Gary Danko
The beautifully presented and curated cheese cart holds anywhere from 16 to 20 cheeses, served with grapes and pecan raisin bread. Diners pick what they want from the cart, always accompanied by servers' knowledgeable descriptions of the cheeses' origins. Selected as part of the fixed-price menu ($66 for three courses, $83 for four courses, $98 for five courses).
800 North Point (at Hyde), San Francisco; (415) 749-2060 or garydanko.com. Dinner nightly.
Cav
This wine bar/restaurant offers one of the prettiest cheese plates, with a selection of a dozen kinds paired with nuts, fresh and dried fruits, honey and bread. Owner Pamela Busch will be sure to have the right wine for the occasion. $7 for one cheese, $20 for three, $30 for five and grand platter for $85.
1666 Market St. (near Gough), San Francisco; (415) 437-1770 or cavwinebar.com. Dinner Monday-Saturday.
Perbacco
Perfectly stored ripe Italian cheese is the specialty of Perbacco, which offers a selection of 14 varieties. Depending on what's ordered, they're accompanied by white raisins in Moscato, various honeys or almonds and walnut bread. $8 for one cheese, $13 for two, $18 for three, $22 for four.
230 California St. (near Battery), San Francisco; (415) 955-0663 or perbaccosf.com. Lunch weekdays; dinner Monday-Saturday.
Spruce
This clubby restaurant always has 10 cheeses on hand, half American and half European. The plated selections are served with roasted Marcona almonds, honey and a seasonal fruit compote. The plated selections are $6 each, a taste of five American or European cheeses is $16, a taste of everything is $32.
3640 Sacramento St. (at Spruce), San Francisco; (415) 931-5100 or spruce
sf.com. Lunch Monday-Friday; dinner nightly.
Cyrus
The cart at this Healdsburg restaurant displays as many as 16 cheeses, an equal mix of domestic and imported. Accompaniments include warm toasts, honeycomb, fruit-nut bread, caramelized nuts, dates and a choice of three house-made breads. It's one of the choices on the eight-course tasting menu ($130) or on the bar menu: $17 for three cheeses, $28 for six.
29 North St. (at Healdsburg), Healdsburg; (707) 433-3311 or cyrusrestaurant.com. Closed Tuesday-Wednesday in the winter; otherwise, open for dinner nightly.
Madrona Manor
At this Healdsburg Victorian inn, Joseph Bain nearly always handles the cheese cart, which includes a heated rock that gently warms one of the cheeses. He has about 10 selections paired with dates, grapes, edible flowers, candied nuts, honey and baguettes. It's a $10 supplement to the tasting menus ($64 for three courses to $82 for five). Added as an extra course, it's $12.
1001 Westside Road (at West Dry Creek), Healdsburg; (800) 258-4003 or madronamanor.com. Dinner Wednesday-Sunday.This story has been corrected since it appeared in print editions.
