Henri's

At Henri's I want to pretend I'm Audrey Hepbrun pretending to have a French accent pretending to be a wine connoisseur. I want to nibble my cheese and bread daintily (I generally handle a burger with the grace of a lumberjack), sitting with good posture, dabbing away crumbs so careful to not smudge my lipstick (who uses napkins?). I pretend to read a newspaper and ponder world events (I'm really doing a crossword) and work diligently on revisions of the latest chapter in my novel (I'm Yelping). I cross my legs at the ankle (so uncomfortable) and stare around the room in case someone wants to make eye contact briefly and their whole world will change right then.

I want to have romantic lunch rendezvous here and pick up expensive bottles of wine and gourmet cheeses to take home and serve to dinner guests. I want to carry away fresh bread in a paper bag and say "au revoir" as I traipse away effortlessly in stilettos on cobblestone.

Good for lunch, coffee, intimate meals and catching up with a favorite friend. And for pretending.

The steak sando just delicious, as well as the Rogue River Smokey Bleu. I loved the Greek Salad and they have a soup & salad option for lunch. It is not that easy to pretend to be dainty while eating these. The bread is hearty, the portions are good. :)

Take your date here! It's the cutest place and it has wine and cheese. Do I need to say more? I love the very attentive waitstaff almost as much as I like the make your own cheese plate option. I haven't come here for lunch yet but it's on my shortlist since I've heard they have an amazing grilled cheese. The ambience here is romantic and they have trivial pursuit cards on the tables for fun conversation. Also it's right next door to Lick if you're in the mood for something sweet.  Great selection of wines & beers & cheese!!

Cheese is the reason veganism will never catch on. Mark Twain didn't say that. I did.

Cheese making, wine making, beer making, meat curing... All of these are centuries old endeavors that people put more than just hard work into. When you make a snack out of all the accumulated agricultural wisdom of humanity, it doesn't suck.

Henri's makes good on what I want from a cheese and wine bar and it is right there to serve the Barley Swine table waiters with cheese and wine before dinner. Symbiotic motherfuckers!!!

If you want the best seat in the house, and you're as big of an asshole as me, take what I coin the disappointment chair. Face yourself so you can see out the window, spread some of that strong sheep's cheese, and watch people with so much joy on their faces walk up to Barley Swine. They have been looking forward to it all week, they just drove around the block 3 times looking for a parking spot, and they finally arrived. In a minute, watch them walk back out with their expression totally changed after they are told how long the wait is. It makes the food taste better, don't shoot the messenger.