The Cheese Shop
Carmel Plaza, Ocean and Junipero, Carmel 625-2272, thecheeseshopinc.com
The Cheese Shop feels (and smells) like a temple to cheese. It’s a full sensory experience just to walk inside – they are still doing samples (with safety protocols in effect) so you get to taste, too. And be adventurous; this is the sort of cheese shop in which Humboldt Fog might be viewed as a pedestrian choice. Maybe you’re interested in the Graskaas, seasonal cow’s milk gouda made from the first milk of the year after the snow melts? Or try the cusie with barley whiskey, a blend of cow, goat and sheep’s milk that’s aged for a year-and-a-half in Italy. Whatever you taste, just be prepared to go big and buy a whole wheel. And then buy some crackers, olives and a bottle of wine to serve alongside.