CHEESE

Table One offers brie cheese baked in phyllo dough and served with baby lettuce tossed in a balsamic dressing, green grapes and toasted almonds. At Café Banquette, cheese appears on the appetizer menu with French fries and in mozzarella sticks. The deux fromages sandwich from La Boucherie offers a choice of bread, any two cheeses and comes grilled or cold. Laurentino's Restaurant offers a number of tapas dishes, including the semi-cured Manchego cheese on Catalan garlic-tomato bread with Mediterranean olives. The fondues from The Melting Pot bubble up a rich blend of Gruyere and Emmenthaler cheeses melted with a white wine base, a touch of garlic and lemon juice and finished with cracked pepper, nutmeg and Kirshwasser brandy. Prepared tableside, the fondue comes with French, rye and pumpernickel breads, Granny Smith apples and vegetables for dipping.

Start your meal at McAlister's Deli with the chili cheese dip, which comes with sliced jalapeno peppers and chips. Choose either mozzarella or feta for fried cheese sticks at Pizza Florence. Bayona's lunch menu includes a starter of a goat-cheese crouton with mushrooms in Madeira cream. Besides pizza, Theo's makes a grilled cheese sandwich with mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and spices. Mimi's in the Marigny has a hot tapas menu that includes flash fried goat cheese croquettas. Order Queso Fundido at Taqueros Coyoacan for melted cheese stuffed with chorizo or vegetables and tortillas on the side. Pontchartrain Vineyards offers a cheese plate to accompany their wines. Paradise Café provides the old standby of grilled cheese with either bacon or tomato. Goat cheese croquettas at Fiesta Bistro feature a crunchy outside and a melting inside of goat cheese with rosemary and thyme. The Original Coffee Pot Restaurant offers blintzes stuffed with three cheeses plus either sour cream and strawberries or apples and cinnamon.