Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hidden Details

We removed the aluminium siding on the facade of the building on Hastings today. To our surprise, there were some hidden architectural details that have been covered up for what my guess is at least 40-50 years. I'm sure they have a technical name, but there are beveled indentations on each of the four columns and on the parapet. We also got a glimpse into previous paint colours.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Fiscalini Cloth Bound Cheddar

This bandage wrapped raw milk cheddar comes to us from Modesta, California. Mariano Gonzalez, a world-renowned cheese maker, winner of many awards including “the outstanding cheese of the year” and five times “the Best Farmhouse cheese in North America” as voted by the American Cheese Society, is now the senior cheese maker at Fiscalini Cheese.
He handcrafts and inspects every 60 pound wheel of Fiscalini Farms' bandage-wrapped raw-milk cheddar. It is quite rare for an English-style farmhouse cheddar like Fiscalini's to be produced in the U.S. Only All Natural materials and processes are used when Gonzales makes Fiscalini Cheddar. Using Fiscalini's own milk and aged for 18 months on the property, Fiscalini Cheddar cheese was voted "Best Farmhouse Cheese" at the 2002 American Cheese Society Awards in Washington D.C. Fiscalini Cheddar Cheese is a wonderful example of the success of the artisan cheese movement in the U.S. today. Rich, buttery and sharp, Fiscalini Farmstead Cheddar is a world-class cheese.


Now available at both locations - $6.99 per 100 grams

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Hastings Update

Floor poured: Check...
The cement guys were working late last night putting in a new layer of concrete over the existing floor. Hats off to them and their 12-14 hour day. Give it a couple of days to set, and we can seal it.
It's nice and bright inside as we get so much natural daylight inside, and that doesn't account for the two big skylights that are blocked out for now. One skylight will be right over the kitchen (left side), with another one sitting over the cheese cutting area (right side). The front windows are almost floor to celing.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Fenocchio Renato Olive Oil

We just received a small amount of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil from Italian wine producer Fenocchio Renato. There were only 1000 bottles of this oil produced. This oil is a Farmstead Wines selection.

Renato has been cellar master in a major estate in Barbaresco until 1993 when together with his wife Milva, they decided to take care of the family vineyards and start bottling their own wines. The first vintage was 2000. Renato and Milva Fenocchio spend much of their time in the vineyards. The estate has about 11 hectares spread amongst the major crus of Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso, with soils ranging from the argilo-calcaire of Barbaresco to the grey-blue sandstones of Neive.

This single varietal oil has a rich green hue and is a bit less peppery than some of the Italian oils we sell. It get's its sweet fruity aroma from the taggiasche olives, which are considered to be the premium eating olive grown in the Liguria region.

$48.00 / 750ml bottle