Cozy Boston Area Specialty Shop Celebrates 45 Years Of Cheesiness

Hot on the heels of the worldwide publicity it garnered when welcoming the world's largest wheel of Italian cheese (400 lbs.) to North America back in December, The Cheese Shop of Concord forges ahead with more cheesy news.


Proprietor Peter Lovis announces that the shop has been named exclusive New England merchant for Xavier David Fromages Affines. Xavier David is France's premium exporter, and by next week, the shop will take receipt of their Roquefort AOP, Camembert from Normandy, Tomme Fermiere, Comte AOP from the Jura, and Epoisses from the Cote d'Or. Xavier David quality is unsurpassed, yet the shop's prices are competitive.


The shop offers on-site wine consultation daily. Describe what will be drunk at home, and wine dept. staff will help you choose a cheese to match it. Or, pick out one of 150 cheeses available, and get help choosing a wine that will bring out its finest qualities. Wine dept. staffers point customers towards monthly specials, personal favorites, and new labels from emerging regions. An intimate and well-edited selection, with beers and ciders, too.


Meet Stichelton, a "stilton on steroids" from Nottinghamshire, England. It is stilton the way it was made in pre-Louis Pasteur days. Neal's Yard of London ships a selection of their most requested cheeses to Concord, MA every 14 days.


The current house favorite bleu is called Roaring 40s, with unsurpassed flavor and color. It's also the cheese that travels the farthest to get here; it's made in Tasmania.


This shop sells more Vasterbotten than IKEA. This hard, mild cheese is sold in the cafeterias of IKEA stores. Why? Because Swedes love it for breakfast. Find out why by serving a slice with ham and eggs.


The shop's 2011 best seller was Moliterno al Tartufo, a truffled dry Sardinian cheese aged for one year, then injected with pure black truffle oil and aged somemore. At about $30/lb., it literally flies out the door. One sniff is all it takes.


Other Cheeses to Taste Here Now:

Drunken Hooligan from Cato Corner Farms, Colchester, CT

Toma della Elvo, a rustic Piedmontese cheese that's soft, runny and earthy.

Bound for Glory, a rugged clothbound cheddar from Cabot Cheeses of Vermont

Gubbeen, a semi-soft, washed rind cheese from Ireland

THE CHEESE SHOP OF CONCORD
29 Walden Street Concord, Massachusetts
978-369-5778 www.concordcheeseshop.com