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Category: Cheese Shops [Edit]
Neighborhood: Cole ValleyMon-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Saying cheese is supposed to be a close approximation to smiling in a photograph, but there was no "approximate" smile on my face after biting into one of their delicious sandwiches. It was full blown smile. Straight tasty stuff.
I'm not a wine or cheese connoisseur, so I am not going to speak to that selection, which look varied, but since I lack the knowledge will now speak no more.
I love Cheese shops! mmm cheese
This one was particularly good. With wonderfully helpful staff, and a wide selection. I think a previous yelper stated it properly, that you do get what you pay for and even though the cheese is expensive it is worth it.
Although, I have to say that I delayed yelping about this place. I was chatting with the guy helping us and while I was buying my cheese i mentioned that I would give a good yelp review. He rolled his eyes and basically said that yelp was overrated and he didn't really care. Did someone really give them a bad review in the past? I didn't ask, I just paid for my cheese, thanked him and left.
Be prepared to talk it up, sample a bit and pay a lot for some really really really good cheese. These guys know their stuff. They can totally help you out and if you a bit of an adventurer, they will be your guide. Just Awesome. Remember, you get what you pay for.
PS - One of them can be really opinionated, he must be a yelper. :)
I work in Upper Haight, and the food there is generally disgusting. Most places don't even try. Because of this, there are only 2 places up there where I willingly spend my money on lunch. Say Cheese is one of them.
I don't eat dairy, so I can't speak to their cheeses. Weird to review a cheese shop, I know. But this dude Mike who works there is rad and didn't laugh at me when I went in there one day and asked for a vegan sandwich. Well, not to my face at least.
Regardless, he whipped up an awesome sandwich with basically everything they have that's not an animal product (avocado, olive spread, cranberry chutney-type spread...). I was hooked. Basically, if I don't bring my lunch from home, I eat a sandwich at Say Cheese.
Also, all the guys who work here are friendly, joke around with me and my boss when we come in, and always remember what we want on our sandwiches (she orders the same damn turkey sandwich every time!). Bonus points - they also have root beer in a bottle and Kettle Chips. Lunch of champions.
They have a fantastic selection of cheeses and meats. Staff was to the point, but polite; didn't waste my time, but were curtious.
They made a mistake in my sandwich, but happy replaced it and were very appologetic.
Also provided samples and they have a selection I do not see normally (Iberico ham...yum)
If you like freshly made sandwiches that have quality ingredients - get them here! They slice the meats when your order the sandwich. I love my black forest ham sliced thin. Before going to picnic in the park, stop by Say Cheese and get all the staples for the meal: cheeses, wine, bread, chocolate, drinks, jams and of course, the sandwiches.
Yum!
Delicious sandwiches for sure. I like the dutch crunch bread (I heard a guy tell his friend in the most serious voice "seriously man, get the dutch crunch, trust me on this," since then I have always got the dutch crunch - that guy was right!), fresh roasted turkey and cranberry (no actual cheese). It's very, very delicious. The guys that work there are also very nice.
It's an unsuspecting sandwich place, but, boy is it good! Stop on by. One day I'll actually try the cheese
Say Cheese is the most awesome cheese store who ever cheesed a cheese.
That being said, Say Cheese is for hardcore cheese lovers only. They will not put up with prissy white people and their golf clothes and their fucking Starbucks cups. You know, those cucumber and mayonnaise sandwich-eating Abercrombie and Fitch wearing types. They will get laughed right out of the store, because those hoity-toits only PRETEND to love cheese because they think it makes them look classy or some shit. They can smell your bullshit and sure as they can smell your Tommy Hilfiger cologne, so don't be tryin' to front.
The people who work here are delightful. They make me delicious sandwiches and have excellent and thoughtful recommendations regarding their main product, cheese.
The other reviewers who think the staff are rude, don't understand a little thing called S-A-R-C-A-S-M. Sarcasm can be scary and intimidating to the unenlightened. If you can't deal with it, well, there's plenty of cucumber and mayonnaise sandwiches (with the crust cut off) to be had elsewhere.
If you CAN deal with it, they will become your friend and offer you tastes of cheeses. Sarcasm is important in this store, to filter out the non-cheese-heads from the true cheese-heads (and no, I don't mean Packers fans).
Cheese is a kind of meat!
