If you're looking to create that perfect cheese and charcuterie plate, whether for a fête with friends or to share with your significant other when winding down after work, La Fromagerie at 2425 Third St. provides an ideal stop.
Ruben Donze founded this Francophile favorite in December 2012, and has supplied neighbors with a running selection of high-quality imported cheese, meat, wine and fancy pantry goods like cornichons and madeleines ever since. Some products are imported, like the French-made dish towels, cookies and mustard. Others are local, such as jams from Maison de Monaco, which makes seasonal jam flavors such as blackberry and poppy flower or strawberry and hibiscus just a block away in Dogpatch.
Donze, who also runs a decorative hardware business upstairs, had the storefront, so he decided to get back to his roots—he's from the French Alps—and bring a touch of Europe to the area. "It's a passion I grew up with," he said. "I could have opened any kind of activity, but I went back to what I know."
La Fromagerie's retail shop carries about 40 cheeses, with a total of 50–60 on special order, and several types of charcuterie, both local and imported. Most of the cheeses are French, with some Italian, Spanish and American cheeses as well. Donze is particularly pleased with the Comté AOP Fort Saint Antoine Symphonie: "For me, I think it's the best Comté you can find," he said.
Meats include bresaola, Prosciutto di Parma, Serrano ham, smoked duck breast, chorizo, and pates and rillettes. Donze said he only chooses top-quality products, made from animals that are not treated with antibiotics or hormones.
Need a fuss-free lunch or dinner? La Fromagerie also offers grab-and-go sandwiches and salads. All produce is organic, and bread is from Firebrand Artisan Breads, a wood-fired, brick-oven bakery in Oakland that uses organic flour.
Sandwich selections include the Le Parisien, with Gruyère cave aged for 12 months in Switzerland, rosemary ham from Berkeley, cultured butter from Vermont, cornichons and salt and pepper; and the L'Italien, with handmade burrata, family-farm raised prosciutto, organic basil and tomato, wild organic arugula, organic extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper. Salads include the La Mancha, with kale, smoked duck breast, Manchego, dried figs, pear and toasted pumpkin seeds, with an apple cider and honey vinaigrette.
Hours are from 11:30am–2:30 Monday, 11:30–4pm and 4:30–6:30pm Tuesday–Friday and 11am–6pm Saturday.
La Fromagerie also has a location in the FiDi, which opened on October 14th, 2015, managed by co-owner Aymeric Joigner. That shop is open 7am–7pm Monday–Friday, and also serves breakfast; happy hour there will launch July 21st and run from 4–7pm.
