Little Cheese Pub Packs a Lot of Flavor

I am a lactose PRO-tolerant. After I eat cheese or a milkshake, I actually feel healthier. True story. 

Soy milk has never passed these lips, and probably never will. 

 Little Cheese Pub is a restaurant in Chelsea focused on one of my favorite lactose wonderfoods – that’s right – cheese.

Nearly everything on the menu is centered around cheese, or its natural pairing, sausage. There is also a huge selection of beer, and quite a few wines to drink, should you prefer. 

I did not prefer. I didn’t even want to drink water. I wanted to save all my room for the cheese. 

Blue Cheese with Port Wine and Clover Honey/Chick Pea Dip with Green Spanish Olives

These set the tones for the night . The chick pea dip was full of texture and small pieces of tender chickpeas, briny olives and the light kick of garlic. It was like hummus gone Mediterranean, with the taste of the chickpea really coming through,

The blue cheese dip was pow, in-your-face sweet and funky. It was like eating a very ripe Bleu D’Auvergne with a drizzle of honey: deep, earthy, totally umami with a sweet richness from the honey. The port wine echoed the funkiness of the cheese and added a tang that kept the dip from being too one-dimensional. This was one of the best presentations of blue cheese I have had in awhile. Soon, I left the fresh crostinis alone and started eating it with a spoon. It would be DYNAMITE spread over figs and broiled. 

Landjager-pork sausage with toast and blueberry mustard. 

This hard sausage was slightly spicy, very meaty, and went well with the piquant housemade mustard. It was a bit TOO hard for my tastes, but there was no waxiness, and the sausage was robustly flavored with spicy cloves.

French Man Mac-Morbier Cheese, Duck Meatballs, Balsamic Onions. 

Yes. Oh yes. Small shells were enveloped in a creamy, stretchy cheese sauce that was earthy, slightly bitter and absolutely funky. Not salty funky like the blue cheese dip, but tangy funky. That tang worked well with the sweet and tart balsamic onions and the duck meatball that was dense but not hard, and mild tasting.

I really wouldn’t have known that this was duck if I hadn’t read the menu. The meatiness broke up the thick richness of the sauce, and the onions provided another layer of flavor. It wasn’t the best mac and cheese I have ever had, but it was certainly tasty. 

That is generally how I would describe Little Cheese Pub. Not the best, but good. I wouldn’t make a special trip here, but I would definitely stop off if I was in the area for some Mac and Cheese and maybe a glass of wine on tap. The prices were fair, the service was good (if a bit laid back – it was okay, it went with the feel of the place), and the food was both filling and tasty. 

And…let’s face it. I never feel better than after I have a huge plate of mac and cheese.