restaurant review: riverdel cheese, please!
Oh hey there! I hope you are having a fantastic day and week thus far. This post is long overdue because I have now officially been to Riverdel Cheese a whopping T H R E E times. It popped up on my Insta-timeline at some point several months ago, and I kept saying I would head over there. But I, of course, never made the time to because sometimes I'm a shxt emoji in the flesh. In any event, one Saturday in July, I decided to drive to Washington Avenue, not too far from Brooklyn Museum, to see what all of the buzz was about. Before I get into my spiel, I must point out that I have been sedentarily looking for the best cheese alternative that the vegan community has to offer. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I truly dislike Daiya brand cheese. I don't like eating things that "taste" vegan, and I can't find a better adjective for that brand. Riverdel offers the finest selection of vegan cheese brands. From Follow Your Heart to Miyoko's Kitchen to their own in-house specialty cheeses, I knew I hit the jackpot. I ordered the Italiano, which is their take on a tomato mozzarella sandwich. Delicious pesto, tomato, crispy bread, and of course, the star that is cashew cheese. To DIE for. No, seriously. It's simply a perfect panini. The cheese was a really nice texture. It wasn't stringy like cow's milk cheese, and it reminded me more of a fried egg white as far as consistency. It was a very nice balance to the sandwich. Crunchy. Flavorful. Delectable. Actually, to further complicate this write up, that day I took my sandwich to-go and went to the Starbucks in Williamsburg to get some work done. I was working on an e-mail campaign for Steeve, and also creating some flyers for his upcoming shows. Between my parents and my cat, Cottontail, there was no way I would get an ounce of it done in Canarsie. Plus, I LOVE driving! Whatever the cost of gas, I will pay it, so long as I can blast my music and drive as far away from them as possible when I need to get shxt done or to clear my head. Sorry for the tangent, but if you've read anything else on here, you know I write how I speak. You'll be aight! Anyway, I had been going to Starbucks a lot at that time to do work because I had a gift card with $80+ on it. Of course, after blowing through $60+ of it, I learned that the Starbucks in Williamsburg serves beer and wine (major screw face emoji insert here). I held down a seat and ordered a Brooklyn Brewery Wheat Beer. It also came with a side of seasoned pumpkin seeds that were so ridiculously delicious. I consider myself to be some self-proclaimed faux beer connoisseur, so believe me when I say that I loved pairing this with my sandwich. I think I finished the combo in about 4 minutes. I don't remember coming up for air - ever! The beer had such a great body and bold flavor. Alongside the savory, salty, crunchiness of the sandwich, it was a match made in heaven. I now know that I always need a beer with this sandwich, or at least something with bubbles. In my most recent visit to Riverdel this past Saturday, I enjoyed my sandwich with a black cherry soda from by Sky Valley. It was tasty, but most importantly, it was organic, vegan, gluten and GMO-free. Yay! I also decided to treat myself to some other cheeses and ice cream [to-go]. Amidst my sandwich craving, I was also dying for some hearty mac and cheese. I bought a Muenster style cheese and a couple of the Follow Your Heart brand cheddar style cheeses. My mac and cheese ultimately came out good except that I should have made a cheese sauce with the coconut milk, cheese, some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. The cheese didn't melt the same as cow's milk cheese, so there were random cheese chunks spread out in some noodles. Nevertheless, they were very tasty, especially the cheddar style. I will definitely purchase them again, only next time I will also try one of the Riverdel cheeses. Duh! It's their store, that's the least I can do. As for the "nice" cream, I bought the Van Leeuwen salted caramel. Words aren't enough to describe how delicious this was. Yes, was. I inhaled the last half of the carton in my bed last night. SMH. The saltiness stood up to the sweetness so nicely, and I loved the subtle coconut flavor from the milk. It was just as creamy as "regular" ice cream, and I never felt like I sacrificed anything other than animal cruelty. Now: prices. My sandwich was around $9, which is average so I don't want to hear the "vegan lunch isn't reasonable like other foods" argument. The only thing I will say is the ice cream was around $10. That's fairly high, yes. But it's totally worth it to indulge on occasion. In all honesty, you shouldn't be eating ice cream on the regular anyway, even if it is "nice"! Now, let's talk about the experience and set up. This place is very quaint, but they have a small seating area with bar stools by the window. I sat there for the first time on Saturday, and inhaled my sandwich while simultaneously people watching. It was quite nice actually. The staff are always so friendly, the place is very well kept, and there is so much variety. Besides cheese and cheese dishes, they also sell vegan jerky, pastries, yogurt, beer, chocolate milk, and kits to make your own damn cheese! Seriously, I'm not sure what else you want from the folks at Riverdel, but they are just lovely and worth a visit. Check them out before you head to First Saturday's at the museum. It's a hop, skip, and jump away. As for my sandwich obsession, I need that at least once a month. That will be my Shanelle Date. I have ordered the Italiano all three times, but for you, I will try something new and let you know how it is...eventually :)
Peace, Kings & Queens
xoxo
Shanelle Julia Rosita Campbell
