Come On, Eileen!

If you've had a chance to try the "California Flight" in the last few weeks, you may have been privileged to sample the incredibly delicious Carabiner, a creamy Alpine-style cow's milk cheese from Weirauch Creamery in Petaluma. Our team was recently invited by proprietors, Joel and Carleen Weirauch to tour the property and learn how their organic cow's milk and farmstead sheep's milk cheeses are made.

"Eating well and taking it slowly" is the motto that Joel and Carleen live by at Weirauch. They believe that theirs, along with other small, family farms in Northern California, is an integral component to the network that is sustainable, local agriculture. They strive in the making of organic cheese and the raising of pasture raised sheep to connect people to the land and with it their food sources.

And, they are simply the loveliest people you could ever meet.

We had heard it was "lambing season" at Weirauch Farm, two words that made it that much easier to pile into the mini van on our day off that Monday morning. Shortly after driving up the gravel path, we were greeted by four feet and four hooves. Joel and Carleen had recently adopted a baby...lamb that is.

Eileen is the newest addition to the Weirauch home, after being rejected by her mother, Meatball, at birth three days prior. She was fuzzy and warm and smelled like heaven.

Besides the fuzzy newborns on the pasture, delicious cheese was being born in the creamery's aging facility. In the off season for sheep's milk, Joel and Carleen purchase organic cow's milk, mostly Jersey, from a neighboring farm. Trained in Europe, Joel experiments with alpine, washed-rind, and tomme fraiche varieties.

His creamery and aging room are all hand built by him and he is constantly refining his methods and techniques.

We were lucky enough to taste his lovely washed rind, Peau de Peche; the Alpine, Carabiner; and an unnamed experiment right from the aging room's pine slats.

After our cheese business was done, we got down to some serious frolicking in the pasture. Eileen and the other lambs have plenty of space to roam and play and the ewes seemed just as carefree. Heck, I'd be more than happy to come back as a lamb on Weirauch Farm. Just look at the beauty:

Our day ended with a wonderful lunch of salad, charcuterie, and of course, cheese. It was a glorious visit. Thanks to Joel and Carleen Weirauch for inviting us into their home and on their majestic property. And thanks to Eileen for providing ample cuteness.

Come to Mission Cheese to try all of Weirauch's cow's milk varieties and stay tuned for the sheep cheese to come!

Blogged by Liz Rubin

Paste, Slurry, Evaluate: Pairing Precepts 101

I hope all you SFers participated in the recent Beer Week, a citywide celebration of local brews, brewers, and terroir. We at Mission Cheese were so thrilled to hold three different events in honor of the lauded libation.

The week began on February 13th with a visit from Drakes Brewing of San Leandro, followed by a day with Lucky Hand on the 15th, culminating in a tribute to farmers inspired by Almanac Beer.

The events afforded us not only an avenue to further our partnerships with like minded agricultural agents, but also, the opportunity to educate a wider audience about the delicious versatility cheese brings to the table. For this blog post, I'd like to give a short run-down on the precepts of pairing.

1. PASTE

This first step is the most second-nature to us all. See cheese, eat cheese is basically the way it works. Instead of swallowing, create a paste with the cheese to then be paired with your beverage of choice. We chose many different genres of American artisanal cheese for the Beer Week events. Here are just a few:

Cabra Blanca (goat) - This semi-soft goats' milk cheese from Avalanche Creamery in Basalt, Colorado, offers a complex grassiness that we thought would pair well with lighter wheat and hopped ales. Cabra's notes of lemon and other citrus temper it's tang and its creamy texture balances well with an acidic beverage.

Classico (goat) - The nutty, sweet taste of Classico, Tumalo Farm's gouda-style goat, imparts a flavor that can stand up to a richer beer. The caramelized flavors of ambers, abbeys, and even scotch ales would would surely be enhanced by the taste and texture of this aged goats' milk cheese.

Shepherdista (sheep) - The earthy qualities of Shepherdista, an aged sheeps' milk from Bleating Heart Creamery in Sebastopol, easily paired it to many of the beers we tried it with. It's salty center and grassy, almost leafy rind create a sublime communion with pale ales and farmhouse Belgians.

Bohemian Blue (sheep) - It can be more difficult sometimes to pair strong cheeses, like blues, with beers, but the sweet, fruity flavor of this sheeps' milk blue from Hidden Springs in Westby, Wisconsin is excellent with most Belgians and Barleywines.

Dunbarton Blue (cow) - Beer and cheddar, DUH.

Winnimere (cow) - Winnie, as we lovingly call her, is a Vacherin-style cheese made at Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. This cheese has been washed in beer and wrapped in spruce bark. It has an almost bacon-like meatiness that creates majesty with smoked beers, rich stouts, and nutty Belgians.

2. Slurry

This step is where the beer comes in to play. The paste becomes a slurry once beer is introduced. This is the magic moment where new flavors are produced on the palate. Here are a few of the beers that were tasted during Beer Week:

Cabra Blanca with Almanac Winter Wit

Drakes Amber with Classico

Shepherdista with Almanac Autumn Pale Ale

Bohemian Blue with Almanac Summer Belgian Ale

Dunbarton Blue with Lucky Hand Black Lager

Winnimere with Drakes Seasonal Smoked Stout

3. Evaluate

When evaluating a pairing, there are simple rules to remember:

First, integrity of elements. It is important that both individual elements of the pairing can be tasted when combined. This being said, a single element, the cheese or the beer, should not overpower the other.For instance, when pairing a more delicate, fresh cheese with a robust, bitter beer, the cheese will more than likely acquiesce to the beer's more forthright flavors.

Secondly, a successful pairing will be evocative. It is quite lovely when a cheese can evoke flavor nuances from the libation it is paired with and vice versa. We found, for example, that when paired with Bohemian Blue, subtle grassy notes could be tasted in the Almanac Summer Ale.

Third, a good pairing is one that is delicious. Just because flavors are evoked by the pairing does not mean they are always palatable.

Finally, the ultimate pairing produces the elusive and extremely technical, alchemical mouth explosion. This occurs when an entirely new and extremely delicious flavor is introduced by the pairing union. It's that WTF moment that elicits instant happiness.

I hope this simple run-down of pairing precepts answers some of your questions and inspires you to pair cheese with beer, wine, and spirits. If you were not able to enjoy the delicious pairings during Beer Week, be sure to watch our website for upcoming Night Cheese events.

Blogged by Liz Rubin

Our Trip to Lucas Winery

It's hard to believe it's 2012 -- little MC is growing up and is quickly becoming a full-fledged asset to the cheese community in San Francisco and to our little neighborhood on Valencia Street. We couldn't have survived the last 10 months without the help of our partners, specifically, the cheese makers, brewers, and wine makers whose passion-filled products fortify our menu and our lives with quality, not to mention heart and soul.

It's time to pay tribute to one such amazing partner, Lucas Winery. Last November, we were invited to beautiful Lodi, California for a tasting and vineyard foray at Lucas, the producers of our delicious CTZN Zinfandel and Zinfandel Rose. The winemakers, Buck Lucas, David Lucas, and Heather Pyle-Lucas, (not to exclude Harlow the dog), greeted us with pruning shears in hand and immediately set us to work trimming the over 30 year old vines in their ZinStar vineyard.

We were told how to maintain the candelabra-like shape to best reflect sunlight and retain heat. It was difficult to manage the pruning with a glass of the beautiful 2010 Rose in one hand, but we were proficient in our duty.

Next treat was barrel tasting in the spectacular barrel room designed by Heather, whose oenological pedigree includes the names Mondavi and Opus 1. It was utterly fascinating to sample the same wine from different barrels -- French versus Russian; Aged versus new.


The resulting sample was completely different in character and flavor and gave credence to the importance of all steps in the process from vine to glass.

