October 24, 2007
Old City Cheese Shop
Old City Cheese Shop opened about a year ago at the former site of Petit 4 Bakery at 160 North 3rd Street in Old City. The shop offers a friendly and experienced staff, impressive selection of gourmet products, catering/take out/cheese plates/cooking classes, brunch and tapas menus, and an urban-oasis style backyard patio.
Owner Alex Baute, a Spaniard and world traveler, has lived in the United States for close to 20 years, with 15 years restaurant management experience in New York City. Alex invited me to sample a piece of Chef Donald Smith’s (retired Restaurant School professor with 50 years restaurant experience, now helping out at the store just to keep busy) spinach and feta cheese strudel in a crisp filo dough and a piece of carrot cake. He also offered me an Italian lemon soda made with all natural ingredients and a sampling of a thick sweet Modenese balsamic vinegar that Alex claims is excellent on vanilla ice cream and comes in what looks like a shampoo bottle.
Alex opened the shop with a quest to offer something unique and different and has succeeded in both the products he carries and the environment he offers. The shop stocks around 150 types of cheeses (depending on season and availability) and cheese related accoutrements including gourmet crackers, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, specialty pastas, a full olive bar, panini, quiche, salads and soups. For best selection visit on a Thursday or a Friday when new cheeses come in and weekend parties haven’t wiped out last weeks order…
More after the jump!
Alex takes special care to offer cheeses that aren’t, or even similar to, your normal super-market fromage. He orders directly from a relative in France through one of Europe’s largest wholesalers, as well as local wholesalers for other stateside specialties. Since he is in tough competition not only as a cheese store but boutique restaurant and a coffee shop, Alex has tried to avoid the homogeny of local suppliers like LeBus, Metropolitan, and La Colombe in favor of fresh Italian Rustica breads and individually brewed French press coffee from organic, fair-trade supplier Chestnut Hill Coffee.
Patrons have stopped by inquiring about the former pastry shop and Alex is eager to keep them in the store by quickly expanding into baked goods including carrot cake and cheesecake. The shop offers brunch on weekends from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. though the limited six-table seating in the courtyard has encouraged weekend dinning warriors to start arriving around 10 a.m. The omelettes and quiche made with in-house cheeses may soon have lines forming even earlier. Another option for these still lingering summer days is evening tapas (Fridays and Saturdays) from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. If you bring your own beer, wine or champagne the shop will carefully assemble a cheese platter to suite your selection.
Though remnants of the former pastry shop still remain, the location has been completely renovated with an open style, straight through kitchen and storefront. The backyard gravel patio is accessible from the street via a long alley way turned Spanish style grotto. Once on the patio, patrons have a full view of the kitchen workings and daytime or evening shelter provided by a gigantic Chinese tree of exceptional rarity and beauty. The Cheese shop hosts an outdoor Wednesday Night movie screening on the patio with new and old classics selected by its Old City patrons.
Alex’s hard work has been met with good business in the shop’s inaugural year and he loves the neighborhood’s friendly, smart, cultured customers as well as the local businesses and galleries. If you’re looking for something special for your next party or just hungry and in the neighborhood stop by for a sampling and a smile! .not to sound cheesy or anything.
Old City Cheese Shop and Restaurant
160 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19106
(215) 238-1716
oldcitycheese@yahoo.com
(no responses)
October 24, 2007, 9:25 am
Brickyard says:
not sure where this info came from but Alex is not the sole owner. Peter is the other owner….. and Alex is not Spanish either
October 24, 2007, 9:25 am
fanny mae says:
Think the facts on this article need to be checked. As a long time resident of old city and business owner, I know for sure this business is co owned and operated. As a steady customer I know the other co owner and chef are responsible for great service, excellent menu selections and fabulous home made food. Such a detailed article , but the facts are way off. Kinda disapointing – think you should interview the other guy.
October 24, 2007, 9:25 am
Martin says:
I will certainly check my facts more carefully next time. I sat down with Alex and did the interview at the shop while chef Smith prepared an array of things for me to sample. Alex told me he was originally from Spain and I believed him. Peter was not there for me to interview so I apologize for leaving him out and not asking about co-management and ownership specifically.
October 24, 2007, 9:25 am
Daniel Chow says:
According to Alex and his wife, he’s a Spaniard.
Old City Cheese Shope is one of two of my favorite cheese shops. The other one is in my other neighborhood of 32 years, Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, Bedford Cheese Shop.
I love a good selection of good cheeses :)
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