A tasty yellow beef!
I milk it from my teat!
But I try to be discreet!
Ooh, cheese. Oooh, cheese.
I LOVELOVELOVE this shop!! It's almost as if Italy crash landed in your mouth and made you an offer you just couldn't refuse.
I almost don't want others to know about it so I won't have to wait in a long line for a sandwich. I work only a few blocks away and my coworkers and I are constantly stopping by to get their delicious signature sandwiches before our staff meetings. My personal favorite is the prosciutto, basil, and fresh mozzarella on ciabatta. Top that off with a can of San Pelligrino and you're set! You can walk over to the park around the corner and enjoy lunch in the sun.
It's a small shop, but they have a nice selection of cheeses, wines, chocolates (especially the truffle chocolates *drool*), olives, tapanades, dried nuts and fruits, breads, crackers and jams... you really need to stop by and take a peek around. They'll let you sample the cheeses and are knowledgeable about their selection... I suggest you let them choose a couple new cheeses to take home with a bottle of vino. It can get a bit expensive, but I go a little crazy every time I come here and get way too much. :) Oh hell... cheese is worth it!
The owner and employees have all been so very sweet and attentive to me. I always feel really welcomed when I come in. One day, I noticed that they were simmering some wonderful smelling tomato sauce in a crockpot and asked the owner what he was cooking. He ran over to Reverie (the coffee shop that he also owns) to bring a meatball for me to try, along with the sauce. What a sweetheart!! He also gave me a free cup of coffee to try to sway me from Tully's coffee shop across the street... he was trying to "keep it in the family" since I go to Say Cheese at least once a week. Hah hah.
Forget about McDonald's, the burritos that feel like lumps in your stomach, or the Americanized Asian fare and Denny's-like menus you find all over the Upper Haight. Come to Say Cheese and feast!
Normally, my BF does the shopping here because he's all into the cheese. He'll return all jauntily from a visit here with all sorts of plastic-wrapped, smelly, flavorful, bundles of fat. And normally, I don't partake because I'm acutely aware of how many calories are in 2 cubes the size of dice (I was an Atkins follower before I turned South Beach and ended in vegan-land).
Today, was like no other day. I'd just been horribly disappointed with the pate at Cafe C. You know that feeling where you ate a substantial amount of something not very tasty but hoping that it'll get better with each bite, but it does not so now you are bloated, big, malnourished but still craving something? This was me. Normally I walk by this place and I think, FAT. Today I walked by and the word Charcuterie caught my eye. That instantly got translated in my brain as "Meat and PATE!" You will never see a small Asian girl scuttle so quickly in here as I did that day. You'd have though Brad Pitt was giving away hugs.
Inside, the person behind the counter barely let me ask the question, "which pate do you prefer?" before he answered, "truffle mouse." he said it in the same solemn, near-religious, assertive, knowing, matter-of-fact way that people answer factual questions. "what time is it?" "it's 1:30." I probed a little more, because the foie de canard looked like a glistening block of love, a caramel-topped tub of i-want-to-rub-it-all-over-the-cracker, a plastic enrobed invitation to just use your hands.
He gave me a little taste of it, and I was sold. I bought about 1/2 inch thick slab. He wrapped up my precious addiction and I paid for it. it cost EONS less than the pate i'd just choked down at lunch ($4). I was able to chose my method of transportation (Boulange's mini baguettes), and the manner (secretly, on the couch, before the BF gets home), and the frequency.
That is control. And control is what every small person wants. Just look at Napoleon.
I typically turn my nose up at shops who expect you to expect them to turn their noses up at you, the patron, because you don't know as much about the product they're selling as they do. I mean, isn't that why you own the business and I merely shop there? But once in a while a place comes along that is delightfully stuffy but has the merchandise and expertise to back all that prissy impatience up.
Oh, Say Cheese, I love you and all your snobbery. I could seriously live on cheese and cheese alone and I've never ever tried a type I didn't like, so they already have that going for them. Aside from the vast and delicious array of cheese that is not only beautifully displayed but tantalizingly stocked in fridges behind the counter, these are my favorite things about the shop:
- The turkey with cranberry chutney sandwich on sliced wheat. It comes with shredded lettuce, so um, sold.
