Who the hell eats cheese after a meal?

Question

Says Paul Reiser when offered a cart of cheeses at a French restaurant in Paris. This is one of my favorite scenes from Red Oaks, a TV series from the Amazon Prime.
He also says something like, no wonder French are not a major player anymore. They got all the priorities mixed up. lol. A typical loud mouthed American in Paris...you will say..Anyways...

I heard French eat cheeses after a meal to help digest the food. I also know Italians do that though not sure if it's a regional thing(maybe someone can clarify).
So who else eat cheeses after a meal? Do you normally order cheese after a meal? And does it really help digest food? 
While I love cheeses, I rarely order it unless it's a part of a meal. I can't imagine eating something so heavy and fatty after a nice long stuffy meal.

Answer

Seriously? You're a sophisticated diner, no? You've never heard of a cheese course after the entree? Never seen the cheese cart?

I live for it. With paired wine.

Answer

I have cheese after dinner most days when I cook at home. I've been pairing it with Game of Thrones; it also goes well with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin. Like thegforceny, I'm surprised you've never seen a cheese course on a Manhattan menu. They're not ubiquitous, but they're pretty damn common.

Answer

I much prefer a cheese course over a dessert course after a meal but then I'm not a huge fan of sweets.

Answer

of course I have had cheeses after meals and I know cheese courses are offered after meals at restaurants..
I just wanted to know if any of you regularly eat cheeses after a meal and if this is popular part of Italian culture as well.
I guess at the end, I just thought the tv scene was too funny and that I wanted to share that with you.

Answer

Addition of a cheese course to American menus has been one of the biggest dining upward trends of the past 20 years. So much so that it has been credited in part with the surge in Port wine sales in the US over the past two decades.

Answer

Got me into cheese mood; picked up a 30 month old cheddar and a bottle of kombucha(since it has a trace amount of alcohol) in place of wine since I am at work. Interestingly, a lot of wines don't make me buzzed anymore but a quarter bottle of Kombuchua does.

Answer

I eat cheese after breakfast. Does that count?

Answer

Erm, it's traditional to do so in the UK and some of the rest of Europe. It is even apparently good for teeth after the sweets and acids before.

So "who the hell", is quite a lot of folks and for many, many years.

Not every day of course, but as a special meal or at Christmas.

Answer

Yes, Italians will have cheese at the end of a meal, usually with some fruit (apple, pear, grapes) and nuts. At the end of a very good meal, I encourage you to try a very good, old Parmigiano reggiano and a glass of Amarone. That said, it might be regional, as my experience is mostly northern, and I know Sicilians have something of a sweet tooth. A stinky, soft cheese (e.g., L'ami de Chambertin, Epoisse) with a sweet white wine, and some berries, is a lovely way to close the meal. At home I often have a couple pieces of cheese, a bit of fruit, and bread after dinner. I don't know whether it aids digestion (I suspect not), but as well, I'm not eating 1/2 lb of the stuff.

"A nice long stuffy meal" strikes me as oxymoronic.... "Stuffy" sounds uncomfortable, perhaps gluttonous, which is not "nice". That would put me off the cheese course, as well.

Answer

A cheese course to end a meal is a favorite thing of mine

Answer

If I'm in the mood for dessert and I don't like the sweet choices, I'll order the cheese sampler if it's on offer. It must be common to do so, because I see more than one restaurant with a cheese board listed in the afters section. 

At home...I eat cheese before, during, and after the meal. 8-)

Answer

I prefer cheese over dessert to end my meal. Like you say, I can't imagine eating something heavy and fatty after a meal so the thought of icecream or chocolate fondant or sticky toffee pudding with custard or a piece of cheesecake or a chocolate mud cake or apple crumble after a meal turns my stomach.

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Who the hell eats cheese after a meal?

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