demonstration, silent auction, and open bar.  Tickets start at $150 per person.

• Tabla: (11 Madison Avenue) Speaking of Tabla, this Danny Meyer interpretation of Indian will hold an unleavened bread bar on March 30.  Cost: $95 per person.

• Rosa Mexicano: (61 Columbus Avenue, 9 E. 18^th Street, 1063 First Avenue) Passover heads south of the border from March 24 through April 5 with special dishes for the holiday, including Red Snapper Gefilte Fish with spicy tomato salsa and pickled vegetables, Tropical Haroset and Banana Leaf Wrapped Beef Brisket.  Be sure to order their tableside made guacamole and stop by for a free Passover cooking demonstration at their Union Square location.

• Sherry-Lehmann: (505 Park Avenue) This grand dame of a wine and spirit store will offer four days of wine tastings for Passover ending on March 24.  Staff can explain what makes a wine Kosher for Passover and why they’re supporting a bill to allow grocery stores in New York to sell wine.

• Murray’s Cheese: (254 Bleecker Street) Embrace all things Sephardic with a Spanish wine tasting tonight by Tinto Fino.  Sample Murray’s vast and disturbingly delicious selection of cheeses around the globe.