- The variety of deli staples - the tiny, red piquillo peppers, olives, and balsalmic-y cippolini onions are never missing from my dinner party cheese plates. And usually always stocked in my fridge for snacking.
- The lightning speed with which they make my sandwich and the fact that it's always made perfectly, meaning I never have to disassemble it and reorganize things on the bread so each bite is well balanced in order to appease my food OCD like I typically do when I order a deli sandwich.
- The bargain cheese bin - A little basket of the sliced off ends or leftover tiny bits of what was once a giant old round or slab. I love the idea behind it - that these snippets of cheese are just too precious to do away with and I seriously love the tiny price tag on what will become a perfect portion of late night snacking cheese in a variety I wouldn't want to pay full price to try for the first time.
- The curmudgeonly old owner. Yeah, sometimes I don't look him in the eye when I pick out a cheese, for fear he may snap at me for doing it wrong, but this also means that when he does approve, I leave there feeling like my old, cranky grandpa who hates everything and everybody just snuck me one of his prized werther's originals.
The only negative thing I can muster writing about this beloved spot is that I never leave without spending at least $45. For basically mold. But even after a wallet raping and possible tongue lashing, I will always, willingly and happily, go back and throw down $14 for a square of cheese infused with bits of black truffle.
Awesome place for awesome deli sandwiches. Since I am a big fan of salami, I was truly overjoyed to see that they added the Rosette de Lyon, one of my most fave ones. When I'm in the mood for a different one, the Finocchiona is also a winner in my book.
The staff may not be the friendliest, but they're a staple of the shop. Without them and their keepin-it-real attitude, this place wouldn't be the same.
As Alice from 97.3FM would say (before they got booted off the air), "Freakin' try it!"
I never had an appreciation for fine cheese until I was an adult. As a child I loved the sound of unwrapping the plastic Kraft singles, then I would smell it... smells clean ok! I would share the cheese with my dog. (What can I say he had a refined palate). Then there was string cheese, when I started packing my own lunch at age 9, I always put in a string cheese. I still keep string cheese in my fridge... ah the nostalgia of childhood.
Now that I'm a full blown adult (wink), I've acquired a taste for fine cheeses. I still smell them, but now I believe the stinkier the better. I find myself at Say Cheese quite often picking up a cheese for me to indulge in or a getting variety of cheeses for a gathering. The guys that work behind the counter are passionate and knowledgeable about their cheese. I usually go in and let them decide what I should get.
This place also makes sandwiches, which are good, but definitely are not the meant to be the main attraction. I've had one bad experience here when ordering a sandwich, the old guy was awfully rude. But I'm willing to forgive and forget. (4 Stars as long as the sour old guy isn't around, otherwise 3 Stars)
I mainly go to Say Cheese for their excellent sandwiches. Seriously good sandwiches. They have a super tasty menu and the bread and meat is excellent. My roommate tells me the veggie is good too.
I don't really hit them up for cheese that often, but they have an excellent selection - beyond the usual suspects - and the staff actually know what they are talking about.
The cheese and wine selection itself would get about three stars. They are ok... nothing spectacular.
I would leave things at that but the colossal arrogance and superciliousness of the staff here makes me want to give them a negative five.
I went in looking for a specific cheese. They didn't have it. Fine, worse things have happened to people in cheese shops.
The guy "helping" me took it upon himself to correct my pronunciation of this cheese. I don't have a problem with people correcting me as long as they are genuinely knowledgeable about the subject in question, and that they have the courtesy to do it in a manner that isn't downright obnoxious. In this specific case, both pronunciations were right. Is this a big deal? Not in itself, but it just set the tone for a really unpleasant purchase. Had he not already cut a slice of cheese to sell to me, I wouldn't have bought anything at the store.
I then asked him if that particular cheese paired well with a certain wine. He then turned to his co-worker whose attitude made the former's appear absolutely agreeable. Monsignor is of the opinion that wine and cheese are not meant to go together under any circumstance and that wine and cheese fanatics know this. Fair enough, my little dandy... I'm certainly not going to be purchasing any from your store.
I hope that the owner of this store reads these reviews. My experience certainly doesn't seem to be out of the ordinary at this "purveyor of (a small selection of) fine cheeses". Your store is ok, your staff needs an education.
I'm never going back.
