New Products in the Shop

We're stocking the shelves with new products all of the time. Here are two noteworthy ones that you cannot miss the next time you're in the shop:

Potter's Crackers

These are absolutely the best crackers I have ever tasted. No hyperbole at all. Peter Potter makes these organic crackers in Madison, Wisconsin using locally sourced ingredients. The great thing is that the flavors change constantly depending on what is in season. He's just recently expanded to the twin cities and we couldn't be happier.
















Patric Chocolate

I admit that I have a chocolate problem. It was inherited from my grandmother and it's something that has proved challenging as my metabolism has slowed. Patric chocolate is not your grandmother's chocolate. Chocolate-maker Alan McClure is doing something amazing with the cacao bean. He crafts his bars in micro-batches and coaxes the most incredible flavors out of the bean. One small square of his Patric bar lingers on your tongue for minutes afterwards. Here is what Alan says about his chocolate on his website:

" Thus, the goal of chocolate maker Alan McClure, founder of Patric Chocolate, is nothing less than to create micro-batch chocolate of such quality that it becomes a flavorful work of art in itself, like the finest wine or Scotch--a magical sensory experience. To achieve this goal, McClure has embarked upon an in-depth examination of every step of the chocolate-making process, seeking to retain only what leads to excellence, and to discard or revise what would harm this goal--in the search for a chocolate whose components are flawlessly tuned, together, as one complex and magnificent instrument. This great search is finally coming to fruition as Patric Chocolate gradually introduces a select line of dark chocolate bars and fine cacao products that bear the seal of this reality: the aroma, taste and feel that are uniquely Patric."

Our partners in experimentation--Sunnyside Gardens

Mike and the gang over at Sunnyside Garden across the street from the cheese shop are giving us a big helping hand. They're supplying all of the organic potting soil and plants for this project. If you're down at France 44 you should check them out.

Rain Barrels on the roof and our tubs are purchased

So the rain barrels are on the roof awaiting their MacGyver treatment. With all the rain we've been having I'm curious to see if the barrels have accumulated any water at all. The big France 44 spring wine sale is on and everyone is busy so we're going to have to wait to perfect the system. Here is what the barrels look like before rigging.

This week I purchased some tubs at Target. These were $5.99 and the super helpful sales associate Merhet had to go to the back room to find me more because I took the last 8 they had on the shelves. She seemed kind of amused that I planned on planting a garden in these tubs and she told me that back in her country they used such tubs for bobbing for apples. I suppose we could try that too. There was only one blue tub left and I wonder if we should plant something special in that one.

Rain Barrel Day!

Today I think we solved the water and the wind problem. There is this great place in Minneapolis called the ReUse center. The ReUse Center sells salvaged, reusable building materials such as doors, windows, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, lumber, millwork, metals, flooring, etc.

This morning I drove down there because they just received a shipment of rain barrels made from recycled soda containers (or pop containers if you're from Minnesota, which obviously I am not). If you're not familiar with rain barrels the name pretty much says it all. It's a 55 gallon (usually) barrel which collects rain water for you to use in your garden or wherever.

It took about 10 minutes and they even loaded them into the back of my truck for me. So now we will have more than 100 gallons of water storage on the roof for all of our plants.

What if it doesn't rain? We do have a spigot on the ground and plans to purchase a very, very long garden hose. Next up will be rain barrel installation along with some fancy MacGyver rigging to make the rain barrels actually collect rain water.

Our foray into roof top gardening

My vision for this cheese shop is a place where people can come and purchase the whole package. What do I mean by that? Let's say it's August and you want to make a pasta dish with parmigiano-reggiano, fresh tomatoes and basil. I want this to be one stop shopping. Come to our cheese shop and by the parmigiano-reggiano, Marella pasta, the basil, and the fresh tomatoes.

So then I thought I could stop by the farmer's market and pick up produce to sell in the shop. But that seemed inefficient.

And I thought, and I thought, and I thought some more. And I realized the roof above my head here in the shop is flat. Then I thought back to my days living in Somerville, Massachusetts and the old timers in our neighborhood who would grow fantastic gardens in plastic laundry baskets placed in their driveways. Why couldn't that work here? Put some tubs up on the roof, throw in some dirt and plants, and....voila. Garden!

Not quite. The first reality check was talking to the architect who had to sign off on the increase in weight on the roof. After that I had to think about how I was going to get water to the plants on the roof. I imagine that a crop of plants will be mighty thirsty in the hot August sun. Then there is that wonderful Minnesota wind which whips things around (especially in April).

So maybe it isn't going to be that easy, but it will be kind of neat if we're selling our own organically (not certified organic, please don't send the government after me) grown produce that we grew on our roof. You don't get much more local than that.

I have a feeling that this going to be a learning experience. Which might end up being quite hysterical and I assure you that any delicious vegetables produced by our roof will be merely coincidental. If it does work, though, the plan is to try and cover as much of the roof as possible next year and create a real green roof.

First Post of the All New France 44 cheese shop

This is going to be the forum to find out what is happening at the brand new cheese shop that has been open for about 3 weeks down at 44th and France. We have a lot of exciting plans for the shop and a few ideas that we think are fun and that you might not find at other cheese shops in the Twin Cities. I am new at this blogging thing so hopefully there will be some comments to keep me honest.