The Cheese Traveler

Fantastic chefs special sandwich with roasted ricotta cheese, eggplant, raisins, onions. Delish!

So what happens when you start with really good food, add a very good chef and mix it with a grill and a perfect late spring evening? Just about the best cookout in the region, that’s what. Tillsdale beef goes into the burgers, so when you add someone who is expert with a grill like Dominic Colose, the result is superb. This week I had the burger with tomatilloes and pickled onion and avacado, fries dusted with mole and served with ancho ketchup. It was easily the best doggone burger I have had in years, and I have been tasting at all those new burger places that have burst upon the local scene. Colose was also grilling up messes of sardines and serving them on a delicious campanada. We had lots of ooo-​ing and aaah-​ing at the table over those. The chefs will change in the popup as the summer progresses, so there will always be an element of surprise. The menu will be tiny, but the food will always be very good. I highly recommend that you try it. When you go to get your cheeses, ciders and wines ask them what is happening for the cookout. And don’t forget the saucisscon sec.

Great cheese shop/​café. I didn’t have a grilled cheese but the menu all sounded delicious. I just bought a few different cheeses (all delicious) and a fig jam which tasted great with the cheese. The man serving me was very helpful and knowledgable about the cheeses they had on offer.

This store has an amazingly helpful staff and cheeses you won’t find elsewhere. And they know how to treat cheese. Is some of the cheese pricey? Well, it’s cheaper than a trip to the mountaintop of the place from whence it came, and the special conditions and care are reflected in the flavors of these cheeses. We had a gorgonzola cremificato from them that tasted of grass and flowers – I’ve never had such an amazing cheese in my life. Sandwiches are likewise made of special ingredients and well worth it. If you love cheese and other fine products (local and imported), and want them all in one spot, this store will make you tingly.

This is a very nice restaurant. The parking is kinda confusing, but you can park where the signs are. There is music playing, but it isn’t too loud. The staff is very nice (there’s only two guys as far as I can see). They have a lot of beers and wines and stuff like that. A lot of meat. They have a whole blackboard of gourmet grilled cheeses, though. The seating is patio furniture– four two-​person tables inside. We are the only people in here, aside from the occasional person that grabs something on their way somewhere else. The food:
The simple pleasure grilled cheese is what I recommend. It’s perfectly gooey with a crispy outside (and I normally don’t like super crispy stuff). It’s pretty big but pretty delicious.
The plain retro potato chips are very good too. They go well with the grilled cheese.
The pickle that goes with the grilled cheese is good too. It tastes more like a cucumber, though.
The meal is very satisfying and I wish there was something like this restaurant in my hometown. If I’m ever here again this would be the place I would go.

Cute cheese shop and great place to get lunch. It smells amazing when you first walk in. They have a selection of sandwiches with many different types of cheeses, soups during cold months, and other items such as yogurts from a local dairy farm. Prices are reasonable and the sandwiches are great. Because they are made from scratch and pressed panini style, it takes a little while longer than expected to get your food but it is worth it if you aren’t in a hurry.

The food and the customer service are definitely the best part. I would even say the prices are pretty good considering the quality is so high. My only minor complaint – and I do mean minor – would be the ambiance inside. It’s not terribly conducive to dining. However, I will say that it was nice to have a dedicated spot to sit down and enjoy my sandwich.

Stopped here on route to Boston for a quick lunch after seeing the positive reviews on Unilocal and I’m glad I went! My boyfriend and I both had a grilled cheese — spicy and smokey for him and the prince (the weekly special) for myself. The two gentleman working there were both super friendly, patient and knowledgeable. We walked around and looked at all the little goodies they had while waiting for our lunch. We ended up both having a craft soda and a bag of chips with our sandwich. Brandon also brought out some water for us with our sandwich — a very thoughtful touch considering we didn’t even ask! After we ate, a few more people came in so we had to wait to pay so we looked at the sweets and chocolates some more. We ended up picking up the bourdon nib brittle and a maranon dark chocolate bar to snack on in the car. We had a good visit here and I do strongly suggest checking this place out if you can! Be sure to go to their Friday night cook outs if you’re around there — they sounded great!
Also! Check in and take advantage of the free caramel piece — it was so good!

On a weeklong trip, we were craving cheese! It was late, just 15 minutes before their closing time, but the two dudes working were happy to create our charcuterie platters and then let us hang out while they cleaned. Super friendly and knowledgeable, one of the guys moved from Boulder, CO to take his dream job here. Go, enjoy.