I think my favorite part of the day was (not surprisingly, if you've met me) lunch. A large, wooden communal table was set up in the barrel room. The place setting included two glasses - one for the CTZN zin and one for the Estate. Where the CTZN is bright, grassy and forest floor, the Estate zin imparts approachable oak and a prune-like finish. Both wines worked in tandem to enhance the main course -- Heather's beef stew. During lunch Heather and David discussed the early beginnings of Lucas. The passion in their voices was palpable to all us there and we listened with insatiable attention.


Finally, the cheese made an appearance: Reading Raclette (cow), Txiki (sheep), and Coupole (goat) came to the table to make friends with the Lucas old vine zinfandel dessert wine. The pairings were equally delicious and put a satisfying capstone on the meal.

Thank you, Lucas family for your hospitality and spirit. We feel so honored to carry the CTZN wines and so privileged to include you all in the Mission Cheese family.

Blogged by Liz Rubin

Our New Cheese Family

Something about sunny September (yes, it's September) days like today makes me want to reminisce about the days spent parsing through resumes & interviews at Summit (in the early stages of my soy matcha addiction) with the goal of building a kick ass cheese-loving team. Slowly divulging details about Mission Cheese searching for the passionate few. Following interviews & careful selection, there was cheese university held amongst final construction details & dusty bar stools. The frazzled professor (me? frazzled? Nooooooo) did her best to pour all the love & energy out on the table in hopes that this daring team of cheesers would eat it up. It worked! Well, for the most part (we won't talk about the other part).

Ahhh...the good old days of early 2011.

Now as we enter September, it feels like a new family has been created. Not one to replace any other sort of family (obviously Mom, Dad, & Bro...you are the original & irreplaceable...I promise), but a seriously tight knit crew of characters from all over (we have Florida, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, SoCal & NorCal in the house) that have come together in the name of American artisan cheese. In the first 4.5 months we have created bonds that I believe will last a life-time. We have laughed (hysterically), cried (only a few times), danced, burned arms, cut fingers, broken several wine glasses & ramekins, laughed (again...hysterically), mopped floors, shared hugs & our fair share of fist pumps. It is a team that I am truly honored to be a part of, so without further a-do...

Meet Liz! Interested in all things related to good food, it is no surprise that Liz is a natural cheesemonger. She is crazy intelligent & has experience working with the James Beard Foundation, the Oregon Truffle Festival, & most recently a killer butcher shop in SF's Bernal Heights known as Avedanos. Thank heavens she was on the free market & interested cheese. She has kept me sane in times of complete chaos and treats Lil MC like it is her own. I cannot imagine Mission Cheese without her, or her bad-ass sleeve tattoo. Give it up for Lizzie!

Meet Steve! Coming to us from Ann Arbor, Michigan Steve was the first person I interviewed for a position at MC & I knew from the moment I heard him talk about taking part in the complete decimation of a full wheel of Montgomery's cheddar that he was a perfect fit. Also incredibly intelligent (you will notice there is a theme here...lucky Lil MC) with cat like reflexes Steve has held the shop together in the craziest of moments (I recall an evening in the first week or so when Steve & I were the only people manning the ship...whoa). He is the brain behind Chedd or Alive. Steve is the bomb.

Meet Kendra! Kendra was the first to email me in November 2010 telling me about her love form cheese that developed while living in Paris and asking for an opportunity to interview. I began the interviewing process some 4 months later & of course it was meant to be. (How do you say no to that smile?) Between studying for her graduate degree here in SF (smarty pants! see...I told you) and mongering at Mission Cheese, Kendra is diligently working toward eating everything on 7x7's top 100 things to eat in SF list. It's dedication, and she's nailing it. We love Kendra!!!

Meet Lindsay! Lindsay came to MC in a pinch...on a Saturday amidst a mad rush, she answered a call for help (placed by Steve) & magically appeared to rescue Lil MC. She killed it in the dish pit (washing dishes...yep, favorite part of the job), and was pretty much hired on the spot for her superhero abilities. She is a Bay Area native, a crossword wiz (along with Steve), and has a smile that is known to melt cheese. She's not smiling in this pic...so you'll have to come see for yourself. Aha! A teaser.


