Cheese, glorious cheese. Round. Square. Wedges. Young. Aged. Hard. Soft. Mild. Strong. Melted. Sliced. It really does comes in all shapes, sizes and flavors. The eponymously-named, Fromagerie Sophie, in San Luis Obispo, represents all this, and more, with cheeses curated from all around the world.
Founded by husband and wife team, Sophie Boban-Doering and Paul Doering, the couple drew their inspiration from a trip to Paris and Sophie’s French mom. Their store, at 1129 Garden Street, is a veritable treasure trove. From the Frenchified exterior, to the way the cheese is beautifully packaged, the entire experience is authentically European.
There appears to be hundreds of cheeses to choose from. We tasted a few and settled on a ‘bandaged’ cheddar from the U.S. Aged, with the right amount of salty umami flavor, it was deliciously more-ish. But Fromagerie Sophie sells a lot more than cheese.
From packaged fine foods including mustards, jellies, truffle honey and French herbs, to fresh pâtés, bread and crackers. You could create a picnic or build a cheeseboard for a hungry hoard.
In France they eat a small amount of cheese at the end of a meal. In the U.S. it’s served as a pre-appetizer, and from my observations folks tend to fill up on du fromage, hungry as they are for their main meal. Whichever is your preference, if you’re lucky enough to live close to Fromagerie Sophie, I envy you. Petaluma sorely needs a gorgeous cheese store just like this.
More information, including details of the monthly cheese club, classes and help with events, can be found here.
[…] Monkey couldn’t resist the chili fries, but couldn’t finish them either. I grabbed a cup of bean-free chili – which was super rich, hate to think why, but it filled a hole. And all too soon, we were off on the next four-hour leg of our loooong journey – this time with Manhattan Beach in our sights. But first we had to see someone about some cheese… […]