Cheese near Montclair

[emilymarie]

I need to put together a cheese plate for Saturday night. Any shops in Montclair-Bloomfield area where I could get go and encounter knowledgeable staff and good cheese?

thanks.

[jim07044]

Try the cheese area at Whole Foods, either in Montclair or West Orange, though the West Orange store has a larger selection.

[plattetude]

If you don't mind driving a few miles (15 or so?), head to Summit Cheese Shop (75 Union Place). Small but packed with fantastic cheeses.

Christopher

[Curlz]

If you're going to travel, there's also a new cheese shop in Hoboken called The Cheese Store. I haven't been, but have read that they have a great selection and knowledgeable staff. Another thought is Wegmans (closest is either Bridgewater or Woodbridge). And if you're going to Whole Foods, I'd definitely suggest the West Orange store over Montclair; far greater selection!

[SusanGiff]

Heck, if I were going to travel, I'd just go to Murray's on Bleecker St. in NYC. OTOH, the staff at Whole Foods is pretty knowledgeable and the selection's decent. Oddly, though, I've found that West Orange has more of each cheese than Montclair, but not a significantly wider selection, even though the section is about three times the size. Maybe that's changed--I haven't checked it in a while.

Susan

[emilymarie]

Mmm, thanks for all of your advice. I've shopped for cheeses at Montclair Whole Foods once and found the staff (at least on the day I was there) to be un-helpful. It's great to know about these other places--cheese shop and summit cheese. I think Murray's is a bit far to go. I am willing to travel, but not fight the tunnel on a day that I don't have to!

thanks.

[mzrb]

Summit Cheese Shop is a real winner, and worth travelling to. They know their cheese and they go for unusual offerings, instead of the standard, expected ones (altho they have those too). It's just the kind of shop that deserves our support. They are always threatening to go out of business, and I always panic.

Cheese and whole foods suffers from lack of knowledgeable staff and it's pre-cut-ness, which makes it prone to get moldy and often necessitates the scraping off of the outer layer to get rid of the plastic wrap taste.

[emilymarie]

I went to Whole Foods in Montclair and similar to my last experience there, I encountered a counter person who didn't know much of anything about the cheese in front of him and hadn't heard of the cheeses I was interested in/wondering if they stocked (Pleasant Ridge Reserve, for instance). What I really wanted was some guidance and I got none, though he did let me taste a few cheeses.

As someone commented on, they had pre-cut slices of Humboldt Fog that were cut the night before and looked good (and were good) but not ideal at all.

On an aside, I really get bothered by the emptying of garbage while I'm right there. That garbage bag came dangerously close to food. And they're wearing gloves but not changing their gloves.

I won't be going to Whole Foods again for cheese. It'll be Summit or the place in Hoboken the next time.

I did get a cheese called Robusto that was really tasty. An aged gouda. But you are right about their having just the usual suspects of cheese.

[Curlz]

I just got an email today from a food pal who lives in Weehawken...she wanted to be sure that I knew about the new cheese store there, as she was really impressed by it! Sounds like it needs to be checked out!

[richl2214]

Wine Library

586 Morris Avenue

Springfield, New Jersey 07081

Very good selection of cheese and very knowledgeable staff behind the counter.

[bshapiro]

Humboldt Fog should be cut to order.

[emilymarie]

Well of course it should be cut to order, but I just did not have the time to go anywhere else. It held up well and was very good to eat. That said, I won't be going back to Whole Foods--just a disappointment all around.

[bshapiro]

I work in NJ (that's why i've been checking out this board), but live in NYC. Was in Jefferson Market today, and HF was pre-cut!

I thin HF is a fantastic cheese, but am growing a bit tired of it - there are so many great American Artisan Cheeses out there now.

[emilymarie]

I would actually agree with you about Humboldt Fog--in that there are probably more interesting small Artisanal cheeses available and that it's not as novel as it once might have been. That said, I think I'll continue to enjoy it but add some smaller more artisanal varities to the mix.