22494 Thu Jan 02 14:45:11 -0800 2003 14 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 83371 Mrs. Smith was having a discussion about some bad blue cheese she bought on the General Board. She brought up a question that probably would be better answered by this board. Do you have well-priced source for Parmigiano-Reggiano? I buy it so often that a even a dollar less a pound would help a lot. Does anyone in SF sell the real thing for less than 13$ a pound? Thu Jan 02 14:45:11 -0800 2003 0 Stanley Stephan 1 83372 TJ's, the real stuff. Thu Jan 02 14:50:28 -0800 2003 83371 0 VN 1 83373 Take a look at COSTCO and Trader Joe's. I think you will find Parmigiano-Reggiano priced well under $13 a pound. There is no doubt in my mind that they are selling the real deal. Frequently at TJ's, they also sell Grana Padana, the Italian hard cheese made from the region along side Parm.-Reg. that is also quite good. The Grana Padana sells for $1 or $2 less per pound than Parm.-Reg. Thu Jan 02 14:57:40 -0800 2003 83371 0 DavidT 2 83380 My guess is COSTCO sells Parm-Reg for $8-$9 a pound and it comes in wedges 1-2 pounds in size. I cannot remember the brand, but it is quite well known. Of course, you may have to stand in line 10 or 15 minutes waiting to check out! Thu Jan 02 15:34:08 -0800 2003 83373 0 DavidT 3 83381 The Costco in SF sells their wedges of Parmigiana Reggiano for 7.99 a pound, and yes, the wedges range between 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. This is a total deal, since this cheese is better than some of the aged parmigiana around town that i buy at twice the price! It is grainy and aged well and comes vaccuum sealed. I highly recommned becoming a memeber just for the cheese. p.s. The last two times i went they were out of it! but i am sure it will be back soon. Thu Jan 02 16:20:48 -0800 2003 83380 0 Jupiter 4 83392 I also love this cheese from Costco. I do have trouble storing it for any length of time since all the wedges are fairly large. What is the best way to store the cheese once the vacuum seal is broken? I've had to buy from TJ, which is next on the price list, so that I could get smaller pieces. However, I think Costco's product is superior! Margret Thu Jan 02 17:18:39 -0800 2003 83381 0 Margret 5 83396 Usually i break off peices from my wedge as needed and then wrapt the wedge up tight in plastic wrap and then store it in a ziplock which i suck all the air out of so that i create my own seal. then i wrap the smaller peices in plastic wrap and use as needed, but my husband and i are cheese hogs and we can usually go through a giant wedge in 3 to 4 weeks. it pretty much goes in or on anything....crackers, tunasnadwiches, potatoes, salads.... it has replaced the use of salt for most foods.... Thu Jan 02 17:33:40 -0800 2003 83392 0 Jupiter 4 83393 I have some in my fridge that I got at Costco for 8.39 a pound. Cello brand. Thu Jan 02 17:18:46 -0800 2003 83381 0 Barbara 2 83414 The Cello brand at Costco was a staple at our house until it suddenly disappeared for a few months. Now it's back (at least at the Richmond store, north of Berkeley), but the wedge I purchased recently was markedly inferior to the standard I'd gotten used to. Maybe a seasonal variation in the cheese itself? Anyway, I like Cello for economy's sake; it is (was?) a very decent cooking parmigiano. For out-of-hand eating, though, I look for something better, so stick with the Cheese Board's selection on Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley; they usually have a whole wheel they're working through, plus chunks of another wheel for comparison purposes, and I can almost always come away with as much or as little as I need of a top-notch, moist, sweet Parmigiano for $10 or $11 a pound. Fri Jan 03 01:57:35 -0800 2003 83373 0 Jonathan King 1 83376 Berkeley Bowl is $11.99 a pound. The stuff at TJ's never seems as good for some reason. Thu Jan 02 15:10:23 -0800 2003 83371 0 SLRossi 1 83379 Lucca's, on Valencia near 22nd (with parking lot), advertises $10/lb if I remember correctly. Thu Jan 02 15:25:45 -0800 2003 83371 0 david kaplan 2 83387 good price and excellent quality. They cut the cheese to order from large wheels which makes a big difference in my opinion. Thu Jan 02 16:45:52 -0800 2003 83379 0 vlibin 1 83398 Info on Cello cheeses Link: http://www.arthurschuman.com/italian.html Thu Jan 02 18:32:44 -0800 2003 83371 0 Ken Hoffman 1 83431 Just a quick observation from a Baltimore chowhound...If you go through say, two pounds of PR a month, is it worth the 2-4 bux you would save to get okey-dokey PR from a bulk source (Costco/ TJ) as opposed to buying it somewhere that knows how to read the codes on the side of the cheese, and therefore (hopefully) sells a longer-aged, more interesting product? Just a thought. R. Fri Jan 03 11:31:12 -0800 2003 83371 0 Ramon 1 86623 The responses in this thread made me doubt my fellow chowhounds bigtime. I hadn't had TJs or Costco parm reg in years and remembered them being atrocious. I could believe people would suggest them. I went out and purchased both again though, thinking that perhaps they had improved. In a word: awful. A disgrace to this fine (perhaps the world's best) cheese. I would neither cook with nor feed to the dog the parm reg from TJs or Costco. Try Piedmont Grocery. Pasta Shop. Or Cheeseboard. And don't skimp on something that you only need small amounts of. By the way, if the original poster is using so much parm reg, is it possible you are using it instead of salt? I have seen many people fall into this trap and it is a bad one. Salt food first then add parm reg. I see people do this constantly with pasta too. The sauce isn't flavorful so add parm reg. NO. Salt first, then parm reg. End of rant. Thu Feb 20 13:26:03 -0800 2003 83371 0 ads