We stopped here on a road trip for NYE and could not help but be attracted to a giant cheese shop with amazing little goodies everywhere you turn.
Eric, the owner, was so friendly! He was helpful when we had to pick our lunch options and was quick to answer any questions.
If you want a yummy beverage… try the rose lemonade… its delicious! There were so many niche drinks but it caught my eye.
For lunch, I tried the truffle pig sandwich and the spicy & smoky. Both were delicious. I just wished they were a bit more packed, I felt like the bread to filling ratio was like ⁶⁰⁄₄₀. However, I did check-​in on Unilocal and got a delicious carmel treat and 2 for my friends as well.
We also got some awesome potato chips that were bacon flavored. So we were #winning.
If I’m ever in the neighborhood again, I will definitely stop by and actually buy some cheese!

Really friendly and exceptional service! We were impressed with the knowledgeable cheesemonger who readily offered us samples and recommendations. The cheese we sampled was excellent, however, we were disappointed that the grilled cheeses we ordered, with the exception of the traditional cheese only sandwich, contained way more ham and other toppings than cheese. I had thought that these sandwiches would be oozing cheese, but sadly, that was not the case. Also, we found the coffee lukewarm and the place a little understaffed. It took us some time to check out and I would have bought some more cheese to take home had the cheesemonger not been so busy with other customers when we left.

Wonderful, little store with very knowledgeable staff.
I am awful with names, but the two guys who assisted us were super friendly and helpful. My friend and I were hosting a wine and cheese party and we had no idea what to get with the wines we had. Not only were they knowledgeable about what cheeses paired well with various wines, they also knew in-​depth information on all everything. Even if one isn’t very familiar with the cheeses they like, this isn’t a problem for the workers. They will go out of their way to accommodate you. They gave us several cheese tastings to assure we were getting stuff we actually liked. We ended up with a bleu cheese (~$ 25/​lb) that had a perfect balance of salt and fat. It was on the crumbly side, but it had great flavor. They also had a bleu cheese for $ 15/​lb which I enjoyed, but it was less creamy. We also bought their havarti, taleggio, and cheddar. They have such a big variety, it was hard to choose, but we were quite satisfied with our choices. People ended up enjoying the taleggio the most. It was simple, yet creamy and delicious. I loved eating it along with calabrese salami.
They also have a beer and cheese event at City Beer Hall on Tuesday, December 8^th for those interested. Apparently, they have one of these every few months. I plan on attending this next one!
Overall, our wine and cheese party was a success and I look forward to coming back to this establishment for future endeavors. The prices were fair; they have a wide range of prices per pound (anywhere from approx. $ 8 to $ 50/​lb). The interior seemed a little cramped at the time, but they were preparing for the holiday season. I recommend this place to anyone who has a passion for cheeses, craft beers, and meats.

The Cheese Traveler is the perfect place to go for incredible, gourmet, grilled cheese goodness. It’s a small cheese shop with only a few tables, serving fancy grilled cheeses and soups. This review speaks only to the food part of the store as I didn’t purchase anything else.
For our meal, we split two grilled cheeses and each had half of one. We enjoyed The Sweet & Savory and a special that they had going for that day: «The Kanye.»
If they have the Kanye as a special (ask about it!), GET IT. The sandwich came together with some incredible pâté, Crescenza cheese (with raw milk — so smooth and delightful) and some gold flake jam. That’s right, gold flakes in the jam. Pretty fancy. I don’t think I’ve ever consumed gold before, but it was worth it. Each bite of the sandwich had a variety of mixed flavors.
The Sweet & Savory was a mix of duck breast and preserves, definitely an interesting combination and came together pretty well, but when comparing to the special sandwich it fell short just because each bite didn’t have the same «wow-​factor» and coming together of the ingredients that «The Kanye» offered.
All in all, a fantastic cheese shop which serves up some incredible bites. Highly recommended!

The Cheese Traveler’s Friday night grill outs are one of my favorite things about Summer in Albany. The last couple of years in Albany have been a treat, thanks in large part to the Cheese Traveler and how they’ve adapted to and grown within the Delaware Avenue landscape.
Beyond the Tilldale Farms beef patties in the summertime, Cheese Traveler also has an eclectic little bottle shop filled with who’s who of emerging craft beer producers. The staff is as able to talk to the beer selection as they are to speak to the charcuterie and cheese offerings. In fact, the folks at the Cheese Traveler can talk to pairing strategies for beer and cheese, which is an amazing feat in my mind.

Walked in 20 minutes before close and was greeted by Eric, the owner, and David, an employee at the store.
Even though they were closing soon, Eric took time to tell us about his store and help us select a cider, sour beer, goat cheese and some crackers. Everything we bought was delicious. I thought a store like this would be expensive, but it was reasonably priced.
Eric and David were really knowledgeable about all of the products in the store. We’re new to the area, so both gave us some tips for things to do in Albany. We’ll be back to try out some of the menu items and buy more cheese.

One word: DELICIOUS.
The boyfriend and I went on a grill out Friday for Mexican street corn and left with a stomach full of food. They have a special menu up for Friday as they grill outside and the food looks super fresh. From the grill menu we had the potatoes which came with ketchup and a mustard that they make on site. The mustard I would buy if they bottled it (and I’m not much of a mustard fan). We also each had a Mexican street corn (aka elote). It was delish and looks as good as it tastes. Just as good as the genuine ones in Cali.
Inside we chose to each get a grilled cheese. He had «The Classic» while I went with «Mello Yellow». These grilled cheeses brought it to another level. Seriously. Everything about it was great. I especially love the crunchy-​ness of the bread.
There were more staff working than when I had my first experience (which was take out but still delicious!) so everyone was trying to help us at different times. It got a bit confusing but it all worked out. Everyone was helpful and especially nice. They even went into detail of different items on the menu.
I will absolutely be coming back, no questions about it.

I think it’s official, I may have crossed over into the hipster genre that I often like to poke fun at. The fact that I absolutely loved my experience here proves it. It is a super hipster scene of cheese lovers, beard wearing, organic grass fed meat only please, foodies. We were fortunate enough to make it on a Saturday they were having the Delaware Ave street fair so all the most colorful characters in Albany were out and it made for a scene straight out of Portlandia.
The ordering process was a little clunky because they had the weekday Burger menu out which apparently wasn’t available, but we settled on the shelburne cheddar, plum and fennel chutney burger and the farmer’s grilled cheese with ham. The burger was perhaps the best I’ve had in Albany so far. The pattie huge, moist, and beautiful complemented by the plum and the chutney kept me feeling had a subtle hint of Indian food flavor. The Farmers sandwich was crispy, hot, the ham fantastic. We also ordered a side of potatoes which I didn’t realize would actually be boiled potatoes with some sort of mustard based dipping sauces. But I was surprised to find that even those were good.
The people watching and crowd alone is worth going here. End of story.

Still a 5* joint. This review is specifically on the Friday evening cookouts: they’re not 5*, more like 3−4*: very fun, solid food (if *extremely* limited menu), really _​great_​beer and wine selection (who knew that Troegenator came in a can? I do now!), still great people. Go early: they do run out of food. And there are only maybe 12 seats in total — but that just meant that we shared a table with several other fun folk. So the setting is 4−5* even though it’s a parking lot (!), the drinks are 5*, the company is 5*. the burgers are 4*, as they could do with more salt in particular and the selection is _​really_​small.
A highlight of our most recent visit was the ricotta-​fig-​honey (sounds normal so far) –mint (ah!) dessert. The ratio of cheese to stuff was too high, but the mint leaves were relevatory in combination with the cheese and honey. It’s a combination that I’m stealing.

While I originally bookmarked the bakery next door I stumbled upon this lovely and ‘cheesy’ gem in Delso and decided to have lunch before getting sweet fixings.
They were extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and welcoming. I was astonished by the cheese selection and the menu which included some very special sandwiches. I tried both the Sweet + Savory (pawlet, smoked duck breast, sour cherry preserves), Frankie Says (tome rabelais, apricot jam, jamon serrano) and the French Onion soup.
The Sweet + Savory is part of the regularly offered menu but the Frankie Says was on a weekly special, as I was told each week the specials rotate. The Sweet + Savory though was what really stood out for me as I enjoyed the combination of the saltiness of the cheese, smoked flavor of the duck breast, and the not overly sweet/​sour taste of cherry preserves. Best of all is that they were served on warm and toasty bread. The French Onion soup was also a nice addition to the meal, but I could’ve done without it.
Depending on what you choose I was told the sandwiches sometimes take a little longer to make due to the melting time for the cheese and the assembly of the masterpiece. Well… whatever it takes to savor the experience!

I love cheese, I don’t know if I could live without it (at least happily). The assortment of cheeses here, is probably the best In Albany. The cheeses we’ve sampled have all been delicious. They have some very fancy options and while I love cheese– I’m not fancy enough to order them unless they’re offered on a cheese plate of some sort (and it just so happens they have a cheese plate option at their Fri cookouts). Aside from the occasional cheese, my husband and I have had their sandwiches and love their creations. I’ve had the sweet and savory sandwich which was a delicious blend of pawlet cheese, smoked duck breast and sour cherry preserves. The cheese is creamy and not overpowering, the duck breast is smoky and salty which is balanced perfectly by the cherry preserves.
When I came with my husband, he had one of their specials which was a smoked Salmon, tomato and goat cheese… It was perfect.
And no cheese experience is complete without wine or beer so they, very appropriately, offer a nice selection of both. I personally haven’t partaken– yet but my husband was pleased with his beer selection.
Bonus tip: on Fridays from 5 – 8 pm they have a cookout in their outdoor area which includes burgers from tilldale farm, another meat option with rotates and a veggie option: a hallloumi stack. Sounds like a great option for an early summer evening meal!