Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine -- Loop Location

Pastoral, the Lakeview cheese and wine store, is opening a second location this afternoon/evening or tomorrow at 53 E. Lake St. (between Wabash and Michigan). I walked by the space today on my way into the office and it looks very nice (but I'm a sucker for hanging cured meats). According to the press release (warning: DOC file):

Pastoral’s second location was designed by acclaimed architect Nancy Warren and is double the size of the Broadway location. The new space incorporates special features such as a window-enclosed cheese cave and, in true European style, salami and hams hanging on the wall in an open refrigerated space. Local farm antiques will complement the shop’s décor which features Pastoral’s familiar tin ceiling and more than 67 feet of custom-made millwork. Limited indoor seating will be available, with additional outdoor seating beginning in summer 2008.

This should vastly improve the lunch options and the grab-some-bread-or-cheese-or-a-bottle-on-the-way-home-from-work-options in this part of the Loop (and in the Loop in general, for that matter).

Pastoral
53 E. Lake Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601
312-658-1250
Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. seven days

It opened at 5:45 this evening. I didn't know they'd opened, or I might have left work sooner! As it was, I stopped in at 7:30. Beautiful store with lots of wood, nicely framing the wine, the olives, the breads etc, plus a gorgeous cheese case and another lovely deli case. No seating, but plenty of room to browse while they get your order ready.

This is the Sandwich Campagne. Country Pate, Gruyere, cornichons and Dijon.

Actually even better than it looks.

Ann Fisher wrote:No seating, but plenty of room to browse while they get your order ready.

I stopped in for lunch and talked to owner Greg O'Neill who told me that chairs "are on order" and should be arriving soon. They tables in this photo will be available for those who want to eat in, which is nice if you fear returning to the office with a pungnet epoisse.



Nice to have more dining options in the Loop.

I picked up a Santorini sandwich from Pastoral for lunch, a vegetarian concoction with feta, tomato, cucumber, onions, pequillo peppers and a vinaigrette on a bagette. All of the ingredients were of high quality, including the bagette, so the sandwhich was very tasty. It was a bit hard to eat -- we Americans still don't realize, unlike the French, that a sandwich just needs good bread and one or two well chosen ingredients.

In addition to the excellent sandwiches, they have some nice looking deli items such as hummous, tabouleh, marinated artichokes, balsamic onions, etc. Of course, there is plenty of cheese, as well. This could be a good stop for dinner before the trip home to the burbs.

Jonah

I stopped in again yesterday. I can see that it's going to be a real problem having to pass this place every day on my way home! They were giving out samples of wine and cheese. I was tempted to buy another sandwich campagne, but said I really didn't want to get into a rut so soon. The guy behind the counter suggested I try the Canard Balsamico--duck confict, balsamic cipollini onions, field greens, dijon mustard, and fromager d'affinois. HOLY COW! It could easily feed two. As it was, I had half while I was waiting for my train and finished up the other half as a bedtime snack. It really is a magnificant sandwich. The sweetness of the onions setting off the bite of the mustard but neither of them overpowering the very good duck and the cheese adding a layer of creamy decadence to it all.

It's been a real education for me to see sandwiches of this quality. It's not just good ingredients, but how thoughtfully and creatively they're put together. I feel like I'm getting a real gourmet meal for my $7 or $8. (Of course, by the time I leave, I've also picked up a $3 loaf of bread and a quarter pound of the cheese they were letting us sample and somehow have spent $17 instead of 7 or 8--you see my problem).

This is a great addition to the Loop if for no other reason than the wine and cheese, though Marshall Field's sells wine in the basement. The sandwiches are all nicely crafted (at least the three I have had) as one would expect but the bread, while fine, is too crusty for sandwich purposes. It's a demolition/dining project. I think Hannah's Bretzel is the better option for your sammich dollar.

ok i finally made it!

i'm a slacker i know.

i had *THE MOST AMAZING SANDWICH* I've confumsed in a long, long time. duck confit, balsamic marinated onions, whole grain mustard, greens, and some stinky cheese.




I actually screamed out "OMG THIS IS F#$#$G AMAZING" when I bit into it. Certainly better than any sandwich I've feasted on in a long time.

The baguette w/ the sandwich was excellent. i didn't find it to be too crusty at all, in fact just perfect. the perfect baguette, it seemed. i'm generally very picky about bread crust and am overly sensitive to bread that's too hard to chew, this in my opinion was not one that was hard to work with... perhaps the poster above got them on an off day or the baguette was just a few hours too old.

their bread is from Bennison's bakery in Evanston, who apparently only sells to them for retail. (apparently award winning of some sort too... the 2005 gold cup winner of some "world cup of baking" in paris... according to pastoral's web site http://www.pastoralartisan.com/bread.shtm )

...i bought a few cheeses as well... and even though it was busy busy noon rush, they weren't afraid to let me sample anything...

Anyway... they are having a grand opening event this weekend. Nov 10/11. one day they're having tastings of olive oils and what nots (italian food as well? saturday i think) and the other day (sunday, i think) is regions of spain... 1-4 i believe he said. call to confirm details if you're interested

I had the sandwich campagne Monday and the duck confit yesterday and I would have to agree with the sentiment above. These are terrific sandwiches. I would like to buy cheese here, but its WAY out of the way after work for me, and if I bought it at lunch I would surely forget it in the office fridge.

cybermud wrote:I had the sandwich campagne Monday and the duck confit yesterday and I would have to agree with the sentiment above. These are terrific sandwiches. I would like to buy cheese here, but its WAY out of the way after work for me, and if I bought it at lunch I would surely forget it in the office fridge.

Put a reminder on your Outlook.

i've had 3 post it notes in my office 2 days this week.. 2 on my monitor, one on my door... "Cheese in fridge!"

...btw.. I tried the salumi basquese today... it was kinda an impulsive choice of something i normally wouldn't get.. spicy salami, some sort of marinated red peppers, greens, EVOO, manchego... i dont really know why i picked it, i don't really like marinated red peppers and this wasn't much of an exception ... it was OK but i won't get it again

...as far as the grand opening...

they do have stuff saturday and sunday, but sunday is the actual "grand opening" ...

saturday is just olive oil tasting and italian cheeses..

sunday will be tastes of spain's andalucia region (marcona almonds, picos breadsticks, corazon del sol quince paste, olive oil), spanish cheeses, and 4 of their wine importers will be in pouring wines... 1-4 for both events

so i've written in other threads somewhere about the greatness of spicy pickles called McClure's pickles... they're made by two brothers, one in Royal Oak MI (Detroit) the other in brooklyn... i e-mailed them quite awhile ago asking if they were sold anywhere here... he had said he was working on it.. last week I got an e-mail saying he had just driven to chicago to drop some off at Pastoral... today I finally made it, and indeed their shelves are well stocked with them. they're a bit pricey at $11.99 (sold in Detroit area and brooklyn for $9ish..), but i still paid it. they're great.

http://www.mcclurespickles.com/

LTH,

Enjoyable lunch at Pastoral Lake Street, quick service, pleasant staff, wide array of choices, seating both indoors and out and my Parisian* was surprisingly reasonable for the loop and tasty to boot.

Enjoy,
Gary

* The Parisian -Madrange ham, Fromager D’Affinois cheese, tomato, field greens & whole grain dijon. $7.48

Pastoral
53 E Lake
Chicago, IL 60601
312-658-1250

Largest Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine To Open in Andersonville

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150218 ... ersonville

From ChiMag's "Dish":

Pastoral Will Wedge Its Next Location Into Andersonville
The next location of Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine (5212 N. Clark St., no phone yet) is now in the works. This one makes five, and it will be the big cheese.

“It’s the largest project we have ever done,” says Greg O’Neill, one of the two owners and founders. “Square-footage-wise, you could probably put all of our other places into this.” The Andersonville space, formerly Urban Orchard, will combine a bistro and retail space into 3,800 square feet.

The newest Pastoral will expand its curated selection of cheeses, charcuterie, beer, wine, and spirits. “We always felt there was more to bring to the customer but haven’t had the space,” says Ken Miller, the other owner/founder. They also plan to offer the sandwiches and salads popular at the Lake Street location, and some other “experiential” things, O’Neill says. They probably mean things like cooking demonstrations and classes, but we’re hoping for rappelling.

The restaurant within Pastoral's forthcoming Andersonville location (5212 N. Clark St.) will be called Appellation, and it's all slated to open in early fall.

http://chicago.eater.com/2015/8/20/9183 ... t-wine-bar

Super sad news . . .

Chicago cheese shop chain Pastoral closing all locations after 15 years

at chicagotribune.com, Joe Gray wrote:Pastoral, the Chicago-born and -based cheese and sandwich shops, are closing. In a letter posted Saturday on Facebook, owners Ken Miller and Greg O’Neill announced Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine shops will close in the coming days, 15 years after the first location opened in Lakeview. A separate announcement on the Facebook page of the company’s wine bar, Bar Pastoral, announced it is closing as well.

=R=

Depressing for sure. So does anyone have recommendations for a good replacement? Whole Foods actually has *some* interesting selections these days (hell, even Trader Joe’s carries Langres for some reason), but is there any place that could fill the void left by Pastoral?

Good question if there is a comparable cheese shop to Pastoral. Amazon bought Whole Foods which, at one point had a great cheese selection; my friend, since passed, Danny of he and his partner's Ragstock fame managed the Clybourne-Corridor WF's cheese department in the mid-90's. He, in fact sent me on my cheese journey lo these many years. He brought in a truckload of Neal's Yard truckles and invited my partner and I to taste them. Isle of Mull you are my fave(shout out to Hafod...Montgomery can kiss my ass); what does one make in the Inner Hebrides? Why not shortbread cookies, whisky, and cheese from cows fed upon the leavings of the distilleries? Danny inspired me to be a monger. My last cheese gig in Manhattan I had the fun of working with a young gal who previously worked at Pastoral. She was only at my workspace for a little while, but knew her stuff. Cheese shops are a dying breed. Heck, Lucy's Whey on the UES closed over a year ago. Soon, all we will access is cryovac young Gruyere and tiresome medium-aged cheddars, add in, flavored goat logs, and, god forbid "MANCHANGO." Manchango is a monger joke, fyi. I liked to kid that Manchango(the often egregiously-mispronounced Manchego) is the Tarantino movie no one wants to see. Sad to see the end of Pastoral.

Cilantro posts a good question: does Chicago support any great cheese stores/departments outside of Whole Foods(I won't countenance Trader Joes) with the end of Pastoral? Bin 36 had a decent cheese cave years ago; granted I have not lived in the city for 12 years. I imagine there remain Italian enclaves that specialize in their cheeses, and, of course, the vast Hispanic communities offer their own. Now, where will one find a seasonal 36 mo. Comte'? The great Portuguese tortas? Judy Schad's treasures? Guffanti's cremificato, or dolce?

Ah, right, thanks for the reminder — WF actually had a somewhat *more* interesting variety a few years pre-Bezos (for one thing, different stores seemed to have unique offerings, which does not seem to be the case anymore).

By the way, I do like The Cheese People for some stuff, but their inventory is limited and they’re only around at farmers markets.

Aside from Wegman's, Murray's, or Cowgirl at The Embarcadero cheese as a specialty retail enterprise seems to be a dying breed(not good for me). ...special shout out to Eli's Manhattan on the Upper East Side.

both Local Foods and Olivia's Market have quite nice cheese selections that differ significantly from Whole Foods (which is very good, at least at Kingsbury). this loss is a bummer though, as one of the real bounties offered by Pastoral was sandwiches, which are just in such inexplicably short supply in this town!

Whole Foods Kingsbury and Plum Market and Local Foods (more limited) have some cheese of interests.

Eataly will probably be my best bet going forward.

pairs4life wrote:Whole Foods Kingsbury and Plum Market and Local Foods (more limited) have some cheese of interests.

Eataly will probably be my best bet going forward.

I never had much use for Whole Foods cheese. I found the young and not properly aged/stored. Now Amazon has further dumbed it down and I’m in mourning at this Pastoral news. Just before Christmas is the odd part, they sold tons of cheese platters and other stuff in December. Perhaps they were just “done” and needed to walk away.