Artisanal, New York, New York, tasted on May 7, 2004 — Let me get this straight. There's a restaurant in Manhattan that's all about cheese. They have their own mail order cheese business as well as an aesthetically beautiful bistro style restaurant where you can eat all that cheese that they store in their cheese cave. And they specialize in artisanal cheeses and even call themselves Artisanal. Uh... where do I sign up?

As it happens, no signup was necessary. In fact the reservation was relatively easy to get, and we stopped in for an early first dinner. (Note: when we're on these crazy eating trips, we often have at least two dinners.) Artisanal is lovely (almost as beautiful as Balthazar) and done in a bistro style. Usually I don't worry much about decor, but it really did seem like the perfect environment in which to enjoy a whole bunch of yummy cheese.

Cheese is a funny thing as it's mainly made from milk. Much like wine from grapes, it's amazing to realize the sheer complexity and variety of flavors, textures, etc. you get by starting from the same simple ingredients. The tone was set with a cheese item of course, gorgeous and... well... super cheesy... Gougeres. Yum. Artisanal also serves some complementary dishes, so sure enough we started off with Crisp Skate Wing with Blood Orange Grenobloise and Cauliflower. This was a really enjoyable and simple flavor combination and balance. The Oysters with vinegar and lemon were a nice followup.

Steak Tartare with tangy Parmesan tuiles was particularly enjoyable. I'm a sucker for the acidic spectrum of flavors, and all the tart and tanginess in the dish was quite good for me. I was particularly looking forward to the fondue, as you would imagine. There were several varieties, though we got one of the classics. And unfortunately it was slightly underwhelming. I couldn't taste enough of the wine. or enough salt for that matter. It was, however, nice and creamy.

The cheese course however really was the main attraction. And we partook of six different cheeses. They say they have over 250 cheeses all "handcrafted and perfectly ripened". I counted 192 on the separate cheese menu (with it's own spot for notes). But who's counting. :)

In order, starting at just before 3 o'clock on the plate were:

1. Il Caprino Tartufo, goat's milk cheese from Italy. We couldn't taste the truffle in this one which made it a little bit of a bummer.

2. Serpa, sheep's milk cheese from Portugal. This was certainly great! It was chewy and creamy at the same time but with a subtle but consistent tanginess.

3. Montgomery's Cheddar, cow's milk cheese from England. It was a cheddar that had a parmesany consistency and horseradish flavor. Definitely enjoyable.

4. Affidelice, cow's milk cheese from France. A super creamy triple cream with an almost "aged meat" flavor. Not tangy. Very good.

5. Aisy Cendre, cow's milk cheese from France. This one started out with a truffley savory deep flavor, but spiked on the finish with a touch of ammonia. It was likely overripe. We'll need to try it again given the good start.

6. Epoisses, cow's milk cheese from France. A beauty as always.

All in all, I wish there was an Artisanal next door to me. I might eat there every other night. There's something about an almost endless cheese adventure that gives me a sense of security, comfort, and happiness. I realize that may not sound particularly "normal" but I'm comfortable with it.