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Ripple Cheeses It Up in Cleveland Park

Ripple cheese plate
Pretty as a cheese pic

What a pleasant summer surprise — when the rest of CP goes on vacation for the month of August, Ripple, 3417 Connecticut Ave NW  (formerly Aroma) goes all out. We met W there after the Shakespeare Theatre Free for All “Twelfth Night at 11:30 p.m. on a Friday night, and everything else was still closed. Ripple’s bar, with good wines (many by the glass, some at $6)  is bright but cozy.  Manager Danny Fisher, who comes from Cork and Cork Market, is there to guide you from drinks to cheese and dessert. The cheesemonger, Julia, served up a beautiful plate of cheese and charcuterie.  All the cheese is from Cowgirl Creamery (no cheese cave since they are so close to the source) Danny helped us choose the right cheese and the right wines:

  • Everona Piedmont – one of our local Virginia favs
  • Fiore Sardo – a pecorino from Italy that always works
  • Burrata – a soft, creamy mozzarella-like cheese from Puglia Italy that was as good as advertised
  • Jean D’Also Bleu D’Auvergne – a soft, french buttery blue that was a perfect ending to them all.
  • One the side La Quercia Americano, a proscuitto-like ham from Iowa. (the only American version I’ve ever liked).

Ripple’s homemade crackers are good, but ask for some of the good bread – doesn’t distract from the cheese.

 

3/24/13vUpdate 2012 on cheeses we would have liked to try there or somewhere else: Neva, Sheep Cheese from Spain; Cherry Grove Toma, Cow from Lawrenceville, NJ; La Peral, Cow and Sheep Cheese from Asturisa, Spain.

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Cheeses with Turkish Olive Paste Good Combo

From Turkish Art Exhibit

We were downtown to see an exhibit at the National Museum-Women In Arts and A Dream…but not Yours: Contemporary Art from Turkey was pretty amazing — art, politics, video (Canan Senol, Still from Exemplary, 2009, Video; 27:30 minutes) and even postcards. We stopped in Cowgirl Creamery on the way, and got these 3 cheeses — all excellent.:

  • Mona. Blended with both sheep and cow milk, Mona is nutty and sweet on the tongue with a moist but sometimes crumbly texture. Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Coop — and we don’t do many Wisconsin cheeses.
  • Roccolo has an earthy, round flavor with damp hints of forest mushrooms and an accenting tang. Directly under the rind, the cheese gets softer and slightly more golden than the dryer, flakier white center. (made it look like cake since the center was a different color.) Valtaleggio, Italy.
  • Trailhead is an aged, mountain cheese with a mellow, rich flavor. Mt Townsend Creamery in Washington State. We bought it because we’d heard good things about Mt Townsend — and now we can say good things about their cheese.
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Old Man Highlander with Fresh Figs from NC

Figs n Cheese
Figs n Cheese

Old Man Highlander is a Gouda-style cheese produced in 8 lb wheels and naturally ripened for 6-9 months from Calkins Creamery, Honesdale, PA. I picked it up with a friend, KK, who had never been in Cowgirl Creamery DC. Nathan, our cheesemonger, could not have been nicer. KK loved the place, and I got my CounterCulture coffee, too, along with this cheese of the week (though still $24.55 a pound — KK didn’t know there was cheese that cost that much). But it was hard to say what I liked better — the cheese or the fresh figss WWT brought from North Carolina. They might be a bit better with a soft cheese like blue or brie, but, mmm… still very tasty — soft figs with a bit of hard cheese.