Gimme some Gourmet Garage

On Saturday night, we invited some friends over for a little wine and cheese gathering. Please imagine me saying (well, typing) the words “wine and cheese” in a snooty tone with a slightly British accent. In fact, I know very little about those two items, beyond knowing that I like them very much.

We stopped by one of my favorite Upper East Side gourmet grocers, Agata and Valentina to pick up some fromage and crackers. On the sidewalk outside, I was surprised to see that community volunteers and members of a local supermarket union were handing out flyers titled, “Ignoring Workers and Customers.” This called for customers to speak out to management about improving work conditions here. This was disconcerting: I love this place and its old-world, European charm. It’s packed to the gills with delectables. I didn’t like to learn that they might be mistreating their employees yet I really wanted to serve that cheese they have with the truffles…

Enter Fiancéman, my superhero. When he came in a few minutes after me, I already had the cheese in my basket and also some of those excellent, extra long, Margaret’s Artisan Flatbreads speckled with rosemary. “We shouldn’t buy here if this is true,” he said, holding the flyer out to me.

I looked at him. “But…” That’s really all I could say. After all, he was right. It did seem sad that the store was absolutely buzzing with customers despite the mini protest outside. So I put my items back and we took our business elsewhere, to Gourmet Garage, at 96th and Madison. I’ve been to the location on 64th a few times but this was my first visit to this one. In the early 80’s this company started as a wholesale food distributor. In the 90’s they opened their doors directly to the customers, and now there are five locations in Manhattan.

This store is also stacked high with similar gourmand goodness. I appreciate their “shop like a chef” tagline: if they handed out tall white chef hats at the door, I’d certainly wear one. (And while we’re at it, can I get a white jacket with my name on the pocket?) Anyway, this is the kind of place that makes you want to throw a dart at a cookbook and try an exotic new recipe, or maybe just brainstorm some groundbreaking culinations (that’s my new word for culinary creations) on the spot. If we ever get around to filming that comical Food Network pilot we’ve been joking about, I now think this will be our sponsor, our supplier, our headquarters for all things delicious.

The produce section is perfectly organized and gleaming, like a huge, healthy salad just waiting to be chopped. Just beyond, there are rows of unique olive oils, salsas and pasta sauces. Like most supermarkets in the city, the space is kind of tight, and it feels a bit like a maze, but one that you’re happy to get lost inside.

Of course this weekend, we were all about cheese. In the “Garage Fromage” section, there were piles and aisles of it, most of it unfamiliar to me, an excellent indication of its legitimacy.

And crackers! Mountains of different varieties, including those crowd-pleasing rosemary ones referenced above. Certain guests have come to expect (practically demand) these when visiting my abode. If you think of the cracker as the car that drives the cheese then these are definitely stretch limos. I highly recommend.

After a few minutes of cross-eyed indecision, we chose the old standby, French Brie (70% cream), a good Gouda from Holland (cloaked stylishly in red wax) and a French Port Salute which we’d never tried before.

On the way out, we picked up an intriguing kalamata olive dip. We almost got some mangos then remembered that they are far too complicated to cut and neither of us have yet earned our PhD in this subject. Instead, we bought some blackberries from a produce vendor on the street. All of this paired well with the California red zinfandel and the sauvignon blanc we’d purchased downtown earlier in the day.

One of the best parts was setting these out with our new dry-erase porcelain cheese markers, stylish compliments of the soon-to-be in-laws. Can you say fancy? And please pronounce that fawwncy with a few w’s. Cheers!