Cheese of the Month: Blue Suede Moo

Around the holidays, Blue Suede Moo has become my local go-to Stilton impersonator. Like its famous British counterpart, it’s straw colored with beautiful indigo veining, densely packed beneath a cobblestone-like rind. One whiff, and you smell a burlap sack full of walnuts. One taste, and your mouth fills with toasty nuts and portobello mushrooms. The

More
1 min read

Cheese of the Month: Valley Thunder

Valley Thunder is a cheese with a split personality, pairing the sweet-as-evening smell of a Parmigiano with the bright bite of a true cheddar. Raw sheep’s and cow’s milk collude in this heartthrob from Valley Shepherd Creamery.

More
1 min read
///

Cheese Of The Month: Claudio’s Mozzarella

Claudio Specialty Foodsby tenaya darlington, madamefromage.blogspot.comIf you’ve never had fresh mozzarella—I’m talking one-hour-old—do yourself a favor and stroll down to Claudio’s in the Italian Market. It’s one of the few places in the city where you can still observe a food tradition in action. Like Nan Zhou (927 Race St.), the noodle bar in Chinatown

More
1 min read
//

The Food Issue: Dairy Queens

Amazing Acres Dairy produces local, artisanal chevre  by Tenaya Darlington
Last May, Debbie Mikulak embarked on a lifelong dream—she became an artisanal goat cheese maker. With 19 goats and a little over five acres in Elverson, PA, she and her husband, Fred Bloom, now produce more than a dozen cheeses, including a French-style Banon wrapped in

More
2 mins read
//

Dispatch: Greatest Hits

Some people geek out over wine. Others, old vinyl. For me, it’s cheese. The stinky stuff. Stilton. Fontina. Époisses. When I meet a strong cheese, it stops me cold, the way hearing a new song on the radio can make you pull over the car, motivated by a desire to really listen. You don’t forget

More
2 mins read