If you don't know me, I go to cheese stores specifically to taste & buy all kinds of cheese, and here, it was no different. Because I've read numerous positive reviews for Say Cheese's sandwiches, the plan was to meet a friend here, buy some sandwiches & of course, lots of cheese and go picnic somewhere with my home-brought wine. First off, I want to say customer service here SUCKS! And I'm in the customer service industry so I usually have patience & can put up with a lot. I got greeted with a sarcastic, "What do you want?" Then, when I asked if they were sampling cheeses, I get a "Only if you buy some." In shock & not knowing what to think, I felt obligated, tasted a couple cheeses, bought some, & got out of there as soon as I could. When everything that happened finally hit me, I could not believe what just happened and I can honestly say that this is one of the first times I have ever felt like s-h-i-t coming out of someplace where I was the customer.
On top of that, the sandwich that I got (pepper turkey with smoked gouda) was nothing special. Grocery stores sandwiches are better in my perspective. And I don't think the cheese was that fresh at all either. First & last time I'm ever going here!
Their sandwiches are amazing!!! I pretty much always get the chicken & sundried tomato, although the few others I've tried are pretty much just as fantastic. I work around the corner, and on those crazy busy days when I just want to go home and be grouchy I take my lunch break and stop on by and a few bites later, my day is oh so much better.
I read some of the other reviews, and yeah, the owners can be a little, shall we say, distant, but all their employees are friendly and honestly, it doesn't really bother me, I think it kind of adds charm to the store, in some peculiar way. But that's just me.
I have yet to buy any of their other foods for sale, but one of these days when I finally throw a fabulous wine and cheese party, Say Cheese will be my go to place.
Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! And more cheese! I'm in heaven!!!!
I truly believe I may have purchased the best brie I've ever had from this cheese shop (pesto pine nut). The next time I get a major cheese hankering I will definitely be making a trip to Say Cheese. Can't wait to try others in the seemingly endless selection!
Thumbs down for no buffalo mozzarella. TWICE. Arrgh why do no places carry that here?
Also, be prepared for some very expensive, artisan cheeses. When asking for help to sub out the mozzarella for the recipe I needed, I was not recommended a cheese under $25. For a SMALL block of cheese, which would be for 1 meal. That's fine, I'm sure it's high quality, but just pointing out be prepared to spend here.
WARNING: If you don't want to read me write about lettuce for the next few sentences, skip this review.
Now that that's outta the way, let's talk about a little thing called lettuce. Say Cheese, many have written about your great sandwiches (get the Cajun chicken with Pepper Jack) but you have one little thing that helps your sandwiches stand out above the rest: shredded lettuce. Many a great sandwich has been ruined by tough lettuce veins, lettuce leaves that are bigger than the bread & lettuce so plentiful that all you taste is the lettuce on the sandwich. But not yours Say Cheese. You care enough to shred the lettuce into small pieces that add just the right texture to any sandwich, and for that Say Cheese, I say: Thank You!
Next time I will have to try some of the many cute packed goods & cheeses at Say Cheese that are bound to make me part with some cash.
Food and an education, all provided with grace and aplomb!
I seriously love this place! (Maybe too much, my scale groans.) The staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly, the selection is fantastic, and they will spend loads of time with you making sure you leave happy. The sandwiches are the best in the city, but the cheese is the main event. Oh - and they have a nice wine selection to go with. Reverie Cafe, next door, is owned by the same family. Another neighborhood treasure.
It is places like this that make me proud to live in SF and take Muni to work everyday.
Nicest guys, all willing to teach with zero pretense. Happy to give you a taste of anything. You can come in dumb and be like..."my girl likes Havarti" and they educate AND pair. The up sell is gentle and welcoming.
Steer clear of the Dried Strawberries...way too good too be that expensive.
Tips:
7 year aged White Cheddar from Quebec
If the home made Bolognese is available.....get it.
$1 spicy pepperoni stick is THE best bargain in the entire city
Italian gorgonzola picante? Check.
A good goat cheeze for pizza? Try this one . . . not strong enough . . . ok try this one, it's Spanish. Good? Check.
Fresh mozzarella? Check.
A good wine to go with gourmet pizza? Check.
5 stars for fantastic selection, knowledgeable owner, friendly service with a smile, and right on my walk home.
Say Cheese has an old-world charm that draws me back, even as I live on the other side of town.
