Murray's Cheese Bar
The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy for me: finally moving all of my possessions to New York, helping Mozart adjust to big city life, working full time while trying to unpack and scheduling for an entire apartment of furniture to be delivered (praise the furniture gods for IKEA). Somewhere in all that, I managed to turn 28 and fit in no less than six birthday celebrations (!). The first of which took place in my beloved new home, at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village. I hadn't intended on even having a New York birthday gathering, since I was going to be in Ohio for the actual day. My friend Trent, however, suggested we do something and I'm never one to turn down a chance to eat food of any kind. He e-mailed me potential spots, all great suggestions, but the clear front-runner was Murray's. I had wanted to go there for a while — do you blame me, when they're tagline is "An Homage to Fromage?" They take reservations too, which is nice, since this is New York and at anytime there are millions of people trying to do the exact same thing that you want to do.
I had been to Murray's Cheese shop, on Bleecker street for more than seven decades, and knew that we were in good hands. I had actually tried to cut dairy from my diet recently but failed miserably — cheese is basically my favorite food to eat alone or add to most anything. The cheese bar does have a bar, but it's also a full restaurant, with appetizers, entrées, a long wine list and, of course, cheese.
We decided on the Cheesemonger's Choice plate of eight for the table. You can "art direct" your plate as much or as little as you want — for example, we said that we wanted two meats, six cheeses and nothing from the bleu cheese category, but left the rest up to the "Cheesemonger" to decide. We were not disappointed, and everything we ended up with was incredible. Aside from being delicious, the presentation was beautiful. Every cheese came paired with a sweet or savory side (honey, raisins, kimchee, cherries) and I can't possibly remember every one. I do remember that the two meats were prosciutto and boar (!) which were both great.
We also ordered queso fundido to share, and I'm not even sure what was in it (cheese for sure, jalepenos, some sort of meat, beans maybe?) but it was a fancy, amazing version of nachos that was devoured in no time.
The entire place is small, but incredibly cute. I loved the typography, menu design and farmhouse-industrial feel, and I can't wait to go back. Their entrées all looked great — probably because most everything they have prominently features cheese — and I'd love to try more (all?) of the cheese combinations. I was surprised at how little the bill was ($20/person for the platter, fundido and a bottle of wine), which is always a good way to end a great meal.
Murray's is also right next to Cones, home of my favorite sweet corn ice cream, and John's, my favorite New York pizza place. There are a few more restaurants that I'd love to try on that stretch of Bleecker Street, and considering the company they keep I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
