Thursday, August 20, 2009

Last Weekend.

(Katie at Le Pain Quotidien)

The greatest time I had in New York City was five years ago with my best friend Katie. It was our first time in NYC and the smell of Polish donuts in Green Point, loud sweaty clubs in the Greenwich Village, and plague of rats in the subway made New York an adventure.

Last weekend she was in town for the International Gift Show and I came up to meet her. This time around we shopped (for her work) and ate out with some of her vendors. We even got to go out with one of our friends from Japan who last year toured us around Tokyo in her convertible mini cooper.





I'm hunting for a cheese to bring to my Japanese friend on her visit to New York. Bedford's Cheese Shop is just the place to look. Australian feta (they keep it a bowl of green olive oil by the counter) with a strong herbal flavor was my choice last time I was in Williamsburg and felt hungry. This time I need something that sets itself aside from other cheeses.

I often times feel dumbstruck with cheese overload when entering the store, though, I get over this by simply asking for a recommendation. They know exactly what to recommend and don't use too much of that triple creamed cheese jargon.

Every cheese seller I chat to about the gift recommends I have a sample of my own. Some cheeses are homely and welcoming while others comforted me with reassuring flavors. The muslin wrapped rind of some unique cheeses looks like the skin of a mummy.

I bring my friend dense Galloway cheese. It is made from raw unpasteurized sheep's milk. The sweet pungency dilates my nostrils the taste fills a void I never knew I had. I love this cheese. I leave with a floppy grin and a gift worth giving.