Local restaurants serve varied cheese plates

made cheeses. It was named Wheel and Wedge two years later when he opened a second location at Pittsburgh Public Market and expanded choices to include American artisan cheeses. He sold the shop in 2016 but his love for cheese hasn’t diminished.

Here are his five ultimate cheese plate suggestions:

Or, The Whale

463 Boulevard of the Allies, Downtown

“It does a fine cheese board.” The plates have either three or five selections, priced $16 and $25 respectively, and chosen from eight to 10 cheeses. The cheeses are thoughtfully paired with excellent accoutrements, he says. Although the menu does not mention it, cheeses are sold by the ounce if a diner wants to buy a specific cheese.

Chevre: Creamy goat’s milk cheese from Blue Ledge Farm (Vermont) paired with sesame cracker.

Camembert de Normandie: Soft-ripened creamy cow’s milk French cheese with honey.

Cabot Clothbound: Caramelized-nutty flavored cheddar from Jasper Hill Farm (Vermont) with sweet mustard.

Tomme de Savoie: Semi-soft French cheese made with skimmed milk with pepita brittle.

Valdeon Blue: Creamy bold Spanish blue with cocoa fudge drizzle.

Eleven

1150 Smallman St., Strip District

You can choose your cheese and build a board according to your liking. Cheeses are $4 each and mostly American artisan with a few imports sprinkled in and come with honey, walnuts and quince paste. The cheese is just as excellent as everything else at Eleven, he says.

Midnight Moon: Matured Gouda-style cheese from the Netherlands has a brown butter flavor.

Fat Cat: Earthy, tangy semi-soft cheese with a grassy finish from Birchrun Hills Farm (Chester Springs).

Nancy’s Camembert: The creamy soft-ripened cheese from Old Chatham Creamery ( New York) is made with a blend of sheep’s milk, cow’s milk and cow’s cream.

Sofia: Ripened goat cheese from Capriole Creamery was an American Cheese Society winner in 2014 and 2015.

Bayley Hazen Blue: The blue veins are well distributed in this Jasper Hill Farm cheese, which has a fudge-like texture.

Clothbound Cheddar: Wrapped in a cheesecloth, it is aged for a minimum of 10 months.

Allegheny Wine Mixer

5326 Butler Lawrenceville Cheese boards and charcuterie are an integral part of AWM. “It’s an awesome place to hang out for hours, and owner Jamie Patten and her staff are knowledgeable and know how to pair cheeses with their topnotch wine, beer and cocktails offerings.” Honey, mustard, hummus, olives and raspberry jam are served with cheeses.

Challerhocker: Smooth and dense Swiss cheese is pronounced holler hocker.

Harbison: Spreadable bloomy-rind from Jasper Hill Farm.

Blue: Mild, sweet and peppery semi-soft from Birchrun Hills Farm (Chester Springs).

Finger Lakes Gold: Nutty hard cheese from Lively Run Goat Dairy (New York).

Cabra La Mancha: Spanish inspired aged semi-soft from Firefly Farms (Maryland).

Istara Ossau Iraty: Creamy, nutty and semifirm from France.

Casbah

229 S. Highland Ave., Shadyside

“It is probably the oldest cheese board in town, and consistently the best juried.” The board features American artisan cheeses are featured as well as highquality imports, and prosciutto and cured olives work well with the choices.

Camembert: Newest cheese from Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy, Indiana Township

Losfeld Mimolette: French cheese with an orange hue is sweet and nutty.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve: Alpine-style cheese from Uplands Farm (Wisconsin) is salty with a fruity finish.

Ashbrook: Raw milk cheese with a line of vegetable ash running through the center from Spring Brook Farm (Vermont).

Stilton: Smooth creamy English cheese with blue veining spread throughout from Colston Bassett Dairy.

Market Street Grocery

435 Market St., Downtown

The cheeses at the boutique grocery store are a combination of American artisans and imports. To the board, you could also add cured meats that come from Parma Sausage Products and nibble on them while sipping wines from Collefrisio Winery in Abruzzo, Italy, in the wine room at the back of the store.

Hootenany: The Gouda from Goat Rodeo features notes of hickory nuts and wild flowers.

Saint-Andre: A brand of French triple cream cheese, it is ivory white, rich and buttery.

Danablu: The Danish blue-veined cheese is semisoft and strong.

Drunken Goat: The Spanish cheese’s purple rind and slightly fruity flavor comes from soaking in red wine.

Arthi Subramaniam/Post-Gazette The Hootenany from Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy, left, and Drunken Goat from southeast Spain are two kinds of goat cheeses sold at Market Street Grocery, Downtown.

Or, The Whale, features such American cheeses as Capriole O’Banon from Capriole, Ind.; Bayley Hazen Blue from Greensboro, Vt.; and Prairie Breeze from Milton, Iowa.