Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Blue Heron French Cheese Company - Tillamook, OR


Down the street from the Tillamook madness sits a cheese barn that makes their own Brie (which is quite good) and scoops Tillamook ice cream without the wait. 


We stuck to some stress-free Cookies n’ Cream, and it was awesome. 

They also have a candy shop that sells things your kids want that you don’t want to buy so of course I had to try a Warheads Soda. 


Don’t bother, it tastes like a warhead after you suck the sour off so it’s like a mix of candy and saliva. 


They also have an impressive assortment of animals to pet, including the sweetest donkeys, a baa-baa black sheep, and even some fuzz-face alpacas. I never thought I’d find donkeys to be cute but those eyes…


Their outdoor seating is dog- and family-friendly, and they sell simple deli sandwiches and charcuterie plates as well as wine flights. Far better than a touristy factory - we should have started here.  

Friday, February 19, 2021

La Espanola Meats UPDATE - Torrance

This used to be my favorite weekday lunch. I would drive over on my days off when the rest of the world was at work and order a warm sandwich with slices of jamon. I'd shop around, fill a basket, check out when my sandwich was made, and go home to eat or munch on the way to the next place. Errands never tasted so good, as long I remembered to brush off the crumbs.

No more cured meats due to pregnancy, then no more anything due to covid. But despair not, they have delivery. A flat fee for each price range; the more you spend, the higher the fee. 


Dona Juana will do, but I went down the importado rabbit hole and now I am hooked. The Spanish jamon will cost you double, but the Redondo Iglesias is worth the cost. The texture is less moist, and the salinity reaches deep into the meat to draw out the natural flavors of the pork. 

Iberico Chorizo by Palacios. Every box I order has at least four. Beautifully dried, concentrated fat without the grease. Dona Juana's Chorizo Soria and Chorizo Pamplona are more moist if you prefer. 


The cheese. So much cheese. Manchego at every age, the older the nuttier, similar to most humans and pets. I always get a P'tit Basque as well. The sheep's milk has a silky-smooth finish, and this cheese ends with a pleasant, lingering pungence. 

Garnish with Marcona Almonds and Quince Paste. Their most basic paste is only $4.99, with the texture of a fruit jelly dessert and flavor like a fig married to a very sweet lemon. 

Cans of Serpis olives can be stuffed with all sorts of stuff, but I still like the blue cheese best.

When I feel safe, I'll be picking up some preorder-only paella on a Saturday, but until then it's delivery or Doordash for me. Doordash is sandwiches only so I prefer the delivery even with the fee. Plus they always throw in a few free gifts if you order on an empty stomach, with fun freebies like rose (wine) potato chips and just-add-milk packets of flan, as if their food weren't gift enough. 
La Española Meats. Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Ham & Cheese - Argentina


After so many tasty Argentine offerings, (yes, yes, I’ll get to the meat soon enough!), I really couldn’t believe the queso. Every bit of cheese I’ve had here has made me throw my hands up and ask, “¿Que?” in the same tone people use to ask wtf. Because there is just nothing O-que about the queso. The fresh mozzarella is as processed as it gets, anything called quatro quesos tastes like it was divided by quatro, and even the Roquefort is anything but forte. The best cheese I had was a wedge of grocery-store cheddar after a long hike.


Far as I’m concerned, all the jamon in Argentina should take a hike as well. The jamon cocido is a firmer version of spam. I had a little more hope for the jamon crudo. The strong Italian influence had them calling it prosciutto. And Argentina may have mastered pasta, but prosciutto is clearly a secret the Italians chose not to share. This thick, crude, heavily salted bears an eerie resemblance to something you dig out of a box of Lunchables when you’re too young to know any better.

My advice? Curse the queso, hurry past the ham and head straight to the lomo.