www.perbaccosf.com
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415.955.0663
tasted on Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Bottom Line

The cheese selection was varied and definitely compliments the overall menu. Cheese handling here is a tad bit uneven but definitely worth a visit or two. Although the accompaniments weren’t the most exciting, they not only went well with all the cheeses but really enhanced one. I would love to see the servers really push table suggestions.

Score card: 15 out of 20

Menu – 2.5 out of 4; Cheese – 4 out of 5; Selection – 5 out of 5; Service – 2.5 out of 3; Accompaniments 1 out of 3

delishioso!

Full Review

We came in pretty late for lunch on a sunny, midweek cheese hunt. There were plenty of the Fi-Di types that you would expect but the servers were very welcoming to our casually dressed group. Actually, the servers were extremely nice; my lunch partners arrived before I did and they did not know each other. But when my second guest asked for me at the front desk the host actually ran out of the restaurant and found my other lunch date in front of Barbacco to let her know that the second person of our party had arrived. Either my lunch dates are extremely beautiful and charming (which they are) or the servers here go above and beyond the call of duty!

Even though, I did not have a prior reservation we were seated promptly in the bar. We were presented the lunch menu by our server. There were a few cheese related dishes on the menu that looked good:

• COUJETTE – POTATO GNOCCHI / FONDUTA DI GORGONZOLA DOLCE LATTE / TOASTED WALNUTS (yummm – fonduta ; definitely need to come back for this one on a cold, San Francisco summer day)
• RISOTTO – LOCAL GREEN ASPARAGUS / LEEKS / CASTELMAGNO CHEESE / MINT
• BROWN BUTTER BRUSSELS SPROUTS / CAPERS / SHALLOTS / PARMIGIANO REGGIANO

But on this occasion, I could not be derailed from my cheese mission. But turn as I may, I could not find the cheese list anywhere on the menu! A moment of panic raced through me. Did they change the cheese service since I was last here? Do they only have cheese service at dinner? YIKES!

I gingerly asked our very nice server, if there was cheese available during lunch. Luckily, it was just on a separate menu with dessert and after dinner drink selections. I thought that the main menu could have mentioned the cheese selection in part because the cheeses that Perbacco offers would make a great light lunch paired with a salad. Several of their selections are meaty enough to fill in for a protein.

The majority of the cheeses were imported from Italy and 3 were from a local producer, Bohemian Creamery in Sonoma. I don’t see Bohemian cheeses that often so I was excited to try their cheeses here. Of the Italian cheese, 6 of the 11 were from Luigi Guffanti. Luckily Guffanti, a well known cheese refiner (most cheese professionals would call them affineurs though that is a French term and Guffanti is an Italian company – gotta look that one up) more often than not ships great cheeses.

It was a real challenge to decide between the cheeses as many of them sounded really tasty. So instead of ordering everything I could pronounce, I kept my cheese munchicon in check and ordered one soft, one hard and one blue cheese and one cheese from Bohemian Creamery. The server wasn’t particularly helpful with the cheese selection. In response to my questions of “is there any cheese in particularly good condition today,” he said that all the cheeses were good and didn’t try to delve deeper into our preferences. That’s not surprising as I don’t think servers are really trained to know the condition of the cheeses. Though to the server’s defense we were pretty hungry and wanted to order quickly. We finally decided on the Tomino Elettrico (toh-MEE-noh EE-let-TRICK-oh), Strachitund (strah-CHEE-toond), Cusiè Sotto Foglie de Tabacco (I really like saying cusiè – COO-zee soh-toh fohg-LEE dee TAH-bah-coh) and the Boho Bel.

The cheeses came out on a good size plate; the oil from the Tomino had room to pool but didn’t touch the other cheese – nice attention to detail. The accompaniments were Muscat raisins, chestnut honey and roasted almonds.

muscat raisons, chestnut honey, toasted almonds

The arrangement of the cheese (according to our server) had the “spontaneous blue” Strachitund (I don’t really know what Perbacco meant by that – see below for Perbacco’s response to my inquiry) set first, followed by the Tomino, Boho Bel and anchored with the Cusiè. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t always believe that blues have to be the last on the plate, but with a strong and salty cheese like the Strachitund, I would think it would come later in the lineup.

pretty good size portions - they must have known I'm a cheese piggie!

