While traveling to visit my long time friend in Boston, I decided that I would kill two birds with one stone and find some cheese to write about. Sure enough, Boston has a ton of great cheese shops. One of the most highly recommended cheese shops is Formaggio Kitchen, in Cambridge—which, I guess is not really Boston, but whatever!
While I was at Formaggio Kitchen, I kind of threw the cheese monger a curve ball as I asked the tough question, “could you recommend me some great seasonal cheese?” Of course she answered like a pro telling me which local goats were at their peak; however, I regrettably forgot most of what she said—but, in my defense I was a little distracted by all the delicious cheese.
North Stone is an aged (approximately 80 days), semi-firm, raw goat’s milk cheese created by, former Formaggio Kitchen cheese monger turned cheese maker, Michael Lee on Twig Farm in Cornwall, VT.
Square Cheese (also known as Northstone) is a (you guessed it) a square-shaped cheese with a mottled natural rind. Underneath the rind, the paste has a flavor profile of herbs, grass, and toasted nuts, with a pleasing bit of goat milk pungency.Formaggio Kitchen
My friend and I had an early morning, and got kind of hungry on our way to the Boston Book Festival from Formaggio Kitchen. Long story short, we managed to find a seat in a rather crowded Harvard Square Starbucks and devoured our cheese. While I don’t recommend pairing this cheese with coffee, I am quite coffee addicted, and it was a necessity at the time.
The taste is mild with not too much goat tang. Although my friend didn’t really care for the rind very much, I thought it was quite unique; and, the combination of the cheese and kind of earthy rind was quite enjoyable.
In addition to the North Stone, I also tried some shavings of Manchester and Comte. Both were great; however, I liked the moistness of the North Stone. That, and knowing fully well that I would have to eat the block of cheese before going home—as to avoid wasting food—I picked the cheese that I thought I could finish in one seating.
If you find yourself in Boston, definitely check out Formaggio Kitchen; it’s not just a cheese shop, they have a ton of gourmet foods, wine, baked goods, sweets, and even a great produce section. There is also a pretty cool bakery around the corner on Concord Ave called Hi-rise Bread Company, which has some delicious looking breads and sandwiches with an open kitchen.