Oh, for the love of cheese! Cheese is more popular than ever, swept up in vigorous local, organic and artisan food movements across the country. From mild, comforting American to stinky French Roquefort, cheese has beguiled and delighted mankind for centuries. Admit it: Almost anything tastes better after a liberal application of cheese—a hamburger, nachos, pizza—while an exotic cheese plate, where the cheese stands alone, can be just as thrilling. We can’t imagine a world without this manna from heaven, and luckily we don’t have to, for there are cheesy wonders in every corner of our area. Here are some must-eats.
PESTO TOMATO GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH
Keys Café and Bakery
Why settle for a grilled cheese when you can have grilled cheeses? Keys Café scores a triple, layering tangy cheddar, mild American and pungent Provolone on a single sandwich that is slathered with an herbaceous, garlic-kissed pesto and grilled to buttery, crispy-edged perfection. Tomato slices add a welcome bit of moisture and tang; the result is both decadent and wholesome, smashing with a nostalgic bowl of tomato soup. Choice of bread; we recommend a nice hearty wheat. $7.75.
CAPRESE SALAD
Acqua
Tomatoes and cheese go hand in hand; one of the most popular configurations of the two is the Caprese salad, an irresistible Italian arrangement of ripe tomato slices, fragrant basil leaves and rounds of fresh mozzarella. The fresh Italian buffalo mozz at Acqua makes us swoon; they also use gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and finish the dish perfectly with luscious, emerald-green basil oil, a syrup-sweet balsamic vinegar reduction and a crunchy sprinkling of good sea salt. $12.
PATTY MELT
Washington Square
The patty melt is a hot marriage of a grilled cheese sandwich with a hamburger, and the melt part is a key part of its success. Two pieces of toast squish a bunch of cheese and meat on a griddle: What could go wrong? Nothing at all. This one is served with fried onions and American and Swiss cheeses on dense black, caraway-inflected Russian rye bread. It’s a doozy. $11.25. 4736 Washington Square, White Bear Lake; 651.407.7162;
MACARONI AND CHEESE
Roma Restaurant Bar and Market
Macaroni and cheese is an old-school favorite among adults and kids alike; it’s recently made a comeback in gourmet guise, with fancy cheeses, unusual pasta shapes and other unexpected ingredients. Take the mac ’n’ cheese at Roma: The noodles are doused with a creamy Alfredo sauce and studded with green onion, smokehouse bacon and seasoned sautéed chicken. American and bleu cheeses pair up and the result is creamy and pungent in equal measure. $14.
AMISH BLEU AND PECAN SALAD
Ingredients Café
There’s something magical about the combination of crisp raw veggies and creamy, rich cheese. Ingredients’ Amish bleu pecan salad is perfect in its simplicity: just chopped romaine lettuce, chunky Amish bleu cheese dressing (from hand-milked, hormone-free cows), red onion and spicy, crunchy pecans. $10 for dinner and large lunch portion; $6 for small lunch portion.
DEEP-DISH CHEESE PIZZA
Pizzeria Pezzo
Pizzeria Pezzo brings Chicago-style deep-dish pies to White Bear Lake, and each pie is full of molten-hot, creamy mozzarella cheese. If you go with the “build your own” option, you can combine a few kinds of cheese in a single pie—how about fresh mozzarella, creamy ricotta and maybe a little goat or feta for extra tang? All this cheese is amazing on its own, but maybe you’ll opt for homemade fennel sausage to provide a grounding earthy accent. Rest assured that Pezzo’s approach is ingredient-driven (local, seasonal, hormone-free). $2.25 per ingredient. Oh, and lest we forget—the crust is crumbly, dense and tasty. $17.99 pie.
