The Grand Fromage

My husband and I have been here multiple times — this is the quaintest little cottage type place (looks straight out of a storybook). They have seemingly every cheese known to man along with lots of goodies: spreads, crackers, oils, chocolates, breads — you name it! The owner of the store is the most cordial, outgoing gentleman. Every time we come in, even if he is busy, he immediately greets us, offers lots of free samples and gives lots of options as to different cheese pairings. I would definitely recommend this place!

Fantastic cheese experience. Completely knowledgeable staff is truly there to help. Never left with a cheese I wasn’t fully satisfied with. They give the same high level of service to the patron asking for Camembert as to the one mistakenly looking for Kraft singles. Frequent stop for me. Plenty of other chocolates breads crackers olives and meat to complete the trip.

This place will BLOW YOUR MIND!!! I don’t have enough good things to say about it! Beyond Amazing selection, incredible personal service. You can taste just about anything. Please stop here, buy all your cheese here! You will not, cannot be disappointed.

Cliff notes: WOW
This place is my heaven. So many cheeses!!! And the staff is great too. They are very knowledgeable in the cheeses and at very good at explaining the texture and taste of the cheeses. They also let you have a little taste before you decide to make your purchase. They are also helpful in helping you pair cheeses with their jams.
Speaking of jams… they also have a great selection of jams. I tried their blackberry/​violet and lychee/​raspberry/​rose jams and they are absolutely heavenly.
There is a $ 10 minimum for card purchases, which believe me, will NOT be an issue if you are a true cheese lover and try their cheeses. I also need to make a note on how they wrap their cheeses, because I have never seen it wrapped so neatly like a Christmas present. The cheese itself is wrapped in a paper wrap (kind of like the type used to wrap deli meat) and is wrapped again i paper. AND they write the name of the cheese on the outside. The Grand Fromage definitely went the whole 9 yards when it comes to wrapping cheese. It literally was like unwrapping a Christmas gift. I have been to quite a few cheese shoppes, and I javen’t seen cheese wrapped anything like this.
I highly recommend this place. I just wish it weren’t so far. I got 5 different types of cheese at ¼ pounds each, fearing it would go bad. That’s probably one of the biggest mistakes I have made so far in 2014 (mind you, it is only the 21 of January). I wish I would have gotten more cheeses, since it took only a couple days to finish the ones I have. Even my two baby rats love them (and they are despicably finicky eaters).
They also have a decent variety of honey, which come to think of it, regret numero 2 is not getting their rosemary honey. But to be fair, I got distracted with the cheese and completely forgot. I am also fascinated with their jam selection. As previously mentioned, the brand «au fil du fruit» has exotic flavor jams:
1. lychee and raspberry jam with rose (yum yum yum!!!)
2. blackberry jelly and violet (Yum!!!)
3. black cherry jam and espelette chili pepper (did not try)
4. orange marmalade with ginger (did not try)
They also have another jam that caught my eye called «Rosie’s Hips» which obviously, contains rose hips but also has anise (which I hate). I should have gotten that anyway just to say I tried it. Point is, they have an impressive variety of spreads! They are flavors I have never seen before!
Oh yes, their cheese cutting boards. I saw this cutting board that looked just like one from Anthropologie that I am obsessed with that The Grand Fromage is selling only less than $ 50 whereas Anthropologie is trying to sell it for $ 150… as a clearance price.
For a tiny shoppe, they have an amazing selection (cheese, jams. honey) and amazing service — I promise you there will be no regrets. If there was one in University City, I would be going there everyday. I love it here!!!

We were introduced to The Grand Fromage as it hosted a stop at the recent Wine Festival. The line for the wine tasting was long enough to allow us to check out the offerings. We saw lots of promise and potential, and left ready to buy a few jams.
Once we finished sampling the wine and went to check out, we decided the jams would be lonely without a few cheeses. Although the amount of people in the store seemed to nearly overcome the two people behind the counter, they still provided prompt and attentive service. We asked for recommendations to pair with the jams we were purchasing and were provided samples of every cheese we inquired about before buying. We ended up walking away with four delicious options and have since enjoyed every bite.
Overall an excellent little shop that I will surely return to whenever I’m in the area — which unfortunately is not frequent enough.
(FYI… $ 10 minimum on credit card purchases)

Do yourself a great favor and buy your cheese only from the Grand Fromage. DiBrono, whole foods and the like do not compare. Bob is extremely knowledgable and customer friendly. Don’t be afraid is you are new to cheese either, they are very beginner appropriate as well.

A good selection and excellent service summarizes The Grand Fromage nicely. I popped in briefly looking for a particular variety of goat cheese, or at least something with the same characteristics, to use in cooking this coming semester. Though I didn’t know the name, we were able to painstakingly narrow down the candidates through prolific sampling. It was a not-​unpleasant experience. In the end I managed to snag a decent amount of a very sharp but creamy and easily melted goat cheese nearly identical to my mystery cheese. In the course of sampling the store straight into bankruptcy, I also tried an espresso-​rubbed sharp cheddar-​Parmesan that would seem to be an excellent breakfast cheese. In the end I left with a half pound of each, and a bar of gag «Emergency Chocolate,» just because.
My only possible complaint is that prices are rather high. The service makes it well worth it for specialty cheeses and experimenting with new varieties, but for familiar types, like my favorite sharp, Locatelli Romano, I will continue to hit the Italian Market downtown.

Wandering the countryside for a decent cheese monger in Phila is an adventure. I was spoiled when I lived back in Boston by great cheese and customer service. I digress. We walked in and everything had a place and was in it. Greeted cheerfully and I missed that ripe brie smell I have become so accustomed to from years of being a cheese shop. but the cheese and the knowledge did not disappoint. I gave them what we traditionally gravitate to and he introduced us to some variations on the theme and a few dark horses. PLUS they had my black sesame and soy rice crackers that I love oh so much not to mention other tasty treats. We left with a bag of goodies to make a small meal out of and will be back to test the waters further. Watch for updates to this review.

Anyone can have a lot of cheeses in a case, what makes this place a 5 star cheese shop is their amazingly knowledgeable owner. From the moment you walk into the shop he will work to make sure that you leave with a reasonable size portion of the best cheese for your occasion (or personal snacking). We have been to the shop numerous times and have always left more than happy and with a bag full of cheese :). The owner is very generous with samples which ensures you always go home with a piece of cheese you will love. They also stock a variety of other food items that pair well with cheese (sausage, crackers, etc)

«We did talk about cheese on our first date.» ~Jane Kaczmarek
…and Grand it is. This lovely cheese shop is on par with anything you’ll find outside of New York City. This isn’t the traditional chrome display case store with a thousand cheeses in it. This is a more refined boutique cheese shop that sells rather, just a few dozen exceptional cheeses in addition to, European imported crackers, jams, pastas and exquisite hand carved burlwood cutting boards.
Be sure to try the Gran Queso, a US made Manchego-​like cheese which is made in Wisconsin. Its rind is rubbed in cinnamon, and paired with rosemary crackers… delicious. Another added bonus is the lovely creek nearby where we took our snacks and sat with our feet in the water… under the huge trees.

the best part of my meh brunch this past sunday, was wandering in here with my sister to do some investigating (eat cheese).
steve, the personable owner, offered us some very good coffee (drink it without sugar/​cream) and encouraged us to nibble on the samples of cheese set out on the counter. definitely try the young gouda… i keep wanting to call it the ‘rem koolhaas’ (insert deconstructionist/​modernist architectural reference here), but i think i am misremembering.
i picked up a darling tin of spanish pear paste, some mexican chocolate discs, a jar of lemon grass preserved in oil, a package of full-​fat french butter (ooh la la), a tin of spicy pimenton, a chunk of crucalo cheese (which i dubbed breakfast cheese since it went really nicely with the coffee) and a nice little baguette (from souderton’s own ‘bakers on broad’) which steve tucked into my bag gratis — thanks again!
nb — i am definitely a fan, and am helpless to resist, foreign packaging — the cuter the better.
this is a cozy little shop (hard to believe it housed a garage in a previous life) featuring some wonderful goodies, an excellent cheese case, and a super-​knowledgeable owner who is passionate about his wares and ready to educate you on the fine art of fromage — according to steve, there are ‘no clinkers’ in the selection he has so lovingly assembled. after i casually mentioned the region of italy that my parents are from, steve offered to do some digging to see if there was any abruzzese cheese available (there wasn’t).
i would feel 100% secure in having steve put together a cheese/​charcuterie plate for my next party, and i encourage you to stop in and chat steve up, you won’t regret it.

Love!
They have a fantastic selection, outstanding service and terrific product knowledge. I always learn something when I visit and leave with some great finds. If you know good cheeses, you’ll realize that while their products aren’t cheap they are priced well and offer a strong value.
If you stop in during the weekend, they have lovely baguettes from Bakers On Broad and the selection of condiments and crackers is tremendous. They have a lot of products that I used to get at the Cote & Co in Blue Bell.

This place is amazing. We went to a cheese shop in Peddler’s Village and were very disappointed, but this is exactly what we were looking for. The store is nicely kept with a variety of cheese plate type things, and a huge refrigerator case of cheeses.
They have such a huge selection of different cheese its always a little overwhelming. But, if you talk to the people behind the counter its apparent they REALLY know their cheese, so they can guide you. You can try little samples of any cheese you think you might like, and they make suggestions based on what you do and don’t like. We bought 4 or 5 cheeses and some other odds and ends for a cheese plate and it barely hit $ 40. We’ll definitely be stopping here regularly, very happy we found this place.