France 44's Cheese Shop has lunch covered

Teddy Hobbins

France 44's sweet chorizo sandwich

​Cheese is badass. In fact, I've seen T-shirts from my friends at Heidi's (tear) proclaiming that "cheese is the new black" --and I believe it. Though the Cities have many great cheese shops, France 44 in southwest Minneapolis is one of my favorites. I was hurt when their restaurant closed (they had an amazing grilled veggie sandwich), but I'm over-the-moon about the inspiring sandwiches they now serve in the cheese shop.

They top their sandwiches with everything from speck to garlic confit to sopressata, to name just a few. I ordered the sweet chorizo sandwich ($8) on a recent visit strictly out of fascination. This sandwich rocks sweet chorizo, manchego cheese, harissa, greens, and quince. Quince!

The sandwich was beautifully constructed and checked off all the crucial "s" words that make a great sandwich. Sweetness from the quince, a smooth finish from the delightful manchego, smoke from the robust harissa, spice from the chorizo (though subtler in this iteration), and snap from the leafy greens. Lastly, the bread was soft with a delicate crust, the perfect accent to this premier yet diva-less ingredient mix.

Sandwich Rating: Killer. I'm tempted to just eat my way up and down France 44's sandwich menu. The sweet chorizo sandwich was awesomely complex, but the complementary flavors left it humbly balanced. Get a little green grass, some sunshine, and a France 44 sandwich and you're in perfect picnic territory.

Epic Sandwich copyright 2010 by Teddy Hobbins