Lets starts with knowledge. I am not sure who I work with, but he is wonderful. I think he might be the owner. No matter how busy it is, he does not rush me and he assists me in picking out unique cheeses for when I entertain.
As to selection, he has a wonderful variety. They even have an impressive blue cheese, which I used to look down upon. I really enjoy soft cheese the most and they have never let me down. They also have a great selection of goat cheese, as well as sharper cheeses. On top of that, they have other unique items, like British black crackers (get these). and specialty pastas.
In regards to price, I find there prices to be less than Whole Foods and much less than the Cheese Store in the Ferry Building. Remember, you are getting quality. For what you get, there prices almost seem cheap.
I like this store and I think it is worth traveling outside your neighborhood to go here. Parking can be a little tense in Cole Valley, so you might want to take the N. It is quick.
I'll agree with other reviewers that the attitudes of the employees are kinda "fresh", but the sandwich I got was so yummy, it pretty much made up for it. The guy helping me made my sandwich in under two minutes, literally, and it was great, I got the chicken sandwich with pesto mayo. I do wish they would be friendlier about sampling, since I know nothing about cheese and I don't want to feel obligated to buy something if I don't know if I'm gonna like it.
So I took my new friend, who's fresh off the plane from France here, and she was mildly impressed. WOAH!!! That's right, she's a real French mademoiselle, and she vaguely approved of a store that sells cheeses here in the U.S.
That's gotta be worth at least 862 stars right there.
She guided me through an assortment of French & Spanish cheeses, and I left with a bagful of Emmental, Cantal, & Reblochon. All were delicious (and yes I did share with co-workers . . . this time).
I should add, however, that you don't have to bring your own French expert. On previous visits, the staff here have also been quite knowledgeable. The pricing is very fair, and for such a tiny shop, their variety runs deep and wide.
Oh, and just in case you aren't thoroughly convinced that you should pay this store a visit, I'll add the kicker: they also sell imported meats, wines, chocolate and coffee.
Stop by, maybe you'll run across me and mon amie francaise, looking mildly bored as we loiter on the stoop, stuffing our pouty mouths with giant hunks of cheese.
Ooo la-la, tres chique!
I absolutely love this place! They have an amazing assortment of imports from all over!
Their cheese selection is top notch and they are happy to give you samples before you plop down your hard earned cash.
If you need imported meats and cheeses, and are in Cole Valley, this place shouldn't be missed.
Today, I had a pretty funny experience though. There was a quite atractive young woman in the store and the young sales kid was totally into her. Unfortunately, you have a cantankerous bastard like me also there.. When I noticed that he had no desire to help me, I did my best to annoy him. I started asking about their sheeps milk cheese and the differences between it and the cows milk. Then I asked about the different meats and what are better choices for sandwiches vs antipasto plates. He got more and more annoyed with me as the minutes ticked.. Till I heard her say "well, I gotta go.." Which was my queue to pay and leave.. Poor guy!! :)
bwahahaha..
Say Cheese makes a good sandwich, but I've had more than one experience of the guy behind the counter being overly surly. That could say as much about the clientle as it does about the staff, but who am I to judge?
Great cheeses and a nice selection of salamis.
Things didn't start out well.
First, the guy taking my order asked me to repeat my condiment requests for my turkey and cranberry chutney sandwich. What was that? People don't usually get lettuce, tomato, pickles and a little mustard on this sandwich? I don't really care, and why are you telling me this?
Second, my query of whether they take credit cards was met with a query as to whether I am local. Huh? What's with the questions on questions? Stars are slipping away....
But then, the guy told me how Say Cheese is part of a group of businesses fighting Visa and their excess surcharges. OK, I can support that. Then he told me if I didn't have the cash, I could just pay next time. Oh. Well, now I feel kind of bad. I did have the cash, thanked him, and headed to me and my sandwich's ultimate destination - Dolores Park.
And it was there that I consumed a very good turkey with cranberry chutney sandwich, which always goes well in my book with lettuce, tomato, pickles and a little mustard.
Dear fellow yelpers, have you ever actually worked any sort of retail service position? Were you ever annoyed by an uninformed but yet highly opinionated customer? How about one that clearly views you as some sort of servant instead of a peer and fellow human being? How about that one-person log jam who you have never seen before who you are attempting to help while 4 regular customers are waiting behind them? I don't know many people that have worked serving the public this way that have not been fuming at some jack-hole behind the pleasant smile that so many people seem to think they are entitled to because they are spending money somewhere.
