30919 Wed Aug 18 18:52:06 -0700 2004 9 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 134284 Staying at the W...aside from Cowgirl Creamery at the Ferry Building, are there any cheese stores within walking distance? Wed Aug 18 18:52:06 -0700 2004 0 AD 1 134286 Whole Foods on 4th/Harrison. It's a big counter with many choices, although I haven't looked closely enough at it to say how it might compare to Cowgirl or other options. There's also an AG Ferrari on Mission near 3rd that will have a small selection of cheeses, mostly Italian. Or take the J Muni line (use the underground station at Montgomery) and get off at 24th to visit the 24th Street Cheese Company. It's about a 15-20 minute ride on average (occasionally much worse). They close at 7pm on week nights. Wed Aug 18 19:03:44 -0700 2004 134284 0 nja 2 134289 Does Cowgirl carry other cheeses aside from their own? Wed Aug 18 19:17:52 -0700 2004 134286 0 AD 3 134290 Yes. They have a good selection of domestic and international cheeses. Not as vast as 24th or Cheeseboard in Berkeley, nor as competitively priced, but plenty of options. If you see any Juniper Grove Buche, buy it; best domestic goat cheese money can buy. -Nick Wed Aug 18 19:25:57 -0700 2004 134289 0 nja 3 134301 Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Bldg. carries LOTS of other cheeses (100 or more?). I was there over the weekend and at the Sat. Farmer's market there were a number of other cheese vendors who set up on Sat. only. I bought several cheddars from Fagundes (St. John....a mild Portugese white cheddar and Farmhouse Cheddar, a more traditional sharp, yellow cheddar). Wed Aug 18 20:34:21 -0700 2004 134289 0 Marilyn Sherman 2 134299 The Cheese department at the Whole Foods on 4th is fantastic but very pricy, but they have a great selection broken down by milk type and then further subdivided by texture. (i.e one side all cows milk, sheeps milk, goats milk, etc...) and then the high end super pricy cheeses that make you want to cry are all in plexiglass cases above the grocer cases, to stare at and drool over and listen to the french tourists talk about as they walk by you, while you are slowly turning in to a drooling pathetic mess trying to come up with schemes for making the cheese fall on the floor so you can take it home at a discount.... sorry, i got sidetracked. wholefoods has good cheese. but expensive but good but expensive. but worth it. cause it's cheese and it is good. cheese is sooooo goooood. Wed Aug 18 20:29:05 -0700 2004 134286 0 Jupiter 3 134303 Selection alone doesn't make a good cheese store. You also need experienced staff that know how to care for each cheese properly, and do. In my experience, most Whole Foods cheese departments should do a better job. Wed Aug 18 20:42:02 -0700 2004 134299 0 Robert Lauriston 4 134315 I have had great luck with the staff at Whole Foods on California, particularly with goat cheese. I often go in and ask what is ripe or showing well and they pick several and let me taste, always very enthusiastic. I don't know what more you could ask for in a cheese shop. Wed Aug 18 23:00:02 -0700 2004 134303 0 MikeW 5 134356 Cheese takes a lot of care, and different kinds need different treatment, so keeping a wide variety of top-quality cheese in stock requires very experienced staff. The cheese department at the California St. branch of Whole Foods has always seemed pretty well-run to me, but if a couple of people quit or transfer to a different store, it could go downhill overnight. The cheese department at the Berkeley branch is OK for firm, aged cheese but not a safe place to buy anything the least bit delicate. Thu Aug 19 12:17:06 -0700 2004 134315 0 Robert Lauriston 3 134402 yes, good cheese is something that often makes me think perhaps there is a higher power in this universe. I love the cowgirl creamery place in the ferry building. Thu Aug 19 17:55:02 -0700 2004 134299 0 megan