The Reason To Avoid Ordering Cheese Boards When Dining Out

Brie, gouda, Manchego, and a little chèvre — designing the perfect cheese board is an art unto itself. The trick is to achieve the perfect sampling of flavor and texture combinations that will create a unique experience with each bite. Cheese boards are designed to feel bougie, laden with specialty flavors and a delicious mix of rare cheeses, soft cheeses, and hard cheeses. They're a decadent treat. But if you order a cheese board when you're out at a restaurant, there's a good chance the price tag is higher than it needs to be.

In an article written for Business Insider, restaurant critic Alice Levitt pointed out the problem, saying she avoids ordering cheese boards at restaurants because of the tendency for marked-up prices. "When I want to sample regional cheeses," she wrote, "I go to a grocery store or cheese shop." Cheese boards are beautifully arranged to look full, but you can get more for your money if you shop at grocery stores and make your own cheese board — the pros use a wooden board to best show off the cheese.

Cheese boards at restaurants can also be a bit, well, boring compared to what you make at home. You'll see a basic formula for cheese boards at many restaurants, often including a hefty helping of Havarti — often dill Havarti — as well as Manchego, Brie, Gorgonzola, goat cheese, burrata, and aged cheddar. Unless you're at a specialty cheese shop, you're likely to spend a lot of time with the same cast of cheeses when you order cheese boards at a restaurant. Make your own board at home to shake up the selection.

If you're ordering a cheese board at a restaurant, it might mean you know a bit about cheese. Or it could just be that you want to dive head-first into a journey of culinary contradictions, sampling flavors and textures that are creamy, sharp, sweet, and pungent. While you should expect some of the old stand-by cheese varieties on the platter, you sometimes don't know what you're ordering. Restaurants sometimes don't put all the cheese options on the menu and sometimes don't even include the price. You could get a surprise at the end of your meal if you order a cheese board at a restaurant.

You also run the risk of getting a pre-packaged platter at some restaurants. If you opt for making your own version, you can put it together fresh for your table. Add marinated or fruit-infused chèvre to your cheese board for an extra-special tasting platter and, in French tradition, serve your cheese board after dinner for a bougie snack that aids in digestion. There's an exception to every rule, including one mandating you never order a cheese board at a restaurant. In the Business Insider article, Alice Levitt says she'll break her resolve if a restaurant is offering a unique selection of cheeses and pairings offered nowhere else. "I might order a cheese plate if I'm traveling," she wrote, "or if the chef includes proprietary additions like house-made crackers and jams." You'd be better off ordering a cheese board elsewhere, though. Some cheese shops and wine bars, for example, offer a customer's choice-style selection process for at least one of the platters on their menu.