Alexia TsotsisAfter a meal of Mediterranean Mussels, Roasted Monkfish with Saffron Sauce, and Olive Tapenade-crusted Rack of Lamb with Mustard Sauce at The Little Door in Hollywood this weekend, my date and I eschewed the carb-laden desserts in favor of the cheese plate (because it's summer). The usual maitre fromager being out of commission, the waiter apologized for not being able to tell us what cheese was what.
Half joking, my date and I were like, “Oh where's the app for that?” To which our French (naturally) waiter pulled out his iPhone and said, “Oh you mean “Fromage”?”
Yes, “Fromage” is the iPhone app for lovers of cheese, touting itself as the “ultimate pocket guide to exquisite cheeses.”
Created by Steve Welch, “Fromage” enables users who fork over the $2.99 to scroll through cheeses by name, region, milk type and texture. Being in a situation where one can actually use the iCheese App can be likened to only knowing one phrase of French and then getting the opportunity to use it; “Fromage” is not what one would call “hi-tech.”
One caveat: the app has no search function, making looking for the right cheese in a pinch quite time-consuming; my date and I decided that ignorance is bliss and devoured the cheese plate without identifying names and origins. Quelle Horreur!
Perhaps the waiter should have whipped out his iPhone at the beginning of the meal, so we could have selected a wine pairing sympathetic to the plate (a functionality also available)? The wine we picked, a domain grand Romane from Gigondas, worked just fine with the mystery cheese. Despite it's slight flaws, I went home and downloaded the app anyways, a firm believer in “Be Prepared.”
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