Dan Kane hits a cheese specialty shop that just opened in downtown Canton and then venerable Avenue Wine

CANTON So many storefront businesses have come and gone along a single block of Fourth Street NW downtown that when I heard a gourmet cheese shop was opening there, my first thought was a cynical, "Good luck with that."

Last Friday afternoon, I made a leisurely visit to said cheese emporium, Fromage du Monde — French for "Cheese of the World" — and I became a believer within five minutes.

For starters, the shop at 340 Fourth St. NW (previously The Essentials Apothecary) is also a cafe, which gives it significant appeal beyond just purchasing cheese.

Plus, it is an inviting, bright and cozy spot, with a four-seat counter and small tables, plenty of natural light from the front windows, high ceilings, white walls hung with framed mirrors, a collection of birdcages and a warm soundtrack of jazz and soul music. It's a fine place to hang out and have a nosh; proximity to fellow customers and a common topic (cheese) inspires conversation.

The proprietor, Nicole Dietz-Hunt, is personable, welcoming and a self-described "cheesemonger," with a background in catering. Many locals know her gregarious father, longtime bartender Bud Hoelzle, a mainstay at Jasmine Asian Bistro.

"Everyone speaks cheese," Dietz-Hunt told me. "And the ones they love connect them to memories."

After I walked in and took a seat at the counter, I overheard her telling a couple of customers "this (cheese) is aged in the subway tunnels in Brooklyn." I was intrigued.

Because it was lunchtime, I ordered a panini-pressed sandwich called a toasty; just one variety is available and the contents change weekly.

Mine was on crusty baguette bread brushed with olive oil, with aged Spanish manchego cheese, sopressata (Italian salami), sliced tomato and a balsamic drizzle. Priced at $7.50, it was substantial and scrumptious; I loved its chewiness. A pile of Cheez-It crackers accompanied the sandwich, keeping the cheese theme going.

This week's toasty is a Reuben with fresh corned beef, alpine Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing.

There also is soup, made from scratch by Rodney Hunt, husband of Dietz-Hunt and Fromage's co-owner. The current variety ($3.75) is pumpkin and it is warming and perfectly seasonal. Coming soon, Hunt promised, is shrimp bisque.

The other menu item, and the most distinctive offering at Fromage du Monde, is its shareable cheese flights ($12), which are aluminum trays arrayed with thick slices of three different cheeses, crostini bread, candied pecans, housemade horseradish-tinged pickles, Chardonnay mustard, red grapes and housemade tomato ginger jam.

"There's no right or wrong way to eat it," Dietz-Hunt said. The shop also makes elaborate custom grazing trays for events.

As for purchasing cheese, Fromage du Monde has a refrigerated display case with about 20 varieties, including artisanal cheeses from small independently owned creameries around the U.S., and cheeses from Spain, Holland, France, Switzerland and other locales. These are cut to order, with a quarter-pound minimum.

"We have a cheese from Germany that is hand-washed with beer by monks," Hunt noted.

Hours for Fromage du Monde are 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, closed Sunday and Monday. On First Fridays, the shop is open all evening. For more information, call 330-274-9901 or visit FromageCanton.com.

TASTINGS AT AVENUE WINE

After this lunchtime cheese foray, I shifted gears into wine Friday evening with my first-time visit to a wine-tasting event at Canton's venerable Avenue Wine Shop at 1728 Cleveland Ave. NW. From September through April, casual tastings are held every Friday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Admission is $12, which includes samples of five different wines available at the shop — the menu changes weekly — plus a small buffet table with party-style foods (sliced cheeses, cheese spread, crackers, meatballs, grapes, strawberries and Godiva chocolates).

The tastings happen in two adjoining rooms above the shop with subdued lighting and multiple tables and chairs. Avenue's owners Tony and Theresa Antoniades are friendly and easygoing hosts. They encouraged me, attending alone, to sit down at a table of people and everyone was immediately personable, including me in their conversation.

Shawn Haines told me he and his wife Jess have attended "just about every week" for years and the tastings "teach us everything we need to know about wine. They're pretty much family here."

The tastings are a regular Friday date night for Bill and Molly Shearrow, who live nearby. "They've done a very good job of educating us," Molly said. "We were (wine) novices at first."

Last Friday, Pam Pope, representing Vintage Wine Distributors, was behind the bar pouring from bottles of chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet, sirah and zinfandel, all domestics from West Coast vineyards.

If you're looking for something to do on a Friday, you enjoy wine and you are 21 or older, the tastings at Avenue Wine are always an option. Longtime friendships have been made at these weekly events, which also could serve as a fun early evening date.