I love Bristol Farms with all my heart.  It could be the 1:1 ratio of workers to customers.  It could be that I can call the butcher and he’ll special order my 3 – 5 pounds of denuded short rib I need for my recipe that I gleaned from the super amazing restaurant, Jar… and call me when it’s there. It could be the sushi chef or the olive bar or the ten different kinds of freshly made soup or the wild and woolly vintage candy selection.  It could even be the cute way they’re trying to have sales and specials to make it seem like they’re a regular grocery store.

No, what really makes me swoon for this super special store (that I can walk to from my house, btw – how lucky am I?) is that they have wacky cheese.  Lots of it.  A whole four-sided pleasure palace of cheese-you’ve-never-heard-of.  Now, I don’t necessarily buy those cheeses – after all, some of them cost $20 a pound.  And who would spend $20 a pound on cheese they’ve never tasted? Well, at mecca Bristol Farms, that’s not a problem.  You see, you can find those cheeses cut into cubes and piled high into neat little domed serving platters with a silver cup full of hermetically sealed toothpicks nearby.  Pounds of cheese, I tell you, free for the taking!

If I was just a smidgen more like my mother, I’d bring a doggie bag.

Oh, and did I mention that they usually put some interesting and yummy crackers and some honey or currant jam or fig deliciousness right there too?  It’s like the alter-ego of Costco with all that crappy frozen food they heat up and serve to you in dixie cups.  Even my seven year old who only eats grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas and ice cream will go there without complaining.

Seriously, if you have one within a hundred miles, you have to go.  Do it for the cheese.