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There are more than 90 dudes named Steve
Jones in Portland. We know, because we checked. But we're wondering if
some of the Joneses might just be clones of Portland's famous
cheesemonger. Because when we go into Mount Tabor's Cheese Bar, there's
Steve Jones. When we go into the cheese window at the Commons' new
brewpub, he's there, too. And there he was again at his West End
sushi-themed cheesery, Chizu (1126 SW Alder St., chizubar.com).
But Chizu—Japanese for "cheese"—is apparently Jones' effort to slow
down. Chizu places Jones in the role of master chef Jiro Ono, presiding
humbly at the center of his tastefully appointed, burnished-wood elbow
of a bar serving up cider, beer, sake and wine. You can order
individually among 30 personally selected cheese varieties that change
almost daily, but smart customers will just leave it to the expert by
ordering omakase and choosing their price. For $20, we received five
decadent cheeses—garnished appropriately with walnut, fig, mustard and
Little T crostini—including our favorite, a Fourme Aux Moelleux bleu
that was an explosion of light sweetness and heady penicillin funk, with
Vouvray wine from the Loire injected into its middle. A soft English
Tunworth tasted like a whole salad of winter vegetables, dressing
included. The cheeses weren't merely good—because face it, all cheese
tastes pretty good—they all had immediate and recognizable character,
like somebody in a Dickens novel. Hell, maybe there's only one Steve
Jones after all.
WWeek 2015