Real Cheese Shops

[OnlyTheBest]

I have been wondering for a while if there are any real cheese shops in the area...I know there are places that have good selections of cheeses but is there a good stand alone shop with a person that really knows their stuff. SOmewhere like the cheese board in Berkley.

If there is one I would love to know where...if not...where do you like to shop for your cheeses the most. I love the English ones...they seem hard to find out here.

I like the farmhouse cheeses best of all the English...and the soft French cheeses too.

Any help you can give me would be great...thanks so much.

[mamster]

As far as I know, the answer is no. There used to be one (James Cook), but it closed under nasty circumstances. The cheese counter at Delaurenti is very nice, except that last time I was in I noticed that their prices have gotten completely out of hand -- Parmigiano-Reggiano for $18/lb and so on from there.

La Tienda Cadiz used to have a nice selection of Spanish cheese. I don't know where the hell to buy cheese these days, although when I was having lunch at Vios today I noticed they were cutting a nice chunk of Parmigiano to order for $11.50/lb or so.

[kiliki]

I don't know of any stand alone store either. Whole Foods has a pretty good cheese selection (not even close to Cheeseboard, though), and the prices aren't bad (they have the best price on my favorite-the delicious Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam). I am not an expert on English cheese so I can't tell you how good the selection is, only that they carry Neal's Yard and I believe some others.

Edited July 15, 2004 by kiliki (log)

[tsquare]

I noticed The Spanish Table has some interesting cheese (from Spain, and maybe Portugal) and that the prices seemed reasonable.

There's PCC, Metropolitan Markets, Whole Foods, Beechers, and Big John's.

There used to be that place at University Village (The Wedge?) that moved somewhere, I think. How about Pasta and Co?

A real cheese shop. Nope, not that I know about.

[Cesar's Ghost]

PFI (aka Big John's) http://www.pacificfoodimporters.com/

is where I buy almost all of my chese these days.

While not an upscale, full service kind of joint, they've got an amazing selection, knowledgeable salesfolk, and about the best prices in town.

Good turnover, too, so you're guaranteed freshness.

Mamster..."nasty circumstances?" Do tell! I was aggrieved by Cook's demise (and not least because I was holding a gift certificate in hand when I stopped by the shuttered door...)

[geoff]

I don't fancy Whole Foods because their cheeses are pre-cut and wrapped in plastic. Can't fault their selection, though. I prefer DeLaurenti or Beechers, both in the Market, where they hand-cut your cheese to order.

[OnlyTheBest]

well... I am really disappointed to hear that...but I suspected as much...the selection at whole foods is not bad...I have not been to PCC...can someone tell me what that store is then. I will chek out the rest of them.

Too bad ....I love a great cheese shop and I do think that Seattle would support one..... well maybe some day.

Thanks for your opinions.

[DRColby]

PGI is a mt place to shop for cheeses. Yes, they wrap cheeses i plastic, but prices and selections are right. You learn what to stay away from; like fresh buffalo. The staff, I find, is also very accomodating. Great place, greart people.

dave

[OnlyTheBest]

Is PGI the same as PCC?

If not what is PCC then?

Thanks

Edited July 16, 2004 by OnlyTheBest (log)

[passionforfood]

I don't know about the Larry's in Queen Anne However the Larrys in Redmond has a very nice selection of cheese. I would think the one in Queen Anne would be comparable. If you are specificaly looking for english cheese there is also a little place in Redmond called Britt's. They have a restaurant as well as a little store with English Products.

[DRColby]

Should be PFI.

dave

[white lotus]

PCC compared to Wholefoods will be a dissapointment. You would have better luck at Metropolitan Market in Procter (Tacoma). Even though I live in Pierce County, I buy most of my cheeses at PFI. I love their service and prices. I like their chocolates as well.

[girl chow]

PFI (aka Big John's) http://www.pacificfoodimporters.com/

is where I buy almost all of my chese these days.

While not an upscale, full service kind of joint, they've got an amazing selection, knowledgeable salesfolk, and about the best prices in town.

