The Cheese Shop
Carmel Plaza, Ocean and Junipero, Carmel
625-2272, www.thecheeseshopinc.com
“We are about education here,” cheesemaster Kent Torrey says. “If you come in and tell one of us that you love a sharp cheddar for instance, we won’t just taste you on that, or a couple of sharp cheddars, we’ll have you also try maybe a sharp provolone, a sharp aged gouda, a sharp gorgonzola, and try to help you expand your understanding and experience.” Cheese heaven, then, is also a cheese college. Bring on the Cotswold, an English classic, or the Garrotxa, Spanish goat’s milk cheese from Catalonia wrapped in maple leaves, and have your cheeseology degree earned by way of olfactory and tastebud. Beautiful cheese, pretty please.