Meet Eric (also known as DJ Lo-Fi)! After moving to SF from NYC, Eric was looking to change it up a bit and focus his work efforts on food. He contacted me via Facebook (yes, that's right...Facebook), came in for a sandwich, and the rest is history. He started his first shift by bringing the team some homemade pate (I don't lie), and immediately won our hearts. His height & muscles are also very useful when organizing small spaces, and his ability to describe cheese (and food in general) is remarkable. Eric has also made me laugh when in the most horrible/overwhelmed mood. E...I think it's for essential.


Meet Patty! She won me over with an Ode to Cheese that made me smile for days. Patty, also a Bay Area native graduated with a science degree from NYU, returned to the bay and had the urge to work in the kitchen. We share Patty with Bar Tartine where she is honing her skills in one of the most talented kitchens in the city. I am often baffled by how she remains standing and how remarkable her name is for nicknames (Patty-melt, Patty-cakes, Patticus Finch, Patty Sajak...amazing). We are lucky to have her knife skills & her ability for cheesey prose.


Last, but certainly not lease, meet Sarah! (I know...we are working on a nickname, more on that later) Recently moving from Chicago & originally from SoCal (she grew up with Kendra), Sarah has been a natural addition to our family. Kendra calls her Sars...which then blossoms into Sarsie, Sarsipie, etc, but we are all a bit hesitant to call our new family member Sars (haha). We'll figure something out. I wouldn't mind having a double most times anyways. She has the most delightful energy & she is a lover of cheese. We are so happy to have her!


These are the wonderful people that have kept Oliver & I sane(ish) during the madness. They allow us to get away for tasty dinners & afternoons on the beach (and soon a 2 day trip!) I could seriously go on for days about this crew of individuals, but my time in this comfy chair is up...have to get to the shop.

Oh...and if you're interested in a little cheese fun, our 3rd Night Cheese Event, Sheep Fever, is September 15 (next week Thursday)! We will be chatting sheep's milk cheese with the Marcia Barinaga from Barinaga Ranch & Seana Doughty from Bleating Heart. Of course, these cheeses will be paired with California wine (maybe even some beer)...it's usually quite the party! There are still some tickets available & you can snag them here.

Hope to see you soon!

Mission Cheese Goes to Barinaga Ranch: From Suckling to Shucking

On Monday, June 25th, the staff at Mission Cheese traveled to Barinaga Ranch in Marshall, California. The first excursion of many to come, the day promised a lesson in Basque-style sheep milk cheese making as well as a tour of the ranch itself. It did not disappoint. Marcia Barinaga the proprietor of Barinaga and the keeper of its 65 sheep greeted us at the entrance to her shipping container turned creamery with hair nets and booties in hand. We were there to help turn out and brine her beloved Baserri and Txiki (pronounced "cheeky").

Marcia, a microbiologist and science writer by trade, slid into the world of cheese making with the desire to continue her family's tradition of producing Basque-style cheeses, a practice

that was passed on through her father, a sheep herder from Idaho. Although her bent was scientific, Marcia's tone was loving as she discussed the procedure from milking to forming to brining to aging. The ranch in its second season has doubled in production from 3000 to 6000 pounds of cheese produced annually and this growth in size can be attributed to the careful sorting of the ranch's best producing ewes (we came to learn that a sheep called Panties and another called Guapa were leading the pack in production).

Our task, and we chose to accept it, was to weigh each freshly made Baserri (large format) and Txiki (small format) cheese, record their weights, and place them on the cart for brining and aging. The brining liquid was a saturated solution that included three different bacterium - B-Linens, Microdor, and Geotrichum. These bacteria contribute to the taste as well as the appearance of the cheese: B-Linens, for instance, usually the primary bacterium for most washed rinds, promotes the orange color that's become notorious as well as a fragrant meaty pungency that lingers in the air as well as the tongue. This bacterium gives the Baserri a yellowish tint and an earthy flavor.