Good turnover, too, so you're guaranteed freshness.

I love PFI (especially the bulk spice section), but I have a small beef with their cheese policy. Their store policy is that cheese must be purchased *by the pound.*

I have gotten around this rule a few times by schmoozing the counter help, but a few times I got staffers who insisted I had to buy a full pound. If it's parmesan, no problem, I can knock off a pound of that in a week, but there are many cheeses that I would love to try, but I know would end up rotting in my cheese bin. That being said, let me add that PFI prices cannot be beat. They really are very affordable. I just wish they would change their cheese policy.

White Lotus, I know as a fellow Pierce County resident that you've already discovered the joys of the cheese selection at the Proctor Metropolitan Market (I LOVE going there, their selection is very interesting), but I wanted to point you to a cheese shop in Gig Harbor that is a short jaunt across the bridge for you.

It's called Isa Mira and it's on Harborview, just a few doors down from Susanne's Bakery (you have to go down into a parking lot to get there). They don't have a huge selection, but what they do carry is very good quality. I have bought my favorite goat cheese -- Humboldt Fog -- there, and I also picked up an aged farmer's gouda and a Cahill Farms Cheddar (it's cheddar cured with Guiness, delightful to look at because of its unusual pattern -- and delicious too).

They have a very serene deck overlooking the harbor where you can lunch (they have a short menu of cafe food and a lot of different cheese board choices). The best news for Pierce County cheesemakers is they sell cultures there so you don't have to drive to Beecher's or do mail order. The owner is Debbie and she is very personable and can help answer a lot of cheese questions (although she is not a cheesemaker, so don't expect a lot of advice about making cheese).

Isa Mira: 3313 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor; 253-857-7511

I don't really miss the James Cook cheese shop -- the people who worked there were all pretty damn rude.

[LEdlund]

I love PFI (especially the bulk spice section), but I have a small beef with their cheese policy. Their store policy is that cheese must be purchased *by the pound.*

I have gotten around this rule a few times by schmoozing the counter help, but a few times I got staffers who insisted I had to buy a full pound. If it's parmesan, no problem, I can knock off a pound of that in a week, but there are many cheeses that I would love to try, but I know would end up rotting in my cheese bin. That being said, let me add that PFI prices cannot be beat. They really are very affordable. I just wish they would change their cheese policy.

I have never had a problem buying less than a pound at PFI. After a couple of visits I learned to ask for a light pound and I end up getting around a half a pound. Of course, if you are shopping with someone else, you can always split things.

On the topic of cheese shops, every visit to Vancouver requires a stop at les amis du fromage. Alice and Allison (monther and daughter owners) are know a lot about cheese and are very helpful. They are also very in tune to the food scene in Vancouver and have given me great advice on everything from the hot new restaurants to the best kitchen stores.

[crouching tyler]

PCC is Puget Consumers Co-op.

See http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.org

[OnlyTheBest]

Thanks for link to PCC...now I see what it is.

Thanks again for everyones suggestions...I am going up to pac. importers tomorrow to check it out....and pop over to the new whole foods in Bellvue.

I have shopped at their markets for years all over the country and they are the go to guys, for me, if there is no cheese shop around.

Their selections are ususally decent.

I don't mind paying good money for REALLY good cheese....the trick is to find it...and find it in good condition if it is not being sold in a shop that knows how to take care of it.

Alas...I think the really interesting funky cheeses will only be handled by places that can sell them. I will check out DiLaurenti again as well.

Thanks again everyone.

[girl chow]

I have never had a problem buying less than a pound at PFI. After a couple of visits I learned to ask for a light pound and I end up getting around a half a pound. Of course, if you are shopping with someone else, you can always split things.

Ok, maybe it's a matter of learning to use the secret squirrel "light" pound code rather than the "half pound" weasel maneuver I've been employing that doesn't always work. I'll give the "light pound" trick a whirl next time (I think you already have told me this once, but I didn't remember the last time I was there, doh!).

