An Ode to Cheese - Montréal, Canada
A road trip from New York’s Hudson Valley all the way to Montréal yielded an unexpectedly fantastic cheese journey.
We all know that feeling… scrolling through Instagram in early summer and seeing all your friends (plus dozens of complete strangers) posting about their splendid European vacations, and it being just too darn much. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve had the travel bug for a while now, thanks to multiple study abroad adventures during college and various return trips to Europe in the years since. I had no plans for this summer beyond some regional travel to visit friends, and that was completely unacceptable to me. I called my sister and asked if she’d be interested in flying somewhere in Europe in July or August. After researching last-minute airfare priced for peak season, AirBnB’s that had long since been picked over by my fellow greedy Americans, and conducting serious mathematical calculations involving the exchange rate such as, “cocktail prices in spain USD,” to my shock, she said no.
Never one to be discouraged when travel is involved, I thought about destinations that were within driving distance from the tri-state that would lend cute, European-esque vibes to a long weekend. I immediately thought of Quebec City and Montreal, after having heard about them and having seen their quaint aesthetics touted online for as long as I can remember.
I looked online for AirBnB’s, and shockingly, there were plenty of adorable-looking apartments in happening neighborhoods up for grabs. I found a couple options, sent them off for sisterly approval, and promptly booked the one we’d agreed on. Now time for the fun parts - seeing what wineries and cheese shops to which I could convince her to let me drag her! The cheese shops in Montreal proper all seemed to have a heavy influence from French producers, which was was fine by me.
The one cheese type that I really, totally, and completely needed to try was Raw Milk Cheese Aged Less Than 60 Days, which, my fromage friends, you may likely know, is totally illegal to import or sell here in our homeland. In my head, this was the only goal worth embarking upon when it came to experiencing cheese in a foreign land. And I would search high and low and exhaust all means to find it!
Once we successfully crossed the border into Quebec, we completely lost cell service and drove far past the exit we were meant to take in order to get to the winery I had picked out, Vignoble de l’Orpailleur. Luckily, this turned out to be one of those things that ends up having a huge silver lining, because within moments after getting off the A15, down an unsuspecting country road with tractors driving down the street and even a horse & buggy, we stumbled upon my very first Canadian cheese shop.
This cheese shop, Fromagerie Le Métayer (pictured below), was a sweet little shop with French language-only proprietors who smiled curtly at my Google Translate questions and noticeably balked when I paid with a credit card. In other words, I knew I was having a genuine small town Quebec cheese shop experience! At this shop, I found a few lovely goat cheeses that are somewhat well-known around Quebec, including:
Le Monsieur Emile, from producer Fromagerie Ruban Bleu - Almost like a Le Pico, but with nuances completely its own. This goat cheese’s creamline was much thinner, which gave the rind a chance to slip and slide all over the paste. It wasn't as tangy overall as Le Pico, definitely mellower and more grassy. And the coolest thing was that (which could very well be due to how young this cheese was when I bought it) the paste was surprisingly light & fluffy, almost like it was whipped and then put back in! Plus, the shape wasn't a disc, it was a round cylider. Full points for presentation, taste, and texture.
Le Charbonnier, also from producer Fromagerie Ruban Bleu - With a vegetable ash rind and the classic separation of the paste and creamline, Le Charbonnier was noticeably dense. The aspect of this goat’s cheese that stuck with me most was the heightened note of pepper both in the mouthfeel and finish. It was almost difficult to each too much of it at once, and I would have done better to swap my water cracker for a fruit & nut cracker to offset some of the spice! Plus, the finish felt a little bit like I had been breathing in the air of a dusty attic, but in a sophisticated way.
After this roadside find, we continued on our way to the winery, with an incredibly scenic view of stunningly peaceful farmlands and even a lakeside drive as we rounded Baie Missisquoi. Once we arrived at Vignoble de l’Orpailleur, we signed up for a tasting and took a stroll around their vineyards. I even plucked a grape or two off the vine, shhhh! There were views for days, endless sunshine, and flowing rosé. What more could we need? Oh, that’s right… cheese!
Onto Montreal we went. After a lovely dinner at a rooftop bar in our AirBnB’s neighborhood Le Quartier Latin, I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready for an adventure. I researched a couple of fabulous bakeries near cheese shops I wanted to hit, and I started off the morning with a brisk walk, a latte and a pastry (or three, don’t judge) before heading to my first Montreal cheese shop, BLEU ET PERSILLÉ (pictured above). This cheese shop was literally something out of my cheese shop dreams. We’re talking floor-to-ceiling glass refrigerators that you’d have been unsurprised to see grace a kitchen on Selling Sunset. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I spoke with one of the mongers and asked my first question “Do you have any unpasteurized cheeses aged less than 60 days??” I thought this would be easy given their range and impressive display, but we came up empty! Nevertheless, we persevered and I got to taste and buy some really wonderful cheeses.
My third and final cheese shop of this trip in Montreal was to La Fromagerie Atwater, a shop that’s been passed from generation to generation. The mongers were so incredibly friendly and let me try everything I wanted, and came up with fabulous recommendations! Some of the standouts were:
Cheddar du Presbytère, from producer Fromagerie du Presbytère - this cheddar is produced in Quebec’s Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwicks town using cow’s milk, and is aged for a minimum of 2 years. This was probably my favorite cheese from the whole trip. At first bite, the taste and texture lead me to believe it‘s like a traditional aged cheddar, but as you swallow it transforms into something like a Gouda, being super fatty and crumbly yet sticky. I was obsessed with the finish, and I can’t wait to try this again!
Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar Cheese, from producer Lenberg Farms - this goat’s milk cheddar was made in Mississauga, Ontario and is done so elegantly that I almost couldn’t even tell that it was goat’s milk! I loved it all the more once I found that out! After being aged for one year, it’s got a mellow taste that’s more grassy than herbal, and is a little bit floral in the initial mouthfeel. It’s not very acidic which is nice, but it’s still crumbly and clearly aged well. I'd have it again for sure! I think it would go nicely on a cheeseboard, and would lend itself nicely to plenty of pairings in drink and nosh.
Thank you, Quebec for an unforgettable cheese experience, and my very first international one!
