Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cafe: Grilled Cheese, Mac and Cheese, and the "Breadzel" at Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA, USA

The Best Cheese at Seattle's Pike Place Market

by Beecher's Handmade Cheese: Seattle, Washington, USA

Beecher's Handmade Cheese is an artisanal cheesemaker based out of the iconic Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Beecher's produces several different types of cheese, but their most popular by far is their famous “Flagship” cheese, which is made with cultures normally in creamy cheeses like Gruyère or Emmental. Although Flagship is made using the cheddaring method, Beecher’s doesn’t label it as cheddar because the taste is noticeably different. It has a creamy texture and a subtle, sweet finish, rather than the sharper tang typical of traditional cheddars. The rindless cheese is aged for one year on racks in open air and is rubbed with butter while being turned daily.

While exploring Pike Place Market, I stopped in at Beecher's shop and cafe to sample some of their cheese products.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese at Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington

First, I tried Beecher's flagship sandwich, a toasty grilled cheese filled with flagship cheese, "just jack" cheese, and Beecher's cheese spread mixed with tomato and basil. Unlike traditional grilled cheese where the cheese becomes melty and stringy, the cheese in the flagship sandwich became soft, buttery, and creamy.

fresh "flagship" grilled cheese with tomato, basil, and Beecher's cheese

I also ordered a "bredzel", a soft, pretzel-style bread made in collaboration with the Washington State University Bread Lab. The breadzel is made with heritage grains for a richer more flavorful taste. With a pretzel like texture, the breadzel is topped in crispy melted cheese, salt, and parsley for a delicious, savory snack.

Beecher's famous "breadzel"

Finally, I ordered a small cup of the "world's best mac & cheese". That's quite a claim! With a name like that, I knew that Beecher's must be pretty confident in their product, and I had high expectations.

Those expectations were definitely met! The little cup of penne pasta was covered in a creamy sauce made with a blend of flagship and just jack cheeses and was every bit as good as I had hoped. Ok, so it's definitely not easy to mess up mac and cheese, but this one was something special.

the "World's Best Mac & Cheese" at Beecher's, Seattle, Washington

All of the cheese at Beecher's is made from the milk of a herd of hormone and antibiotic-free cows at Green Acres Farm in nearby Duvall, Washington. The milk is shipped daily to Beecher's factory, which is located on-site at their Pike Place Market location.

One of the coolest parts about visiting the cafe, which is located just next door to the factory, is that you can look through the large windows to watch every stage of the multi-step cheesemaking process. It's super interesting to watch the staff preparing and cutting the curds, pressing them into wheels, and bundling them up for aging. Operating 24 hours a day to keep up with the high demand, the factory produces over 500,000 pounds of cheese each year!

you can watch the entire cheesemaking process through the windows at Beecher's

More great food at Pike Place Market

• Pike Place Chowder: The Best Seafood Chowder in Seattle
• Salmon Sandwich and Seafood Chowder at Pike Place Market
• Dungeness Crab Benedict at Pike Place Market

Menu

Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cafe sells a number of dishes made from their fresh on-site-made cheese like their flagship sandwich, a classic grilled cheese, a kimchi grilled cheese, the "world's best" mac & cheese, and the smoked salmon mac & cheese. They also sell lots of fresh cheese packaged up and ready to take home.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cafe Menu

Location

Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cafe is located at Seattle's Pike Place Market at 1600 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101, United States.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cafe at Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington