Cheese Lover's Guide to Minneapolis
Spring skyline in Minneapolis photo credit Lane Pelovsky courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
Minneapolis is known for its cheese-stuffed Juicy Lucy burgers and deep-fried cheese curds, but Minnesota’s largest city also has plenty to offer when it comes to artisan and locally-made cheeses. From cheese shops to restaurants to an urban creamery, here’s your guide to the cheesy side of Minneapolis.
Surdyk's photo credit Adam Kennedy Photography
The cheese shop at Surdyk’s has been a mainstay in the Northeast neighborhood since 1979 and was previously profiled in Cheese Shops We Love. Surdyk’s currently offers over 150 cut-to-order cheeses including classic European favorites and products from Minnesota and Wisconsin-based cheesemakers. The shop also has a sliced-to-order meat counter with over forty varieties of charcuterie from foreign and domestic artisan producers, plus a selection of oils, vinegars, freshly-baked breads, pickles, jams, and other accompaniments.
The shop’s deli serves soups, salads, and cheese-centric hot and cold sandwiches. For a sit-down meal, visit the adjacent Sidebar at Surdyk’s for cheese and charcuterie boards.
France 44 Cheese Shop
4351 France Ave S, Minneapolis
France 44 Cheese Counter photo courtesy France 44
Located in the picturesque Linden Hills neighborhood, France 44 Cheese Shop has been selling artisan cheese since 2001. In addition to a cut-to-order cheese counter, the shop features a whole animal butcher, specialty groceries, and a deli serving sandwiches, salads, cheese boards, and beer and wine by the glass. On nicer days, get your food to go and enjoy a picnic at nearby Lake Harriet.
The shop regularly offers pairing and cheese classes, including a hands-on mozzarella making class. Prefer to leave cheesemaking to the pros? Stop by on a Friday or Saturday, when the cheesemongers pull fresh mozzarella in the shop. If you find yourself in the other half of the Twin Cities, stop by France 44’s sister store, St. Paul Cheese Shop in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood.
Lake Wine & Spirits
404 W Lake St, Minneapolis
Lake Wine & Spirits sandwich menu
Uptown’s Lake Wine & Spirits has a well-curated cheese section with rotating domestic and imported selections. They also have a menu of made-to-order cheese sandwiches, with pork, turkey, cured meat, and vegetarian options.
In addition to dedicated cheese shops, you can find artisan and Minnesota-made cheeses at local upscale grocery chains Lunds & Byerly’s and Kowalski’s and co-ops including Northeast’s Eastside Co-op.
Cheese plates
Many Minneapolis restaurants have a cheese board on the menu, but these spots stand out for their local focus or the variety of cheese boards offered.
Farmers Kitchen & Bar
750 S 2nd St, Suite 100, Minneapolis
Cheese platter at Farmers Kitchen & Bar photo credit Farmers Kitchen & Bar
Farmers Kitchen & Bar in the Downtown East neighborhood is owned and operated by the Minnesota Farmers Union and sources many of their ingredients directly from local producers. Their cheese platter features a daily-rotating selection of three Minnesota cheeses and accompaniments including bread made from Minneapolis-milled flour and lingonberry jam, a nod to the Scandinavian influence on the state’s cuisine.
Milly’s Wine Bar & Bistro
1129 S. Washington Ave
Somm Board from Milly’s Wine Bar & Bistro photo courtesy Milly's Wine Bar & Bistro
Milly’s Wine Bar & Bistro is a stylish space in Downtown East offers 3 different cheese boards, including one featuring exclusively Italian cheeses. Other cheesy offerings include a whipped ricotta small plate with Calabrian chile honey and lemon and herb honey, and bacon-wrapped figs with goat cheese. Recently featured cheeses included fresh mozzarella, chevre, stracciatella, gruyere, brie and provolone.
Alemar Bent River photo credit Alemar Cheese Co
Urban creamery Alemar Cheese Company was founded by Keith Adams in 2008 and is currently led by head cheesemaker Charlotte Serino. Alemar’s eight varieties of grass-fed cow’s milk cheeses include the Camembert-style Bent River, brie-style Blue Earth, funky beer-washed Good Thunder, and Apricity, a young, lactic-set, soft-ripened which is a favorite of Cheese Professor editor Amy Sherman. Read more about Apricity.
Purchase Alemar’s cheeses online for pick up at their production facility in Northeast’s Food Building, or find them at cheese shops and grocery stores throughout the city. Alemar’s cheeses are featured on many Minneapolis restaurant menus, including the makers’ board at Diane’s Place, the Food Building’s on-site restaurant.
Redhead Creamery + Spirits
31535 463rd Ave, Brooten
Sjostrom Family in the Cheese Plant at Redhead Creamery + Spirits photo credit Redhead Creamery
Further afield, Redhead Creamery + Spirits (previously profiled in Cheese Professor) is an approximately 2-hour drive northwest of Minneapolis. The farmstead creamery is operated by Alise and Lucas Sjostrom, and there’s also an on-site distillery crafting whey-based spirits. Visitors can tour the farm and distillery and purchase cheese and spirits at the creamery’s tasting room and cheese shop, which also serves pan-fried curds, cheese sandwiches, and cheese flights.