Cheeeesse…… hello Abbie & Olivers

I love cheese. Love it. The best selection of cheese in Portland metro is from Steve's Cheese Bar of course – not only can you get an amazing wide and complex selection from the very knowledgable Steve Jones, but Steve's taste is legendary and he will bring back treasures to share from everywhere, no cheesecloth is left unturned. Even though this place is really just Cheese Bar, everyone know's it's Steve's Cheese Bar. Steve was the brilliant mind behind my still favorite event of last year, the Cheese Bar Spectacular at the now shuttered Ten 01- he's not just a cheesemonger, he's like a cheese warden and champion, exploring and bringing the unknown to be celebrated by the people. I'm not the only one who raved and continues to be fervently hoping that his Cheese Spectacular will repeat again this year. At the Cheese Bar, you can also get some other bites such as soups, salads, and sandwiches and a few other plates and very importantly various side items such as bread and quince and such to go with hunks of cheese you had just purchased, as well as beer and wine. They also have event where musicians or guest wineries/brewers stop by. If I lived closer I would be there weekly.

When I was at Sip McMinnville, I was very very pleased to also become acquainted with Abbie & Oliver's.  Their website is better then Cheese Bar in terms of information- it looks like they attempt to list what cheeses they have (they have a smaller stock then Cheese Bar), which I could see would be theoretically very useful if I'm craving a certain cheese. Which I am… and I don't know how long I can patiently keep it wrapped up before opening it and eating all the cheese I bought from them last Saturday! All I need is some nice bread.

At the Sip, they were offering for a mere $1 a small little taste of six cheeses! Some of the cheeses would rotate based on when they would run out, so depending on when you visited them your experience may have been a little different. When I got there, they had already replaced some of their cheese. They had so helpfully printed out a list of all the cheeses though along with not just names but great descriptions (I like this thread of helpfullness I have seen from both their website and portability of cheeses they introduce you to at a booth at a wine festival! Very thoughtful). I had

• Brillat Savarin. Per the description, this cheese was invented in the 1930s, is a triple-cream brie, and has cream added to it after the whey is drained and has a short aging period that gives it a pretty rich texture like a spread. Ok, it's like semi-liquid butter, but better. The way they served tastes was to just cut off the top so that the soft edible rind actually functioned like a bowl for all the soft creaminess inside, that they would then scoop out with a little spoon for a tasting. This is going to go great with some bubbles.
• Iberico. Always a welcome cheese to have
• Apple Walnut Smoked Promontory. From Beehive Cheese in Utah, with the bonus trivia that it was started by two former software and real estate professionals. Maybe I should rethink my career. This aged cheddar is smoked over English walnut shells and apples to give it both a smoky flavor as well as a clear cheddar taste profile that cuts through the smoke. I bought this one too!
• Winter Crottin, by River's Edge. I can't think of anything from River's Edge that I haven't liked. Usually I get their Up In Smoke, a chevre wrapped in a maple leaf and smoked over alder and hickory chips and spritzed with bourbon. Winter Crottin is similarly beautifull presented and full of flavor, but with this cheese rubbed with white truffle oil and then topped with pink peppercorns and some small cedar branches. They have seasonal crottins that they make- they all have truffle oil rubbings, but the summer ones are particularly pretty with edible flowers. I couldn't help taking one of these home
• Maytag Blue. I like the blue cheeses that local Rogue Creamery offers, but my blue cheese heart still belongs to the classic Maytag Blue. Yes, it is related to the Maytag appliance company.

I didn't try the other cheeses on the list, but they also had a Bella Vitano with Merlot (a parmesan-cheddar hybrid soaked in Merlot that has "those fun lactic crystals" says their description- yes I love those crystals too!), Beehive's Butter Bound an aged cheddar rubbed with Sierra Nevada cultured butter and wrapped in cheesecloth and open-air aged, and MouCo Truffelo, a bloomy-rind cheese (like Brie) with black truffle shavings.

Next time we're in that part of the area for wine tasting, how could I not stop for some cheese to go with my tastings? I love the list of what they highlighted as interesting cheese, so I would love more time to chat and let them sheperd me to more amazing cheese discoveries.