Good Boston area cheese store?

[Howard_2]

What recommendations do folks have, in terms of quality as well as price, for stores in the Boston area selling cheese?

ALSO, Bostonians ought to know that a fine cheese store in the NYC area is the Fairhaven market, a supermarket with 3 or 4 locations around NYC.

[katiekat]

of course formaggio is the best in the area, a few smaller less known places and much farther away...the vin bin in marlboro, farmstead cheese in providence

[Dr.Jimbob]

Capone's in Union Square and Davis Square. <http://www.caponefoods.com/>
Formaggio's in Fresh Pond <http://www.formaggio-kitchen.com/>
A. Russo (food wholesaler) <http://www.russos.com/>
and I suppose Trader Joe's if price matters more than quality.

[StriperGuy]

Couldn't help cutting and pasting in a post I did a while back:

Dec 11, 2006:

Been to most of the places mentioned here.

Russo's is a favorite of mine. And Whole Foods surprisingly good.

Wine and Cheese cask, fine in a pinch.

The places in Wellesley, excellent, be happy to have them on my block.

All that said, the original Formaggio (not the South End branch) takes it to a level that I have seen nowhere else this side of the big pond, including NYC.

Formaggio Kitchen to me is a special place, with special cheese, treated with loving care. I don't buy all my cheese there, but I don't think any of the other places mentioned here is even in the same ballpark.

Ihsan Gurdal built that place himself with passion. Dang, the man built a cave in the basement in order to to justice to his progeny. And I use that term only half joking. Noone else, nowhere else that I have been in the U.S. takes the care for the product that he and his staff do. And they do it without pretense or attitude.

[EATTV]

Ihsan's business would make a great TV Show. All that foraging and research to find products and suppliers,farmers etc. He has been living old ways, slow food, and sustainable systems way before we knew what that meant. Grande fromage!

[Redhohoho]

Formaggio or Russo'a in Watertown.. I know it's not Boston but the cheese area is fantastic.

[andytee]

Boston x Cheese = Formaggio Kitchen.

Simple as that.

[linz]

ask to see the cheese caves when you go!

[jjbourgeois]

Formaggio Kitchen is the premier cheese shop in the Boston area. I believe they have also opened a small store in NYC

[ShelT54]

Wellesley Cheese Store on Central is worth a trip to the suburbs.

[emilief]

Boston area, not Boston proper, is Wasik's Cheese Shop in Wellesley Center. They have a special cellar for aging and are very knowlegable, nice people-family owned. Also, they are very very generous with tastes. If you go there, they will let you taste anything and everything and you will leave without having to have lunch.

[EATTV]

Amen. I traded them a white truffle I smuggled back from Bologna last fall and they gave me my Thanksgiving Cheese in return. My son and I had an olive oil tasting with the Wasik's recently. They are the Big Cheeses and I'm always on the look out for items to bring them. Formaggio is of course wonderful although the great variety and large stock can lead to expensive ammoniated cheeses.

[galleygirl]

Isn't that fairWAY markets?

[Howard_2]

yes, I meant Fairway. Good selection, knowledgeable clerks, great prices!

[C. Hamster]

Are you referring to FAIRWAY in NYC? Of Steven Jenkins fame? FAIRWAY is a very well-known cheese purveyor.

Boston has no similar full-service supermarket with such an extensive cheese department. Whole Foods has pretty good cheese.

I prefer Formaggio, though. They have their own cheese cave in Cambridge.

[hiddenboston]

It's tough to beat the cheeses I've had from the Chelsea Markets in New York, but I've had pretty good luck with cheeses at Wilson Farms in Lexington.

[alyssap99]

formaggio's in the south end, on shawmut, is my favorite. the whole foods in the area tend to have pretty good selections, too. the new cheese shop in roslindale square, called the boston cheese cellar, is getting better and better.

[LeoLioness]

Formaggio Kitchen on Huron Ave in Cambridge.

[Karl S]

Yes, a national treasure.