Just imagine how satisfying it would be to be able to be a real person for once without risk of bring fired for it. You can tell off that self-important prick just like you always wanted to! Guess what, the customer is not always right, in fact they are frequently dead wrong.
Welcome to Say Cheese. They are knowledgeable and opinionated, and will share that with you, and yes, sometimes they are blunt about it. The only times I have seen them be rude is to people that seemed to deserve it.
Enough ranting, I go there 2-3 times a week for lunch, and their signature sandwiches are consistently great. I have also had great experiences with their cheese and wine recommendations. Leave your sense of entitlement at the door, treat them like real people and enjoy!
Awesome place. My friend lives down the street and we ate here before going to Outside Lands.
Cute cashier, which is a plus.
Sandwich was great - roast chicken with sundried tomato on rye. Yum.
Also this is the first place I've found Vosges' Bacon chocolate bar on sale. Bought one and loved it.
Go here if you love sandwiches, meat, cheese, chocolate, or eye candy. ;)
ah... we can be sensitive because I want to feel good when I spend my money. Specially on something as delectable as cheese and wine. It is a business after all, and most thrive on customer service. My dentist for sure over-charges me, but at least he does it with a smile.
I too have a love-hate relationship with this store. It is convenient for me and sandwiches are delish. When I see the old guy with white hair and beard behind the counter, I opt to come back at a later time. He does annoy me. All other staff are friendly and indeed very accommodating.
Great place! I'm not a cheese expert, but the staff here can work with you to find something you like.
Spanish cheese and an exceptional brea cheese from France were my first selection. I plan to go here often. Oh yeah, now, its mandatory to hit the gym!
One of my old neighborhood haunts in Cole Valley. Say Cheese is not only has a great selection of cheese but happens to make some excellent sandwiches and sells wine & other sorts of european accoutrements, etc. Not the friendliest of help behind the counter but overall worth visting.
Everyone, and I mean EVERYone in the world should be so lucky as to live across the street from a place like Say Cheese (and probably also have a good gym habit). For 5 years, I was that lucky lady who had daily access to cheeses from around the world, meats, olives, wines, the best sandwich on earth (fresh mozzarella, basil, and olive oil on foccacia), and more. Bob and Michael... and everyone there are knowledgeable, funny, and wonderful neighbors. They even put up with my crazy Dad and figured out a way to ship wine to him in Oklahoma.
The Best.
Is it any coincidence that a photographer will tell you to "say cheese" when taking your picture? This is done because when you say the word cheese it instantly produces a smile.
Are smiles addictive? Cheese smiles, that is? Is CHEESE addictive??
Do you have to admit you have a problem if you......
. Eat cheese to calm nerves or to forget worries
. Have guilt about eating cheese
. have unsuccessful attempts to cut down/stop
entering Say Cheese
. Lie about or hide that super yummy truffle cheese
. Cause harm to someone else if they try to take your $30 a lb to die for goat cheese
. Need to eat increasingly greater amounts of the product in this store
. Feel irritable when deprived of the cheese and wine and other gourmet goodies Say Cheese sells
. Have medical, social, family, financial,
or legal problems caused by cheese
. Are depressed when Say Cheese is closed
. Missed work because you were sampling for hours (they are very generous with the samples)
I say any word that instantly makes you smile is no problem at all. And if there is a neighborhood pusher who gives you free samples even after you are addicted then can it really be bad?
Denial? No way!!
The sandwiches are great! A little expensive, but the portions are big.
If I could give negative stars to this business, I would. In a big city where there are so many choices for good cheese shops, and businesses in general, you would think that shop owners would at least try to be polite to their potential customers.
This guy does not.
