St. Paul Cheese Shop

Her exact words escape me, but when the sign in our neighborhood first went up for the St. Paul Cheese Shop, my daughter said something like, "God must really like you." I don't know how God feels, but the cheese shop has been opened for about two months, and I've eaten some very good cheese.

Twin Citizens and residents of the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood probably know the St. Paul Cheese Shop is a new extension of the France 44 Wines and Spirits store in Minneapolis - a destination I rarely could make, and when I could arrange the logistics, the prices limited my shopping. The extension location worried me. Situated about equal distance from Kowalski's and Whole Foods, two good places to shop for cheese, I doubted the viability of a third cheese monger within a mile.

Perched near the intersection of Grand and Snelling, the location's visibility is great. The shop is small, but doesn't require much. Currently, there are about thirty cheeses, each measured and sold to order. They also make a short list of delicatessan sandwiches, and sell gourmet crackers, jams, pate, and other charcuterie. While these items are not in short supply in the area, Kowalski's decided to aim their marketing in this direction about two years ago and Coastal Seafoods across the street targets a gourmet crowd too with condiments etc., all of my visits to the St. Paul Cheese Shop have been a pleasant surprise. The store is always busy.

My daughter's words stem from the fact that our fridge typically has twelve to twenty cheeses, usually a few riper than I care to admit. If I can try a few cheeses, I'll invariably buy the one I like most, and then eat as much as I can. I work it into omelets or quiches at breakfast, sandwiches or macaroni and cheese lunches and sometimes cheese plates at dinner. Unfortunately, my family's enthusiasm doesn't match mine. Most of our cheese selection is in tiny cubes, some trimmed to preserve for another a day.

My taste in cheese runs to mild bleu (Roaring 40's Bleu is a favorite), and nutty hard cheeses, especially Gruyer and Italian hard cheeses (Parmesan Reggiano is a component of all my Mac & Cheese recipes). The St. Paul Cheese Cheese shop is not the place to seek the most obscure cheeses, space limits selection. What is available are some of the best cheeses, e.g. Cowgirl artisan cheeses, and a few novelties. Fans of Wallace and Gromit can pick up Wensleydale (check availability).

My one caveat about the St. Paul Cheese Shop is price. Everything I've gotten there has been fresh and of top quality with good service, but when looking at cheese prices, be careful to note the prices are given in 1/2 lbs, i.e. $12 for 1/2 = $24 per pound. The store is geared to the serious cheese fan, not bargain hunters looking for something to make nachos with.

Trader Joe's

The wildly popular west coast chain Trader Joe's finally opened its St. Paul branch on Lexington Pkwy in June, and if my three visits are a fair representation, St. Paulites love the place. I've found a wine I love (not three buck Chuck), a couple great food buys, lots of fun store brands and a disappointment at the produce section.

Friends who spent time in California rued the loss of their favorite market when they moved back to the boring old Midwest, but often had trouble explaining the attraction. Three buck Chuck, erratic product selection, and the now-familiar Caribbean motif of the stores were a part of the picture, but for the uninitiated, I didn't get it. I looked into the stores' history.

The Caribbean motif was a simple matter of establishing differentiation from other convenience markets. The stores tried a little bit of everything: cheese, butcher, a variety of wines; but not all the stores at once. Later, that element of constant change became a signature marketing method. Trader Joe's was about surprises. A few decades ago the chain was acquired by a brother of the German billionaire family that runs Aldi.

I was familiar with Aldi's stores from my time as a student in Germany, and thought the place unremarkable. I discovered an Aldi here a few years ago. I've spent a good amount of time in dark little ethnic markets around the Twin Cities, but was stunned at Aldi's stark dollar store feel and inventory: no mayonaise - salad spread, no brand names, no ketchup. Just milk, bread, eggs, and the cheapest packaged foods. Trader Joe's could scarcely be a greater contrast -- their colorful stores are fun and kid friendly. Trader Joe's definitely courts a different demographic, but the two markets share more than a common parent. Both offer a strictly limited variety of brand names. Trader Joe's has become a brand name in its own right, you might find your favorite cereal, but everything else bears the Trader Joe moniker.

