Food

Cheap Eats 2012: Cheesetique

Cheesetique has six different kinds of grilled cheeses. Photograph by Scott Suchman

Cheap Eats 2012

Jill Erber’s gourmet-shop/wine-bar hybrids—the original in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood and its five-month-old spinoff in Shirlington—are heavenly places for cheese fiends. In the mood for mac and cheese? Choose among seven, including a peppery pimiento-cheese-and-fusilli gratin and a casserole of fontina, cauliflower, and pancetta. Six kinds of grilled cheeses, gooey dips, and flatbreads as well as wooden boards laden with cured meats and sausages round out the menu. It’s complemented by an Old World-focused wine list that offers every bottle by the glass. And all the wine, cheese, and charcuterie is for sale up front.

Also good: Gruyère-capped onion soup; burrata with olive oil; mac and cheese with Asiago, pecorino, and goat Gouda; cheesesteak with Taleggio; grilled cheddar and sourdough; Madrid Melt sandwich, with Manchego, Serrano ham, and quince paste; cheesecake with cherries.

Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.