While the cheese swam in solution, our team moved on to the milking room, a large tin barn where assistants Lolo and Ignacio shepherded the ewes on to the line for eating and milking. Utters were cleaned with iodine and then placed into the mechanized milker. Five at a time, the sheep moved up the ramp for their daily deposit, turning the din from whine to purr. Marcia told us that everyday it's the same order, the last four ewes

consistently the stragglers. A high point of the visit was trying the fresh sheep's milk, creamy and sweet, only hours from the utter.

A visit to Barinaga could not have been complete without a visit to the nursery, lamb nursery that is. Three of them, one black two white, were waiting rather impatiently for their afternoon feeding. Bottles were filled with fresh milk and each of us had a turn feeding the babes. We learned after that these three girls would soon be on their way to slaughter, as genetically they were unfit milkers. Oh, the ways of the farm!

After we bid farewell to Marcia, our day in Marshall continued at Nick's Cove, a roadside oyster bar and

restaurant. Due to excellent timing, we were able to take over the adjacent boat house building that sits away from the restaurant down a long wooden dock. We enjoyed 3 dozen oysters , several seafood chowders, a pasta bolognese, and some roasted scallops with corn.

As the sun set on Tomales Bay, we began our journey back over the Golden Gate Bridge. Our first excursion as a staff was complete, but the feelings generated and the warmth shared would indeed linger on. I can only speak for myself, but the visit to Barinaga has made me more proud of the product we sell, as it is a byproduct of the passion and dedication felt by cheese makers like Marcia Barinaga.

Be sure to come to Night Cheese on August 11th to meet our staff and discuss the many other cheeses we are proud to showcase at Mission Cheese!

Hallelulah...Holy Shit!

The past nine weeks have been quite the whirlwind! This post was supposed to go up the morning of April 13, opening day. I actually had many fond daydreaming sessions about the opening day post when I would write "Mission Cheese is open for business!" Then crazy happened. Good crazy. Delicious crazy. Frustrating crazy. Exhausting crazy. Overwhelming emotional crazy (sorry Oliver). Hilarious crazy. Crazy love. Lots of crazy. There will always be a snippet of crazy, but I feel like we are settling into our little shop at 736 Valencia, and it feels mighty nice.

For a nice trip down memory lane...this (left) is was the space was when we found it back in October 2010. To your right...is what it looks like now (generally with some booties in those beautiful stools). I could not be happier with the way things turned out & there is a long list of people to thank for making it happen. Bringing MC to life was the most humbling experience I can imagine as there is only so much you can do on your own. which also makes the experience very communal & infinitely more special. Lots of love has been poured in from the generous family that has welcomed Li'l MC. What a trip. Hallelulah. Holy shit.

Now that we (we now being an AMAZING team of 7 Cheesers) have had just over two months of getting in our cheese loving groove, we can look back a have a good chuckle at some of the bumps in our road. Ingredient swap-a-roos, dishwasher lessons, undersized oven mits, batched cheese wrappage, scrambling wipe-out caused by a rascally bar towel (yep...that was me), clogged toilets, slow-motion mop bucket spillage...just to name a few. There have also been some classic characters that have entered MC leaving us with amazing quotes & countless laugh sessions. I feel compelled to share at least this one...

Seemingly normal man walks into MC & finds a space at the center of the bar, directly in front of lucky me...

Man: I need a shot. (eyes crossing & lips pursing very strangely)

Me: I'm sorry sir, we only have wine & beer.

Man: I guess what I'm saying is I need something strong...and quick.

Me: (very perplexed perhaps disgusted facial expression)

Man: I need a shot.

Me: I think perhaps what you need is a burger...before it's too late.

Lady customer at the bar: I think it's already too late!

Man exits. Phew.

