Where to Sample and Shop New England-Made Cheeses
You don’t have to road-trip your way through New England to sample the region’s best cheese. Here’s where to slice, schmear, and crumble it close to home.
The cheese cart at Troquet on South delivers copious selections for wine pairings. / Photo by Jonathan Kozowyk
Where to Eat
Capo
Chef de cuisine Ciro Fodera is driving a new and improved cheese program at this buzzy Southie supper club. Recent boards have featured the buttery Dorset, aged up to 60 days by Vermont’s Consider Bardwell Farm; and Maggie’s Round, a citrusy, semi-firm selection aged up to nine months, from Cricket Creek Farm in Massachusetts’ bucolic northwest nook.
The Salty Pig
What better to pair with this Back Bay spot’s porky charcuterie than a wedge of New England’s finest? Choose from gems like the earthy Mt. Alice cheese, made from cow’s milk by Von Trapp Farmstead in Vermont; and the tangy goat’s-milk Blue Log from Massachusetts’ Westfield Farms.
Troquet on South
The cheese cart is an 18-year institution at this French-inspired restaurant, which relocated to the Leather District in 2017. It delivers about a dozen options tableside to pair with an acclaimed wine list—such as the firm, assertive Tarentaise, an Alpine-style selection from Vermont’s Spring Brook Farm.
The cheese cart at Troquet on South delivers copious selections for wine pairings. / Photo by Jonathan Kozowyk
Where to Shop
The Concord Cheese Shop
Formaggio Kitchen may have the most famous trove of fromage in the city, but this monger in the ’burbs is similarly marvelous. Every year, more than 1,000 varieties cycle through the shop—including a 400-pound cheese wheel rolled through downtown Concord during an annual parade. Want something that’ll fit on your dining table? Try Fuzzy Wheel, a smooth, semisoft cow’s- and goat’s-milk blend from Vermont’s Twig Farm.
Curds & Co.
Manchego by mail? Sign us up. This new Brookline shop sends hundreds of cheesy packages to recipients of Curdbox, its fast-growing subscription service. The storefront, meanwhile, fills its shelves with dozens of rare varieties—including tasty morsels from Jasper Hill Farm’s experimental Conundrum Project label—and hosts creative classes (ever try a blindfolded taste test?).
Eataly
Unsurprisingly, the Back Bay’s Italian-food emporium stocks plenty of Boot-made cheese. Less expected is the exceptional local assortment, including its own silky, hand-stretched mozzarella, made with curds from Rhode Island’s Narragansett Creamery; and rich ricotta produced by Calabro in Connecticut.
Read more: The Ultimate Guide to New England’s Cheese Revolution
