{"id":4221,"date":"2025-01-30T03:01:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T03:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/cheese-shops-we-love-willow-on-the-green\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T03:01:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T03:01:59","slug":"cheese-shops-we-love-willow-on-the-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/cheese-shops-we-love-willow-on-the-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheese Shops We Love: Willow on the Green"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Willow on the Green<\/h2>\n

1327 B, 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122<\/p>\n

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Willow on the Green store front in San Francisco<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s a former chef and British expat located in San Francisco to do when craving a taste of home? Open a British cheese shop on the block where he lives, basically. Having spent time not only as a private and military chef, but also in film and publishing, \u201ca little part of me always had this dream that when I retired, I would have an emporium, or that type of thing,\u201d says Alex J. Sinclair, founder of San Francisco\u2019s Willow on the Green.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Bringing Great British Vibes to the Bay Area<\/h2>\n
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Willow on the Green coronation display<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bearing a sign on its awning declaring \u201cpurveyors of British Fine Wines and Cheese,\u201d Willow on the Green began in 2022 as a pandemic passion project, rooted in a craving for the familiar. \u201cWhen COVID hit, I realized that I couldn\u2019t get access to the food that I truly missed, as a lot of the British type of food that you get in the U.S. is based in nostalgia,\u201d says Sinclair \u2014 more low-brow snacks such as crisps, biscuits, and candies rather than fine cheeses.<\/p>\n

Opening a shop dedicated to British cheese was also an opportunity to provide a service to the neighborhood. \u201cI had noticed that through living in Japan for five years, and then coming back to America, a lot of Southeast Asian residents have trouble eating American cheese because of lactose intolerant issues,\u201d says Sinclair. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t happen when you\u2019re eating British cheese, though, because we are actually quite a lactose intolerant country,\u201d he says, and one whose most famous cheeses are mainly aged cheddars<\/a> produced by grass-fed herds that have no appreciable lactose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live a block from my shop,\u201d says Sinclair, in a space that opened up next to a famous bakery co-op, \u201cand I realized it was sort of the best path to go forward to allow residents to be able to eat fine cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Shop<\/h2>\n
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Alex Sinclair photo credit Noma Faingold<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Located next to Arizmendi Bakery<\/a> just south of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco\u2019s Inner Sunset neighborhood, the pocket-sized shop is a cosy one \u2014 note British spelling \u2014 simply organized with cases, shelves, and tables of British cheeses, beverages, and other treats. \u201cBeer and cheese never fails,\u201d says Sinclair, for locals and expats alike. While small in size, other expats, Anglophiles, or just lovers of quality cheese will find plenty to linger over among its offerings.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome parts are hodgepodge, because in the process of opening, a lot of other British-centric stores closed down, and so we had a little bit of British groceries,\u201d says Sinclair. \u201cOur main focus is as many British cheeses as we can get our hands on,\u201d he says, \u201cwhich is not a lot, because we\u2019re at the very end of the cold chain in America. And then British beers, ciders, and specifically celebrating British sparkling wines<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

With museum curator also among his many previous careers, \u201cluxury boutique market\u201d is the distinct vibe Sinclair is trying to create, and he is passionate about rotating the stock to keep it interesting for regular consumers. \u201cTrying to find the rare thing and constantly changing the curated collection means that they\u2019re always being kept excited and able to explore,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes we\u2019ll bring in something that will never come back again, so now\u2019s the time to try it. If you\u2019re lucky enough, you get to be one of the chosen few that get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Selected Cheeses<\/h2>\n
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Willow on the Green cheeses<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While primarily celebrating the cheeses of Great Britain and Ireland, Willow on the Green also offers a small selection of exemplary cheeses from around the world, the U.S. included. \u201cIt\u2019s always a 70\/30, maybe 60\/40 split in favor of the UK,\u201d says Sinclair. \u201cWe generally bring in Manchego because Manchego is a common cheese that the UK knows, and I have halloumi all year, because that\u2019s our main vegetarian protein equivalent to tofu,\u201d he says. \u201cWe do focus a little on French because we\u2019re not only selling British wines, but also Bordeaux and Champagne,\u201d he says. \u201cThen locally, it\u2019s mainly goat and sheep. So Cypress Grove<\/a> and Laura Chenel.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Stalwart cheddars from throughout the British Isles prevail, and \u201cStilton is always on tap,\u201d says Sinclair, but he singled out a few distinctive cheeses that are beloved by his patrons and unique to his stock.<\/p>\n

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Somerdale Red Dragon<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Somerdale Red Dragon cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flavored British cheddars are a big hit with Sinclair\u2019s clientele, and he highlights many unique products within the category, with Somerdale\u2019s Red Dragon being his most consistently popular. \u201cIt\u2019s a whole grain mustard and ale Welsh cheddar,\u201d he says, a cheese that doubles down on its British pedigree with its flavorful inclusions. Around Halloween, Sinclair also stocks Somerdale\u2019s Harlech, an extremely robust cheese spiked with parsley and horseradish. \u201cEither you really like it or it blows your head off,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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Long Clawson Huntsman<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Long Clawson Huntsman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Huntsman is made by Long Clawson, one of the few producers authorized to make name-protected Stilton. Spicy and pungent Stilton is layered with Double Gloucester, another name protected cheese from the region that is smooth and nutty, for a cheese that is complex and visually stunning.<\/p>\n

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Snowdonia Cheese Company Black Bomber<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Snowdonia Cheese Company Black Bomber<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBlack Bomber is a massive seller for us,\u201d says Sinclair. \u201cIt\u2019s an extra mature Welsh cheddar, so it has all that crystal, calcium lactate forming through it.\u201d Made in a mini-truckle shape, and coated in black wax for a playful \u201chockey puck\u201d look, it\u2019s deeply savory, while still creamy even with the formation of its crystalline structure. Snowdonia Cheese Company describes it as \u201cdemandingly moreish.\u201d (My new favorite Brit vocab.)<\/p>\n

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Also Look For:<\/h2>\n

While the shop is petite, Sinclair values tasting and education as a means of building clientele, and weekends are prime time to introduce his fare to new patrons, and share exciting finds with existing ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery weekend we do free cheese tastings and we have done since the inception,\u201d he says. Three to four cheeses \u2014 the same on both Saturday and Sunday but with different selections weekly \u2014 are on offer for anyone to try.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mainly focused on cheese board tasting, as opposed to single varietal,\u201d says Sinclair. \u201cI noticed that by doing more of an educated tasting experience, you can see the dynamics between the cheeses, as opposed to just pushing one cheese that you want to sell real quick,\u201d he says. \u201cI did bring in Feltham\u2019s Farms Rebel Nun<\/a>, which is\u2026pungent, is a nice way of putting it. It\u2019s a cheese where you need to have a conversation with who you live with before you buy it. But it was fascinating, because we were pairing it with Stilton, and because of its depth and pungency, it made Stilton sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Willow on the Green 1327 B, 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122 Willow on the Green store front in San Francisco What\u2019s a former chef and British expat located in San Francisco to do when craving a taste of home? Open a British cheese shop on the block where he lives, basically. Having spent time … Okumaya devam et “Cheese Shops We Love: Willow on the Green”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4221\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}