The MC staff has also already earned their crime fighting badge. That's right. Last Thursday Mission Cheese was Mission Cheese...and Justice, when our man-cheesers (Eric & Steve) confronted a man who tried to steal both a phone & a purse from delightful MC customers. Both were recovered (and greeted with a round of applause from a full house of cheese lovers) & the thief was identified & arrested. We certainly did not want to be responsible for putting anyone in the slammer, but when one messes with our cheese lovers...they leave us no choice. Justice was served.

Most importantly, we have served up some serious amounts of American artisan cheese. Sharing stories & great conversations about our fermented friend...and life. Every day is an adventure, and we feel very fortunate to have such lovely & curious people walk into the shop every day (except Mondays...ha). Ya'll rock.

It has certainly been a wild ride thus far, but I would do it all over again in a half-second.

Next post (yes, we are back in action), it will be my pleasure to introduce you to the kick ass team of Cheesers that make Mission Cheese an amazing place to be.

Parents...and the many ways in which they rock.

We are down to the wire cheese lovers, so I do not have as much time as I would like to write an update...but a mini-update is better than no update. Yes?

As mentioned in my last post, my Parents were in town for 10 days of Mission Cheese-ing. Unbelievable Troopers. Definitely worth sharing.


Just for a little context, let's flashback to just under two years ago on a drive back from Mendocino...

Mum: I don't understand why you would quit your job. It's a good job. There are so many people looking for jobs!

Me: I am miserable in my cubicle. Life is too short to spend it on something I am not passionate about.

Mum: I just worry!

Me: It's going to be great, Mom! People love cheese!

Mum: You'll understand when you're a mother. We never stop worrying! DON'T DO IT! PLEASE! (sniffle sniffle)

Despite the worries (and they still worry), my Parents have been nothing but supportive from the moment this mission began. My Mum met me in Europe to kick things off & was a complete rockstar on cheese explorations through England & France (we only really got in 1 fight when visiting a COMTE aging facility...and I can barely remember what it was about). Then, they let me borrow a car (Mazda!) furnished with a GPS device (which I insisted I did not need...and I was 100% incorrect) to drive all over the country and visit cheesemakers & subsidized my lodging so that I would not bring my tent & camp alone. They visited creameries with me in Wisconsin, and my Mum even came to meet up with me on the east coast to accompany me on my drive back to Cali. On that drive, somewhere in Oklahoma in the middle of the night we (Mum driving) ran over a dead dear in the center to of the road at 75 mph (not recommended). It has been a journey.

So, back in the present, this trip was a pretty big deal. The first meeting of MC, which I like to call their granddaughter. Finally putting it all in perspective & the grand realization that...there is no turning back. My Parents dove right in, ready to help.

They drove all over the Bay Area looking for cove base tile (necessary for kitchen & bathroom areas...and not very easy to find if you want it to be somewhat attractive). Installed & grouted the tile. Unpacked much of the refrigeration & put it in place (not easy). Installed the sound system. (surround sound...you better believe it!) Reupholstered & reinforced the chairs...all 14 of them. Purchased lights, napkins, a grinder. Chiseled rough parts of the cement wall...and provided some much needed unconditional love. All the while, keeping their worried minds in check...most of the time.

I don't think all the curds of gratitude I could gather would do the trick on this one. My Parents have always been the most generous people I have ever known. I am just lucky that they are mine.

Mission Cheese...made possible by Richard & Dianne Dvorak. Mountains of curds to you...and lots of love too!


In other news, we are getting very close (in case you have not read about it already in 7x7, Inside Scoop, Eater, or Grub Street...EEK!) We have passed final building & health inspection, and the last step is obtaining the certificate of occupancy...which will hopefully happen early next week. So, we are targeting next Wednesday, April 13 for bringing cheese to the people. We are still waiting patiently on the beer & wine license...but we can still get our cheese on.

Also, the IndieGoGo campaign is still on & we are almost $2K away from our goal. While there is nothing (I mean NOTHING) I like less than asking for MOOla. We need it! Pass it on. You rock.