America's cheesiest restaurants

One of the most delightful cheese service carts, at The Inn at Little Washington, in Washington, Va., even has a name: Faira is a charming fiberglass cow, which, as she is wheeled around the dining room, emits a darling “moooo!” Copied from a state fair award-winning cow of the same name, Faira offers guests a selection of up to 25 cheeses as part of fixed menus that range from $148 to $168. While international in scope, the selection focuses on American cheeses, including one from Rapidan, Virginia’s Evereona Cheeses that incorporates the ends and bits of truffles left over from the Inn’s kitchen. The inn itself, opened in 1978 in a converted garage, evolved into one of the most celebrated inns and restaurants in the world.

Another inn, Cleveland’s charming Baricelli Inn, in an 1896 mansion, has its own on-premises cheese company, with more than 40 handcrafted cheeses kept in a state-of-the-art cooler. Chef-owner Paul Minillo serves them as part of his “Artisanal Cheese Boards”: three selections for $14, five for $17 and seven for $19.

One of the true pioneers of cheese service in Americas was chef-restaurateur Terence Brennan, who, upon opening Picholine on New York’s Upper West Side in 1993, distinguished his menu by offering the largest cheese selection in America (and perhaps the world). Stored in a corner of the temperature-controlled 2,500-bottle wine room is the Cheese Cave, with scores of cheeses ripening or ready to serve in flights of three ($20) from six countries, with three wines ($20).

But Brennan went even further with New York City's Artisanal, a combination of Art Deco-style restaurant and fromagerie, with a cellar that stocks more than 200 cheeses. While the bistro menu features Gruyere-rich onion soup, fondues, macaroni and cheese and at lunch, crusty, oozy croque monsieur and croque madame sandwiche, all of the cheeses are also available for retail sale.

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Overseeing Brennan’s fromagerie, Artisanal Premium Cheese, is maître fromager Max McCalman, whose book, with David Gibbons, “Cheese: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best,” has been hailed by wine guru Robert M. Parker, Jr, as “a terrific guide to understanding the world’s finest cheeses.” Says McCalman, “There is a wider range and higher quality of fine table cheeses available every day. Importers and distributors are working hard to move more exceptional product into the country, and we’re seeing plenty of authentic European cheeses that were rarely, if ever, seen in this country four or five years ago.”

There’s nothing quite so expansive as Artisanal in Las Vegas, but Joel Robuchon, with three Michelin stars, is certainly the most lavish of the Strip’s haute cuisine French restaurants. Here, they roll out a grand cart laden with the finest French cheeses. Even after working your way through the six-course $250 menu or the 16-course $385 menu, you may still not be able to resist les fromages. At least no Frenchman would.

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