Round 1 - raschera, brebiou, Andante crottin (right to left)

301 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94199 415.543.7474
tasted on November 18, 2009

Bottom Line:

Even though the cheese selection was not very adventurous in flavor, taken all together they made a nice flight. Because of the mildness of all the cheeses, not one was lost in the crowd and as you dig through the line up the subtle differences in each cheese slowly started to emerge. I would love to see RN74 be a bit more creative in their cheese selection and accompaniments. Overall, RN74 did a great job and I definitely would recommend this cheese plate but I wouldn’t make a special trip out for it (again).

Score card: 13.5 out of 20

Menu – 3.5 out of 4; Cheese – 4 out of 5; Selection – 3.5 out of 5; Service – 1 out of 3; Accompaniments 1.5 out of 3

Full review:

Just because the bar is open does not mean that the MENU is available – such is the lesson I learned while trying to get an afternoon cheese plate at RN74. The kitchen opens at 4pm daily and by 6 pm the bar becomes quite crowded with swanky, well-heeled happy hour revelers. But enough of that we’re here for the cheese!

The wine bar menu for the cheeses is laid out very clearly and distinctly. Surprisingly not only did the menu list the name, description of the cheese, and location of origin but also the cheese maker! Sometimes even cheesemongers don’t always know the name of the cheese maker (especially European ones) – which I think they should since quality can change drastically between producers of even AOC/ DOP cheeses. The descriptions were straightforward and utilitarian but not really all that alluring.

Pricing was very standard at $9 per cheese or $17 for the “Chef’s Selection” of three cheeses.

The cheese selections are very mild in taste and not extremely exciting:

• Brebiou – SOFT SHEEP – GENTLE, RUSTIC – FOMAGERIE DE LA LEMANCE, FRANCE
• Raschera – SOFT COW – CREAMY, EARTHY – VALGRANA, ITALY
• Young Crottin – SEMI-SOFT GOAT – LACTIC, NUTTY – ANDANTE DAIRY, CALIFORNIA
• Ossau Iraty – SEMI-FIRM SHEEP – SUPPLE, BUTTERSCOTCH TONES – ISTARA, FRANCE
• Montgomery Cheddar Reserve –  FIRM COW – SHARP, SAVORY – NEAL’S YARD DAIRY, UNITED KINGDOM

Though all of these cheeses are pretty mild in taste, the rustic line up paired nicely with the rest of the menu – simple and straight forward but with an eye to quality.

I think that the menu should have mentioned that the Raschera, Montgomery’s Cheddar and Ossau Iraty are raw milk cheeses with origin protected status and Neal’s Yard Dairy is listed as the maker of the cheddar instead of the cheese finisher (affineur). Montgomery’s cheddar is produced on Manor Farm in Somerset, UK.

I’m extremely happy that the cheese section was given the same amount of real estate as the desserts! So often there is just one sad little entry for a mysterious “Artisan Cheese Plate” floating around somewhere on the menu – sometimes with desserts sometimes at the end of the appetizers. Even online the cheese and dessert section had its own tab at RN74. YEAH CHEESE!

It was obvious that RN74 takes their wines and training the staff very seriously. The bartender was able to talk about most of the wines and the intent of the owner regarding the feel of the list –big shout out to Rajat Par for eschewing oak and having moderate alcohol levels! Unfortunately training on cheese service is not so highly rated. He wasn’t really able to give suggestions or expand on the menu descriptions. I don’t think he was very familiar with the taste of the cheeses either as the wines he (or the sommelier) suggested were not really on the mark and sometimes brought out an unpleasant bitterness in some of the cheeses. Though I really appreciated the tastes he offered! There was one wine he suggested that turned out to be a nice pairing with most of the cheeses – Coutale Malbec from France. Pairing wine and cheeses is not an exact science so I definitely can’t fault him on any of the suggestions. I also loved RN74’s nifty automatic wine preserver/ pourer.