I like to cook, so when evaluating a grocery store, I give careful attention to the raw foods: produce, meat, dairy areas -- manufactured foods are secondary. Unfortunately for me, Trader Joe's is the converse. The Trader Joe's brand frozen fill-in-the-blank or Trader Joe's spicy yummy mix is what they've built their customer loyalty on. Their produce is not only limited, it is heavily packaged. Green peppers, garlic, and nearly everything else comes pre-packaged forcing a purchase of a set quantity, and freshness suffers. Their produce and meat prices disappointed me. Nearly everything else was reasonable.

Another bright spot was the convenience of an attached wine shop. I discovered an inexpensive (actually downright cheap), but fun Portugese wine, Vinho Verde. It seems everyone I run into has a Trader Joe's product they love -- a spiced almond mix or frozen Mexican dinner. So far, I've only found the wine.

The usual questions:

What is Trader Joe's good at? Atmosphere, and Trader Joe's branded products, generally decent prices.

What is Trader Joe's not so good at? Produce. On produce, selection, price, and freshness all were lacking. Shop here first and pick up the foods needing refrigeration elsewhere later.

What to get at Trader Joe's? Find your Trader Joe's brand treasures. Ask your friends and pick up a bottle of Vinho Verde (Green wine). It's slightly effervescent, but very fun.

How do I get there? Trader Joe's is at 484 Lexington Parkway N in St. Paul. Head North from Lexington & Grand. When you get there, don't look for outside parking, there is substantial parking under the store, just follow the arrows and animals.

The Cheese Man

My romance with the Cheese Man comes up a lot. More than once I've gotten in hot water by coming home from the grocery store, having spent $45 - 50, but with nothing for dinner. I used to be baffled too. The problem was the grocery list. I was faithful to the list (and my wife, no offense Cheese Man). Maybe a $4 chunk of Drunken Goat found its way into the cart, but that wasn't the problem. The list was a replacement list, not a meal list. If we ran out of mustard, it went on the list. Chunky peanut butter (aka scratchy) and milk always made the list. Dinner did not make the list.

I started putting "dinner" on the list, without specifics. But that demanded internalizing recipes and the kitchen inventory. In addition to mustard, scratchy, milk, and cat sand, I had to be aware of everything involved with whatever "dinner" I tried to imagine. We had spaghetti, but how much sauce or canned tomatoes did we have? Did I have time to a sauce? I'd never hear the end of it if I came home with another block of Parmesan!

Becky Home Ecy would undoubtedly advise me to not go to the store hungry and to write a meal plan. Becky must have iron-fisted control of her kitchen. Does she get any "feedback" on those meal plans? Does Becky ever hear, "Yuck, I don't want to eat that"? or "I'm not really hungry, maybe I'll just have ice cream tonight"? Allowing democracy at the dinner table means that train doesn't always run on time. There are also wrecks -- everyone is excited about that garlic, toasted nuts and pesto leftovers, but there is exactly one serving. What about the squash? C'mon, someone has to eat the squash!

Somewhere between shopping for the meal I will cook in the next hour and replacing our larder staples, meals happen. I manage to sneak in cheese too.

Current Cheese stock: Parmesano Reggiano (lots), Romano, Drunken Goat, Brie (lots of cheap), Colby (my daughter's choice), Gruyere, Kraft Taco something, Domestic Fontina, Feta, Black River Gorgonzola, mysterious gift-for-babysitting bleu cheese, pre-shredded mozzarella, Welsh Powerful Cheddar [it really is labeled that way], regular sharp cheddar, misc. odds and ends too small to specifically remember.

The Cheese Man really has power over me!