Cheese Review

When we lived in Alexandria, we could walk through our neighborhood to this amazing cheese shop called Cheesetique. Going there and picking up some interesting cheese, wine and bread became one of our favorite outings. We would make a little picnic date out of it by making a picnic dinner out of it in our living room after B went to bed. (Not always cheap, but easy and no babysitter required.) We loved it and were able to try many different cheeses and wines this way.

We were pretty concerned about how, if at all, we would find fun cheese in Oklahoma and we clearly would not be able to walk there. (For those not familiar with Oklahoma - in newer areas the housing is all in rather closed "editions." There are generally no businesses within these editions, just homes and maybe playgrounds or pools.) From my edition, there are no sidewalks to anywhere. This week, however, in researching a possible date to mark our decade Brent found Forward Foods in Norman. This means that our cheese hunting trips have gone from about a 10-15 minute walk to a 45 minute or so drive. We'll be going less often, but decided to make the most of it. We found the cheese and bread and had lunch at Bison Witches (a restaurant we enjoyed in College).

We tried the following (my review is included with each, but they are in no particular order):

Red Hawk - (California) is a semi-soft cheese that was apparently awarded the American Cheese Society's Best in Show in 2003. We thought it was pretty awful. I actually didn't even finish my first piece. Tasted pretty soapy and not at all yummy which was particularly sad as it was both the most expensive and the only semi-soft in the bunch.

Black Mountain - (Wales) - a white cheddar with wine, garlic and herbs. I thought it was very tasty. Brent decided he doesn't really like cheese with herbs or garlic in them.

Cotswold - (England) - a very orange Double Gloucester with chives mixed it. This is an old favorite that we've had several times before. Oddly, I found myself not liking it quite as much as usual. Perhaps having both the Black Mountain and this at the same time was too much of the same thing. (The orange and green cheese at right)

Smoked Provolone - (unsure) - the name pretty much sums it up. I picked this because Brent loves provolone. It was fine. Not amazing, or unusual, but good.

Saving the best for last....

Ewephoria - (Holland) - Sheep's milk cheese that was slightly crumbly and hard. It is very sweet and a bit different than other sheep's milk cheese I've had. We both really liked it and ate up every bit! (You can see its close-up above).

Brent also found some fabulous Fig Spread with Orange that I used to always get in VA and love with cheese and bread. It was a delicious feast and I was so glad to find this little store that is jam packed with interesting things. I hope to browse more later, perhaps sometime when B is not along as there is just too much stuff for him to resist!