I do have to admit that as much as I wanted to stay focused on the cheese plate I was sidelined by some other menu items. I eyed the Fondue au Fromage ($18) but it serves 2 to 4 people, so I was able to easily turn away from that. But then …but then I saw the magic word – epoisses. The “RN74” ($12) is a freshly baked flatbread with fingerling potatoes, epoisses, rosemary and Fleur de Sel. I was hooked – I could not resist.

Epoisses Flatbread - so yummy I wanted to order another one!

So, I ended up ordering the RN74 flatbread and the Chef’s Selection of the Brebiou, Raschera and Young Crottin. I also ordered a separate Ossau Iraty because – well – it’s one of my favorites and I’m a fatty.

The RN74 flatbread arrived first and was so incredibly delicious. There were light hints of garlic and rosemary that set off the sweet meatiness of the delicate pockets of epoisses. The bread was thick and fluffywhich was needed to handle all the flavorful toppings. I was definitely hunting around the flatbread looking for the pools of melted epoisses! I wish they had included more of the rind to add to the earthy pungency of the dish. But I guess iIt could have gotten a little stinky. I asked a few people sitting around me and no one found it overwhelming or very noticable. The only thing I could have asked for to improve the dish was if a round of epoisses came with the flatbread so I could dunk it in there for more epoisses-y goodness or if the “accidently” let the epoisses melt more over the sides creating those crispy cracker like pieces of cheese! But of course that’s my cheese freakiness coming out!

When the cheese boards came out, none of the cheeses were identified and the food runner that dropped of the plates did not tell me in what order the cheeses were being served. I don’t think that there needed to be a particular tasting order with thee cheeses anyway since they were all so milk and mild, anyway. The board size (12 in x 6 in)was great for the single Ossau Iraty (about 1.5 oz in total). The trio of cheeses came out on a similar sized board (led by the Raschera, then the Brebiou , and anchored by the Andante crottin )and I felt that everything was a tad bit squished together even with the bread on a separate tray. The trio was about 2.5 ounces total– nice, healthy serving sizes. Each board had chunky almond butter and some other kind of fruit with a slightly sweet jelly/ fruit gummy type thing and Della Fattoria walnut bread.

I was very happy to see that the cheeses were all served at room temperature – not even a hint of walk-in chill, ammonia smells or plastic-y taste residue often found in cheeses that have been stored improperly or not cleaned correctly. Overall the presentation was good – the cheeses had a great ratio of center pate, or paste, to rind and they were cut thick so there wasn’t a problem with them drying out. The only thing I would have to say as a negative was that the Ossau Iraty was cut a bit thin and uneven. But even then the cheese itself was very tasty with a luscious mouth feel and hints of butterscotch.

Round 2 - Ossau - Iraty

The Brebiou was simple and very balanced in flavor. It had no barnyard funk at all. I think this was a very young cheese – maybe less than a month old with a soft, creamy paste. It tasted very much like fresh milk. The almond butter brought out a nice earthy roundness of the raw milk and added a good textural counterpoint. There was a good bit of sheep fat playing on my palate but not in a gamey way.

The Rachera had a bit more heft with a firmer texture and a slight animal taste. This is a hearty cheese. In the whole scheme of things, I would rate it as still being very mild but next to the Brebiou it had a more mature and complex flavor.

Even if I didn’t know that Andante made the Young Crottin, they would have been my first guess. The crottin had the unmistakable Andante rind – pillowy soft without a trace of ammonia or any other imperfection. The paste was dense and rich. I didn’t think any of the accompaniments went particularly well with this cheese. I would have loved something savory, like a caramelized onions, with this cheese to bring out more depth of flavor.

$26 for both cheese plates is a fairly decent price. The “Chef’s Selection” on its own would do very nicely for a 2 person snack. Add on the flatbread for $12 more and the whole meal will definitely let you enjoy a happy hour for about 3 hours!