being that i have constricted budgets of both time and money on this little journey, unfortunately this means i won't always have the means to splash out and try all the local foods. it means that i have to prioritize how i spend my money - go to a museum for the day, or go out and have a schmorgesbord of local fare.
i was thus stuck in this internal argument when faced with the many well noted local cheese shops in amsterdam.
yeah ok, i've just come from NZ where dairy is king, but the dutch have also been revered for their cheese. not to mention that it's pretty much my favorite food. so to go into the best cheese shop in town and do a "cheese tasting" for 15€, or to save it up for "next time" i visit amsterdam? i decided to tempt fate and walk into the shop. you know, just to look.
reypenaer was their name and cheese was their game. and yes, this line has been in my head since before i started writing this post. though there were a few different shops in town that looked appealing, i was told by a few of the locals that i met that this was by far the best, so if i was considering spending 15€ on slivers of cheese, this was going to be the place. they are a family owned business who has been making cheese for over 100 years using a natural aging process. in fact, their process is so stringent that they promise no wheel of cheese has left the premises without aging for at lest 12 months. which automatically brought to mind that cheezit commercial where the cracker slowly "matures." anyone? (in case you need to cheat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5BPB5067w&sns=em)
luckily for me, when i went into the shop, i understood at once that my budget conundrum was not necessary. in front of each type of cheese that is available for sale, there was a block of the type of cheese in a mini guillotine for customers to sample. my inner goddess was like "yes!!" that is, if this was fifty shades of gray and i had an annoying inner goddess like ana.
naturally, i tried every cheese available and they were all absolutely unbelievably amazing. the only reason i didn't buy my favorite (one of the goat cheeses) was not having a mini fridge compartment in my backpack to keep it in. luckily for me (and you!), they take orders online. i haven't looked into the shipping costs yet, but trust me. it's more than worth it.
i was thus stuck in this internal argument when faced with the many well noted local cheese shops in amsterdam.
yeah ok, i've just come from NZ where dairy is king, but the dutch have also been revered for their cheese. not to mention that it's pretty much my favorite food. so to go into the best cheese shop in town and do a "cheese tasting" for 15€, or to save it up for "next time" i visit amsterdam? i decided to tempt fate and walk into the shop. you know, just to look.
reypenaer was their name and cheese was their game. and yes, this line has been in my head since before i started writing this post. though there were a few different shops in town that looked appealing, i was told by a few of the locals that i met that this was by far the best, so if i was considering spending 15€ on slivers of cheese, this was going to be the place. they are a family owned business who has been making cheese for over 100 years using a natural aging process. in fact, their process is so stringent that they promise no wheel of cheese has left the premises without aging for at lest 12 months. which automatically brought to mind that cheezit commercial where the cracker slowly "matures." anyone? (in case you need to cheat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5BPB5067w&sns=em)
luckily for me, when i went into the shop, i understood at once that my budget conundrum was not necessary. in front of each type of cheese that is available for sale, there was a block of the type of cheese in a mini guillotine for customers to sample. my inner goddess was like "yes!!" that is, if this was fifty shades of gray and i had an annoying inner goddess like ana.
naturally, i tried every cheese available and they were all absolutely unbelievably amazing. the only reason i didn't buy my favorite (one of the goat cheeses) was not having a mini fridge compartment in my backpack to keep it in. luckily for me (and you!), they take orders online. i haven't looked into the shipping costs yet, but trust me. it's more than worth it.
Found this cheese in a store in Woodstock GA close to Atlanta... Can't wait to try it
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