In NY last month, I stopped by the legendary Murray's Cheese Shop. They manage to squeeze an astonishing selection into their cramped space: comparable to Berkeley's Cheese Board, in about a quarter the space. There were a number of intriguing cheeses that I had never seen before, particularly, of course, from east coast dairys. (The european selection is broadly equivalent to the Cheese Board's, with some surprises). The most exciting find was Thistle Hill Tarentaise, a "gruyere-style" cheese from Vermont (the website reveals that their inspiration was in fact Beaufort, perhaps my favorite cheese). It is a luscious golden yellow from 100% jersey milk, creamy and rich flavored, but without either the "funk" or the "flavor crystals" one associates with various kinds of alpine cheese. I loved this cheese, and so did everyone else.
I also picked up a Lively Run Cayoga goat's milk blue from upstate NY. The cheese is similar to Boucheron, but in the form of a 4-5 lb. drum instead of a log, perhaps aged longer (it was pretty firm), and with a few blue streaks running through it. The blue flavor was very mild, the goat flavor very mellow: overall quite a nice cheese, and good to try out on beginners, though I hope it won't sound too parochial to say that it is not as good as Humbodlt Fog.
Also, no problem getting a raw-milk camembert. We're going back to NY at the end of the month, and I'll try to get to Artisanal -- new home, I've just discovered, of our old friend Waldemar, formerly of the Pasta Shop and Spanish Table.
Posted by max at March 8, 2004 11:19 AM | TrackBack