So here’s what I thought of each cheese in the order that I ended up eating them. Oh and as a side note, I picked these cheeses from the selection because I’ve never had them before; so I can’t speak to what they “should” taste like but just what they did taste like on this day.

Tomino Elettrico – the texture was reminiscent of fresh chèvre, bright with an acidic kick. The herbs were vibrant – popped in your mouth with flavor – not muddied or dull. The olive oil imparted an additional layer of flavor and fresh wood taste – like sucking on the wooden stick of a popsicle in a good way. The olive oil was a bit much for me until I paired it with some chestnut honey; the pairing made this cheese extremely divine! The raisins were really good with it too. Surprisingly this cheese had a bit of heat from the chili peppers on it – not too much but enough to make things interesting.

Boho Bel – I had to knock of a half point because of this cheese – not because of the cheese but because of the way it was served. The piece that was cut for us had one extremely dry side –not just a little bit dried out but a seriously huge dry, thick, scaly cheese scab; pretty gross. It really disappointed me that the server or whoever was plating the cheese did not notice this and trim it off first. When I flipped the cheese over, I found that the other half was edible. It was a shame that we got such a gnarly piece because the Boho ended up being really delicious with hints of honey, vanilla, steamed eggs yolks and a creamy texture. According to Bohemian’s website (http://www.bohemiancreamery.com), Boho Bel is made with organic Jersey cows’ milk. I was surprised the organic label wasn’t called out on the menu as that a big selling point for many San Francisco consumers.

Cusiè Sotto Foglie Di Tabacco – On the menu, this cheese was said to be made with cow and sheep’s milk. According to the cheesemaker’s website (www.occelli.it):

“This cheese is produced with either sheep and cows’ milk or goat and cows’ milk from animals that are free to pasture in summer and is aged for up to 24 months. The cheese wheel is then wrapped in tobacco leaves enriching its complex smell and multiplying its perfumes and aromas. It is best accompanied by a fine red wine or a dark specialist beer and even by a fine cigar”

I definitely got a sense of old, worn-in leather (in a good feeling way not a beef jerky way). It had a dry, flinty texture. When I closed my eyes and ate this cheese, I got this image of sitting in a study filled with books near a roaring fireplace sipping on some smooth whiskey (neat with a few drops of cold water, please). Ahhhh – I definitely could have that cheese again.

Strachitund – I was a little hesitant to try this cheese. And that’s saying a lot because I’m ALWAYS the “hmm, is this cheese any good – here try this for me” go-to taster. It definitely was the back rind piece. Normally this is fine with me because the paste to rind ratio is usually still balanced. But you could tell just by looking at this cheese that it was LONG in the tooth. The rind was dark, the paste was dark and heart of the paste was tiny. I definitely would have liked to see more of the center paste especially on a cheese this old. The taste reflected the age. It wasn’t bad just probably paste its prime. There was no acidity, it was a tad flat but not unpleasant. I tasted lost of deep, dark and earthy notes. It had a peanut buttery texture and a taste, particularly, right under the rind that reminded me of a 1,000 year old egg.

While being nosy, I wanted to get a picture of the full cheese selection (I’m not sure I was supposed to get so close to the naked cheese – I didn’t touch anything I promise). I was quite impressed. They put the cheese in an area with little wind movement, little foot traffic and away from any sunlight. They also covered the entire selection with moist cloth napkins. That’s pretty good – I’ve often seen cheese carts that end up in drafty hallways, near the bathroom (yikes!) or cheeses that come straight from the walk in.

Overall, it was a very good cheese plate, with healthy portions and a selection that won’t get boring anytime soon. I can’t wait to go back again and try some others on the list!

**** Post post note****

As noted above, I was unclear as to what a “spontaneous blue” was under the description of Stratchitund. I sent an email over to Perbacco and received this prompt and very nice email back from Umberto Gibin (owner):

“The term “spontaneous” is used because the cheese is not inoculated with bacteria to produce the mold. The cheese is punctured with needles to allow the bacteria to form on its own. Attached is link that explains the procedure.

Strachitunt: a traditional cheese produced in Bergamo’s valleys …”

Thank you Mr. Gibin!

~ Be cheesy and prosper ~