Nowhere else in Hell’s Kitchen–or in all of Midtown, for that matter–can you find a menu that captions its offerings with terse, italicized adjectives like, “Grassy. Popcorny,” and “Firm. Mustardy,” or our favorite, “Herbaceous. Hay-ey.” But Casellula is in the business of breaking new ground in bringing casual cheese-tasting to the masses, so a few neologisms here and there are perfectly in order. The café, which takes its culinary cues from resident fromager Tia Keenan, seems, with its exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling glass windows, to be a postmodern, alternate-reality reinterpretation of what Starbucks might look like if it served artisanal cheese and unoaked chardonnay instead of cinnamon chip scones and frappucinos. Inside, you’ll find what seems to be a home away from home for curd-lovers: many patrons seem to know one another, clinking glasses comfortably across tables, and everyone it seems, knows something about the gentle art of affinage. In every respect, Casellula appears to be a genuine Third Place for cheese lovers.

To be honest, this can also make a first visit a little bit daunting, even if you know your rennet from your thistle. Casellula’s cheese menu, a list that runs 45-deep, takes a little courage to navigate. The waitstaff at Casellula, for all of their expertise on the subject of curds and whey, do assume that diners have a bit of advance knowledge. “Do you prefer cow, goat, or sheep?” is one common opening query we have heard several times during our visits to Casellula, and it can be a loaded question–many patrons don’t really know how to answer, so they guess. Fair enough. A better answer, and one that nearly everyone without an affineur’s palate ought to try is this: “Suggest something I might like,” or better yet, “What do you think would pair well with my wine selection?” The ideal solution would be a larger list of pre-selected flights–Casellula has only four flights on the menu now. On a previous visit, we tasted the ‘Lady Sings the Blues’ sampler, loaded with piquant, moldy cheeses, each served with its own unique accompaniment. We think the pre-fab approach works well for both beginning and more expert cheeseheads, alike, and we’d like to see Casellula include more of these user-friendly options on the menu.

However, this week, HungryMom, HungryMan, and I returned to do a little pick-and-mix of our own, opting to taste five cheeses (at $5 apiece), with an emphasis on bolder flavors. From mildest to wildest, running back to front, they are shown in the image above: Mille Trous D’Ariege (French, cow and goat), Försterkäse Krümmenswil (Swiss, cow), Romy (Egyptian, sheep), Le Sousbois (Swiss, cow), and Jasper Hill Farm Bayley Hazen (American, cow). As promised, all came with their own accompaniments, some of which lent a marvelous new dimension to the taste of the cheese they were paired with. Our favorite was the pickled green beans in the runny Sousbois cheese–it brought out the acidic taste in a cheese so gooey and fatty that it could have easily been a palate killer. The dark chocolate buttons served with our Bayley Hazen blue cheese were also an inspired choice, as the bitterness of the cocoa revealed a sweetness underneath the cheese’s sharp bite. Less successful was the rose jam offered alongside the Mille Trous D’Ariege; its overwhelmingly cloying floral tones made the cheese turn bland and limp in the mouth, tasting more like a softened bar of something from the Roger et Gallet range. But this off-note was an aberration. In general, Casellula matches its cheeses to garnishes adeptly.

The café’s short snacks menu is also very well constructed. On previous visits, we have eaten and enjoyed the raucously-named ‘Pig’s Ass Sandwich’ ($12), a modified version of a pork sandwich like the one you might find at Margon, piled high with Fiscalini cheddar, pickles, and of course, pork butt. This time around though, we shared the Happy Waitress ($18, for two), a deconstructed diner sandwich made with salad greens, savory croutons, crisp bacon shards, and a small wheel of hot, melting grilled Camembert floating on a lagoon of tomato coulis. Even shared among three people, this salad proved to be quite filling, especially eaten with a flight of cheeses. Yet with a bottle of very decent New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc open on our table, we ate just the right amount of food to keep us from getting tipsy. This is easier said than done, especially when the cheese courses are rather small. If cheese alone is your speed, we recommend wines by the glass–Casellula has several excellent ones. Otherwise, eat something a bit more hearty as you sip; you’ll remember more, and if what we have seen holds true, you will be sober enough that you might even make a new cheese-loving friend at another table, someone to meet up with for something rindy when you return.

Casellula, 401 West 52nd Street (at Ninth Avenue), 212-247-8137.