Seattle's Top 5 Cheese Shops

Siiri Sampson 2011

It's fall! Bring on the dinner parties, the wine, and of course the cheese(s)--all of them. Really, no dinner party is needed to stop at a specialty shop on the way home and pick up a heavenly wedge of some locally made, aged cow's-milk cheese. But you'll get way more satisfaction out of it when you share it with someone who will "mmmm" with you in tandem. In the spirit of sharing, we've rounded up the top five cheese shops in Seattle. Since experts abound in process, origin, technique, and flavor, these joints will have you taking home an entire wheel of triple creme, aged, marbled whatever faster than you milk a goat.

5.Cheese Connection (2459 Second Ave. W.)

Although not a traditional cheese shop in the "come on down for a few ounces of Humboldt" sense, Cheese Connection is a hard-core cheese shop. Selling literally everything you could possibly need to (brace yourself) make cheese at home, this operation cuts the bull and gets right into home production. As they say, "You can make over 94 different types of cheese right in your home," so if you're looking for a cheese with that artisan flair, don't buy it premade--et the crew at Cheese Connection help you make it.