It seems pretty funny that you have to ask for the "light" pound instead of just saying a "half" pound. It's like some hard-ass cheese nazi at PFI laid down the pound-only law... and the only way the counter help are allowed to break the rule is to create some kind of wink-wink secret cheese code. heh heh heh.

[LEdlund]

It seems pretty funny that you have to ask for the "light" pound instead of just saying a "half" pound. It's like some hard-ass cheese nazi at PFI laid down the pound-only law... and the only way the counter help are allowed to break the rule is to create some kind of wink-wink secret cheese code. heh heh heh.

Exactly! I only learned from watching the people around me get what they wanted without arguement. The PFI experience could truly be an episode of Seinfeld. Of course now that I've "cracked the code" they'll probably change it!

[bbqer]

Exactly! I only learned from watching the people around me get what they wanted without arguement. The PFI experience could truly be an episode of Seinfeld. Of course now that I've "cracked the code" they'll probably change it!

"No cheese for you! Come back in one year!"

[mb7o]

There's been a sign in the window of one of the retail spaces in Fisher Plaza about some sort of cheese shop "coming soon". On the last block of 4th before the space needle.

Kind of an odd location, but a fair number of tourists pass by.

[vengroff]

De Laurenti's selection is the widest I've seen in town, and in my experience the quality has been good to excellent. They aren't cheap, but in the small number of instances I've done a direct comparison their prices were lower than Whole Foods. I recall seeing Morbier, Maytag Blue and Le Chevrot for less at De Laurenti than at Whole Foods.

[Placebo]

I think that Whole Foods has the best selection I've seen in town, though I've not yet hit PFI. I've never had trouble getting things cut to order there and I don;t mind very hard cheeses coming pre-wrapped. DiLaurenti has a good selection - it's improved some in the last couple of years, even. There's another little cheese shop at Pike Place Market called Quality Cheese, I think, next to Frank's. They are small but just cheese (well, and olives and such). There is, of course, also Beecher's though our stock is limited to clean northwest cheeses along with some from northern California and Colorado. I miss James Cook - I always got great friendly service from james himself. I was sad to see they'd closed up.

[skyflyer3]

I lke Beecher's cheese as well - the freshness blows me away. It's cool to eat cheese that was just three days ago milk inside a cow.

And the cheese place in Fisher Plaza is called Cheese Cellar. Sounds interesting.

[ScorchedPalate]

I don't fancy Whole Foods because their cheeses are pre-cut and wrapped in plastic. Can't fault their selection, though. I prefer DeLaurenti or Beechers, both in the Market, where they hand-cut your cheese to order.

I have found the Whole Foods staff very willing to cut cheese to order.

On a recent Good Eats episode, Alton Brown said "a reputable cheesemonger should be willing to cut you a piece from any wheel or wedge, right?", and the WF fromage-dude he was interviewing said "absolutely!" So I decided to call their corporate bluff during my next visit, and was surprised to find the local staff perfectly happy to do so. They've also offered adept suggestions on which cheeses are at a proper stage of ripeness, and sound ideas on rounding out a cheese board ("I've got x, y, and z... looking for a bleu to round out this selection.") Of course, the zoo-time of Saturday afternoon might not be the best time to attempt any of this...

The Larry's on Aurora (in Oak Tree Center, at 100th) has a nice selection and a knowledgable crew of staff -- or at least did, 6 or 8 months ago when we used to live up thataway. I know that they've decimated their (previously quite nice) service butcher counter, though, so cheese may have met the same fate by now.

It boggles my mind that Central Market doesn't have a nice cheese counter, given all the other fantastic things they've got.

~Anita

[OnlyTheBest]

I have shopped at whole foods for years and they have always had a great cheese counter and always willing to let you taste or cut anything you would like.

Last time I was there the chesse guy let me taste all kinds of things so I could make my selection. The only trouble is that they carry alot of the standards....so if you are looking for something REALLY special...they may not have it. But yes I agree...they are a good alternative if there is no real cheese shop around.

Have not been to Larrys yet. Do you think it's better than whole foods...also has anyone been to the new whole foods cheese department.... at the new store in Bellvue?

I wonder if it has a bigger selection.