Formaggio Kitchen (Cambridge) -- an umbrella thread

Regional Dining Discussions Boston, New England
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We’ve had multiple mentions of Formaggio Kitchen on this site, but no all-inclusive thread. Shame on us (and me, in particular), for allowing a jewel of the Boston food scene such as this to lie on the sidelines of the fringe commentariat.

Let me get the arancini rolling by saying that their prepared foods are among the tastiest things that the GBA currently offers. Consider their fish cakes, always loosely bound, with chunks of fish, not a paste, yet held together in the boundary of their crust. Almost a Platonic ideal. From yesterday a bad picture of their hake cake:

hakecake
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And there was also this:

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New peas in an artichoke heart. Mine own heart brimmeth over.

This thread has more on their prepared foods:

Oddly, there are few mentions here of their extraordinary cheeses, salamis, etc., apart from occasional sniping at their prices. I hope to address this in detail in future posts, but let me preempt such talk by saying that the price comparisons that are sometimes leveled are based on comparing FK’s online prices with in-store ones elsewhere. I have done a careful in-person to in-person comparison with other stores (especially the nearby Whole Foods at Fresh Pond) and the FK prices are competitive at worst, and often better. Plus, a person cuts and wraps your cheese, down to a sliver, and you are not forced into a larger slab of something wrapped in plastic.

I agree that FK’s online prices are high (much higher than in-store), and I’ve asked them. Their reasoning is that there are significant additional costs with packaging cheese for shipping. I offer that to you without taking a side on this particular issue.

As a local store though, they are non pareil.

Disclosure: My wife and I have had various social involvements with owners, staff, etc., of FK over the years. But I write what I mean, and they are not aware of my online comments or persona.

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Between you and @Parsnipity the Boston board is very lucky to have such great writers — as are we non-Boston HOs.

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This is primarily what we go there for. Formaggio and Wasik’s in Wellesley are the best in the area as far as cheese shops are concerned.

With that in mind. I still wish Formaggio was in its old space and we still had Fresh Pond Market in the neighborhood for their excellent, and reasonable butcher counter. I know I speak for other neighbors when I say there is still disappointment about perceived unfulfilled promises around Formaggio’s purchase of the market.

While I agree their prepared food is generally good, I do find the BBQ to be overrated and highly inconsistent.

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I agree that the cheeses are the best available in the area. Yes, the prices are high. It is also true that they trim the cheeses every day and store them in a cave so you not paying for any cheese that is past its prime. The variety of cheese is famous on the national level. The prices are, as OP says, per pound not that much higher than Whole Foods. They also wrap your choices in cheese paper, which gives a much longer fresh life than the plastic wrap at Whole Foods.

I feel very lucky to have access to the FK cheese.

They also carry a huge variety of condiments and jarred foods and pasta, etc. that are not available to purchase in person elsewhere in the Boston area. They are expensive and most of them can be found at cheaper prices on Amazon. Amazon has drawbacks, too; I don’t enjoy enriching Bezos.

I would like to recommend the Wine and Cheese Cask and Ball Square Liquors in Somerville. Both have far smaller gourmet food selections at more reasonable prices. W&C has some really special cheese, some of which are not available at FK. The Spanish blue La Fuega is extraordinary.

Other items such as the heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo in California are available locally at several places (such as Dave’s Fresh Pasta, The Mushroom Shop, Savenor’s etc.) at a lower price per pound. Rancho Gordo direct has the lowest prices and shipping is free and quick if you order $50. And while I really love the FK specialty produce, especially the different varieties of radicchio and chicory, sometimes they are past their prime and so not worth, to me, the high price per pound.

I’m from NC and the BBQ is highly overrated in my opinion and I will never buy it again. It’s a New England issue about BBQ. I do like some of the side dishes they offer with the BBQ and will purchase those again, including the biscuits.

The bakery products are superb and overall, I’ll say again that I feel lucky I live close to FK.

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Yes. I do like the Wine & Cheese cask as well, and it is convenient.

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In my formative years (aren’t they all? :wink: ) I had the roast beef sandwich with Boursin almost weekly at the Harvard Square location.

As much as I love Formaggio Kitchen, after a recent 9-week stint in Germany I’m reminded that it offers a highly curated view of the culinary landscape. There is a tremendous world out there that they don’t cover. I’ve found that on occasion they will respond to requests to add items to their repertoire.

That said, my biggest wish for Formaggio Kitchen would be to expand their footprint with more satellite locations around the Boston area. Whole Foods can withstand the competition.

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What food items would you lik to see at FM? Sounds like a wonderful stay in Germany.

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Oddly, although they shared a name, the Harvard Square location was not connected to the Huron Village store after the HV store became the FK we know today. Much of the information online on the history of the store is wrong, including that provided by Google AI. Here’s a more accurate statement:
“We fondly refer to Cambridge‐FK as the mother ship, which was started in the late 70’s by Norma Wasserman. Ihsan, my husband started in 1982 and I started in 1984. We soon started a slow buyout of the business from Norma.”
Source:

I started shopping at FK in Huron Village in 1993, not too many years after Ihsan and Valerie had taken it over. I, too, thought that the Harvard Square FK was part of their business but they told me then that they had only bought the Huron Village branch and that the Harvard Square location was owned by someone else.

FK does, of course, have to “curate” since they offer cheeses from so many places. They couldn’t possibly offer the range of Goudas, for example, you see in Amsterdam. But they do pretty well, considering. I’ve been to cheese shops in many locations (France, Italy, Germany, etc.) and while each of those offers a wide range of their own cheeses, they don’t have quite the international breadth of FK

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Also the original owners of Formaggio gave a start to my favorite cheese purveyor, The Cheese Iron in Scarborough Maine, which sadly closes its doors today after 20 years in business. We’ll really miss swinging by there on our various trips north. I’m not sure that the crazy busy cheese counter at Formaggio has the time to offer the tasting and tutelage that co-owner Vince was so kind to share while selecting cheeses for us.

Fingers crossed that I may find a way to visit Formaggio during a moment when it’s not too busy.

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Have you been to Joppa Fine Foods? Much smaller than FK, but I believe the former owner started out at FK (although I’m not sure which one) before it was sold to the current Newburyport native.

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I have not. You know I am all about culinary field trips, so thanks!

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Ah, flattery will get you everywhere! :heart_eyes:

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That’s what they say :smiley:

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Wish I had seen this earlier. Today, we did a snorkeling trip in Rincon and there was a family from Scarborough. I would’ve brought it up with them!

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Sending you good surfing vibes from Rincon @Parsnipity!

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Those roast beef and Boursin sandwiches were in the pre-Ishan era. I won’t say by how much.

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That was a very memorable sandwich.

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I mildly add, without wishing to cause a brouhaha, that their daily prepared foods are beyond “generally good” and generally (not always, I admit) superb. Their best dishes, of which there many, would have us jumping up and down in joy, and posting like mad, were we to encounter them in a fancy restaurant.

I agree with all on the deficiencies of their bbq, except that their prices, as always, are reasonable. I often stop by there when the line is manageable for a hefty hot dog loaded with sauerkraut for five bucks.