The other morning, my husband and I got our coffee at Tully's down the street in Cole Valley, and then strolled back to our car. We popped into Say Cheese just to check it out, because we're always happy to learn about new cheese shops. We went up to the counter of this cramped, non-wheelchair accessible shop, looked at the various selections (which were on the slightly pricey side, based on my experience with other locally owned cheese shops in SF), and were about to ask the man behind the counter for some assistance when he started berating us for our Tully's coffee:
"Instead of buying your coffee from Tully's, which is a big chain, you should go nextdoor instead. Tully's always burns their coffee anyway, and nextdoor they serve the same kind of coffee Thomas Keller serves at French Laundry. It's much better." (Note: I'm paraphrasing, since I didn't tape record the conversation...but this is pretty much what he said)
Baffled and taken aback by this man's brusqueness, I stammered out that we enjoy our Tully's coffee, which doesn't taste burnt to us, and I enjoy the mochas I get there. Why I felt the need to rationalize my purchase to this acrid man is beyond me. I was just so shocked that he would be so rude.
He proceeded to tell me that he's the owner of that coffee shop, Reverie, as well as this cheese shop. He then launched into a tirade about how I should try the "bacon bar". When I asked what that was, he repeated himself loudly and rudely, sounding out eat syllable slowly, as though I was stupid: "BAY-CON BAR!!!"
What a rude, rude man. I don't care how good he thinks his bacon bars are (which he said is a chocolate bar with bacon in it, ICK, and "the next big thing in the food world"...as if!), I wouldn't buy one from him if he was the last person selling chocolate on earth!!! At that point, my husband and I, who'd been about to buy cheese BEFORE this venomous man opened his sanctimonious mouth, locked eyes with one another, and just walked out. We'd had enough.
I've noticed a lot of rudeness and snootiness from shop owners in Cole Valley overall (noteable exceptions being Tully's, which is why I will always get my coffee there when in the neighborhood), but this really takes the cake!!
In the future, I'll go back to my beloved Cheese Boutique on the corner of Irving and 12th, where the woman who works there is always polite and kind to me, patient and respectful of my choices, and VERY reasonably priced. I'll also buy my cheese from Country Cheese Co. on Divisadero, Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building, and basically any other place where I can get good cheese from a nice, decent human being who doesn't verbally assault me!!
I sincerely hope that this man reads my review and realizes that maybe he should be a little more polite to patrons in the future. But I doubt he'll do either. So, instead, I can only hope that you, dear reader, will be able to make your own informed decision about checking this place out before subjecting yourself to the potential rudeness you might encounter inside this store.
Brrrriiiing Briinnnng
"Say Cheese"
Me: Hi, um, I was wondering if you had any Tete de Mooyynne in stock?
"Tete de Muwwha"
Me: Huh?
"It's pronounced Tete de Muwwha"
Me: Oh - so you have some
"Yeah. I got a half round"
Me: Oh. That sounds like a lot.
"This is about an inch and a half. It's almost indestructable - it'll last you two, three months. It's like an indestructible gruyere. You got a girolle?
Me: Yeah. Last time I got the end round of about an inch, lasted me a couple months.
"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!!!"
Me: Wha-what? Is that your name?
"No I wasn't talking to you. I'm throwing meat across the store at someone"
Me: Oh - well that's quite the visual.
"We're a very visual store"
Good enough for me.
The guys who work at the shop with a cheesy name are the salty types one might expect to find in a Brooklyn deli. They know their cheeses, meats, and olives, but sometimes they feel the need to question how well I know mine.
Cheese Guy: "You sure you want a WHOLE pound of Kalamata AND a half pound of Nicoise? What's it for?"
Me: "Yeah, I'm sure. I'm making a tapanade mountain for my alpine tablescape. Where's the capers?"
CG: "Oh, OK, sorry. Just checking. And you know that's whole milk mozzarella, right?"
Me: "Yeah, does it matter?"
CG: "No, I just wanted to make sure."
Was he calling me fat? Oh well, I can tolerate being treated like an overweight culinary moron if that is what it takes to keep shopping here. The service is great (despite my previous kvetching) and the sandwiches are perfect. Everything about this store exudes high quality and taste, and the prices are reasonable compared to a lot of other boutiquey cheese shops in this city.
---
Update 6/5/07
I went in yesterday and we all had a good laugh when I said, "I'll take a tub of rendered duck fat," but then I had to reassure them that I really meant it, and AGAIN they questioned my olive purchase. What gives?
Neighborhood: Glen Park
Category: Cheese Shops
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
Category: Cheese Shops
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Cheese Shops
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Cheese Shops
Neighborhood: Cole Valley
Category: Coffee & Tea
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