Beecher's Cheese

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Seriously dude, who would say no to a piece of Surryano Ham?

Seems that a lot of West Coast businesses are opening up outlets here in New York with the latest being Beecher’s Cheese from Seattle. First cupcakes and now cheese I believe the universe is trying to transform me into Jabba the Hut. If Tartine Bread and salumi house opens up in New York, I will be dead and looking like the first victim in Seven within 48 hours. Beecher’s is not only a cheese shop, they are cheese makers and their Flatiron location doubles as a cheese making facility.

Cheese making, well not at 10:30 in the morning...

I stopped in and was instantly accosted with samples and samples of cheeses and they were mostly pushing their cheese. I tried their flagship, which is a hard somewhat crumbly cheese which was slightly nutty and creamy. Then I tried their smoked and their 4 year aged the later I ended up buying. The 4 year aged was tangy and creamy and the smoked was a bit too mellow for me and the smokiness was light. Although Beechers has their line of cheeses and naturally were pushing their cheeses, they also had other American cheeses. Not only that, they also had cheese curds which have a string cheese like texture and squeaks a bit when you bite into it. Curds are nugget-sized pieces that are formed in the cheese making process when the rennet is added to the milk and “curdle’ the milk leaving chunks that are the curds. Instead of shoving the curds into molds and going through the whole process, curds are just eaten as is. Curds are great for melting, snacking or if you want to go for the homerun, batter them up and fry them. Pictures of the inside after the jump!

I can has Cheese?

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Female Cheesemongers are hot

 I had to walk away from my desk at work one day because I was about to physically assault a co-worker and according to me skimming the company HR booklet, I am apparently not allowed to do that. The discussion came up about cheese and she was inquiring me on how many calories a piece of cheese has. I asked her to clarify in what kind of cheese, meaning the prepackaged and processed cheese or tasty artisanal cheese. She them goes on to utter not fighting words, but beat down words:

“Well there isn’t a difference, isn’t all cheese like processed anyway?”

I had to excuse myself from my desk, in order to not give her 5 finger slap in the face. There are so many things wrong with that statement. I am pretty sure if you said that in a country that celebrates cheese such as maybe France or Italy, she would be publicly shunned and all the kids at school would laugh at her. Although I do respect the singles slices for the nostalgia factor, to compare it to such cheeses as a sharp Comte, or a creamy Mozzarella is insulting to anyone that makes and likes cheese.