Best cheese plates photo
(Cheesetique Cheese Plate; Photo by Benjamin C. Tankersley)

Best cheese plates

Julia Beizer and Stephanie Merry | Washington Post Staff Writers  |  Updated 09/20/2011

Cheese plates are common, but a few restaurants deliver standouts, offering sweet/nutty/biting flavors that go well with a good wine.

 
 
 
 
 

Bistro Bis

Washington, DC

It's all about variety at Bistro Bis, where the imports include pungent French blue vein, a paprika-rubbed goat cheese from Spain and a Dutch offering with a subtle caramel flavor.

 
 
 
 
 

Cheesetique

Alexandria, VA

The blackboard at this charming shop-cum-cafe lists a selection that spans the mild-to-stinky spectrum. Choose a few, along with accompaniments such as orange-fig spread and olive tapenade, and they'll arrive on a rustic wooden cheese board with sweet quince paste, crunchy cornichons and red grapes.

 
 
 
 
 

Dino

Washington, DC

The best feature of Dino's formaggi offerings may be the artful descriptions. Words such as "funky," "earthy" and "grassy" clue diners into the breadth of flavors on the Italian-accented list.

 
 
 
 
 

Grapeseed

Bethesda, MD

Sharp notes from Humboldt Fog goat cheese and an Australian blue dominate the plate here. The spread is sweetened with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a handful of diced strawberries.

 
 
 
 
 

Proof

Washington, DC

Raw honey and other accoutrements such as pitted dates or fruit purees accompany the rotating selection of cheeses, sometimes including a meltingly creamy Mount Tam and a barely veined Roquefort. Many can be purchased at nearby Cowgirl Creamery.

 

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