Cheeseplates

Lavender Fennel Goat cheese rules the plate in Tucson

I have officially located the best cheese ever.  

While in Tucson for Christmas with my husband's family, we went for dinner to Vin Tabla. They have a terrific (if brief) cheese menu (available here) and we ordered 1 oz each of the following: 

• Brillat Savarin, which is a melt in your mouth soft cow's milk cheese;   
• Cabecou Armagnac, a soft goat's milk cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves that have been soaked in french brandy;  
  
• Purple Haze, a fluffy chevre with a dusting of lavender and fennel seed mixed in.
  

The Purple Haze blew me away!  I've never had a cheese that tasted like morning. It was just so pleasant and fresh and creamy, with none of the heaviness that people sometimes associate with cheese. I liked it so much, I looked to see if I could get it at the Cowgirl Creamery here in DC -- happily, I can.  Check out their cheese encyclopedia entry with full info.

Cheeseplate in Timbuktu (literally! -- well, almost)

So I am in Mali (see map) this week for work -- in Bamako, actually, which is about 500 miles south west of Timbuktu.  Low and behold, when I sat down to dinner with my colleague tonight, there was a cheeseplate on the menu.  Who could pass that up?  (It turns out that most Americans traveling in Mali could pass that up, but luckily there aren't that many of us.)

The plate came with three solid cheeses

• a creamy Brie,
• a soft and tangy blue (very smooth),
• and a pleasant swiss. 

I think maybe it was supposed to be an appetizer, since it came with a lettuce salad that was dressed very simply with olive oil, no vinegar.  Lovely!  The lettuce was particularly nice with the swiss. 

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised (it is francophone West Africa), but the idea of a cheese plate in West Africa was rather startling. Happily, it was also rather tasty (nice french style cheeses)!