I am guilty of chasing the new like everyone else. When it comes time for me to splurge and find some cheeses to enjoy, I like to visit a different counter than my own for a change in perspective.
Standard Market has 2 locations in the West burbs of Chicago. I go to the Naperville store as a former co-worker of mine now works there. She is unassuming and smart, and she probably does not know that I consider her my biggest influence on how to run a successful counter.
This store is not for the average joe...I immediately feel like I don't belong and want to hate on everything. For example, I spotted a woman wearing more money then I make in 4 months. And she was grocery shopping. On a Monday. With like 2 other people in the store. She promptly left after paying her $150 dollar bill for 6 items, practically ran past me in the parking lot because I guess I was walking too slow for her, and then hoisted herself into an Acura SUV the size of my living room. I don't like to admit it, but there is one thing that ties me together with these folks, and that is the willingness to pay top dollar for cheese. It is just a significantly higher percentage of my monthly spend.
Their cheese counter is exceptional. They have cheeses that I dream of carrying, but can't sell due to my more thrifty and tepid clientele. Lactic perfection such as Montgomery's cheddar, Jasper Hill anything, and my beloved aged pecorinos. They have cheeses I didn't even know existed...cheeses from Nebraska, Tennessee, Michigan...Oh, and did I mention they age their own cheeses? They do...a small "cave" with glass doors so customers can see inside at what is happening. They usually have 2-3 styles of cheese aging at each location, and word on the street is they're expanding their affinage operation at an off site facility.
I say "Bra-frickin'-vo" to the guy in charge of SM's cheese program, David Rogers, an ex Whole Foodie. He's done great things for cheese retail once he left the not-so-friendly confines.
Standard Market has 2 locations in the West burbs of Chicago. I go to the Naperville store as a former co-worker of mine now works there. She is unassuming and smart, and she probably does not know that I consider her my biggest influence on how to run a successful counter.
This store is not for the average joe...I immediately feel like I don't belong and want to hate on everything. For example, I spotted a woman wearing more money then I make in 4 months. And she was grocery shopping. On a Monday. With like 2 other people in the store. She promptly left after paying her $150 dollar bill for 6 items, practically ran past me in the parking lot because I guess I was walking too slow for her, and then hoisted herself into an Acura SUV the size of my living room. I don't like to admit it, but there is one thing that ties me together with these folks, and that is the willingness to pay top dollar for cheese. It is just a significantly higher percentage of my monthly spend.
Their cheese counter is exceptional. They have cheeses that I dream of carrying, but can't sell due to my more thrifty and tepid clientele. Lactic perfection such as Montgomery's cheddar, Jasper Hill anything, and my beloved aged pecorinos. They have cheeses I didn't even know existed...cheeses from Nebraska, Tennessee, Michigan...Oh, and did I mention they age their own cheeses? They do...a small "cave" with glass doors so customers can see inside at what is happening. They usually have 2-3 styles of cheese aging at each location, and word on the street is they're expanding their affinage operation at an off site facility.
I say "Bra-frickin'-vo" to the guy in charge of SM's cheese program, David Rogers, an ex Whole Foodie. He's done great things for cheese retail once he left the not-so-friendly confines.
When I buy cheese, not cheese for sandwiches or the everyday, I commit...I log my cheeses so I can remember my faves and my not so faves...there are logs with helpful tasting wheels below to help identify the flavors in each cheese. It's not unheard of that I give out cheese logs to my friends and force them into serious cheese analysis.
Like any great counter, they will let you try before you buy, but this is a place where I know the cheese monger and I trust that she'll give me what is at perfect ripeness and in tip top shape. That's worth feeling like a lowly bluefish in a sea of affluence...
Now here is a slide show of some serious cheese eye candy:
Now here is a slide show of some serious cheese eye candy: