Cheese - what's good, where to get it

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat from March 19:

Craig LaBan: Welcome to a special Cheese Head Edition of our weekly Philly Food Chat! We have a special guest this afternoon: Madame Fromage - a.k.a. Tenaya Darlington - an associate English prof at St. Joe's by day; "cheese courtesan" and witty blogger who's penned the forthcoming book Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese, to be published in May. Tenaya's in the Inquirer newsroom, with a cheese platter to get us in the groove. Tell us what you brought.

Tenaya Darlington: Here's what we've got, old faves and new faves . . . Victory Storm King Prototype (washed rind), Puits d'Astier; Cherry Grove's Jersey Shore Blue; Gorwydd Caerphilly; Isle of Mull Cheddar; Rogue River Blue.

Reader: Tenaya, I am a huge cheese lover, and have avoided local cheeses altogether. I like bold cheeses with some age on them and huge personalities. Which cheesemakers are worth a visit?

T.D.: Jaime, I hope you've sunk your teeth into some Red Cat from Birchrun Hills Farm. It's like fudgy bacon. Right up your alley, no?

C.L.: Does everyone who become obsessed with cheese have that one first love? For me, it was a stinky orange puck of oozy Epoisses I had when I was living in Burgundy. What was yours?

T.D.: Carles Roquefort was the first hunk I tried at Di Bruno Bros, thanks to one Ezekial Ferguson. It was mesmerizing. I can still taste it.

C.L.: Can you comment on the high cost of real craft cheese? So many great curds are just prohibitively expensive. Do you have tips for people who love great cheese and are willing to pay - to an extent - but also want to get the most for value-flavor-bang for their craft cheese dollars?

T.D.: You really get what you pay for with cheese. It's like wine. Franzia will never compare to an expensive Amarone. I recognize that cheese pricing can be daunting to those on a budget, but I always think of buying cheese like tithing. I'm giving to the cheesemaker and to all those furry little mouths they have to feed.

Reader: How do you feel our geographical area holds up to the American cheese landscape. Does it stand out for any reason?

T.D.: It's been a great thing to live in PA as the cheese scene soars. We've got raw-milk cheese being made in the Reading Terminal Market, for goodness sake! That's amazing. One thing that distinguishes this area: I've heard people say that the cheeses of Chester County have a distinctly mushroom note. Perhaps on account of all those wild spores!

  C.L.: Tenaya, aside from Di Bruno's, what are your favorite places to go cheese hunting in and around Philly?

T.D.: I love Quince, up in Kensington - small place but a reliable source for cheese, especially Spanish. Also Wedge & Fig in Old City, Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal (great all-local case), along with Downtown Cheese and Salumeria, in the Market, too. That place has turned into a real dairy mecca, especially with the new Valley Shepherd case. Then there's Greensgrow, Headhouse, Rittenhouse . . . .

C.L.: Don't forget the Garces Trading Co . . . very strong with Spanish cheeses, excellent La Serena, usually in stock . . . and Fork, Etc., and Metropolitan Bakery . . . and Milk & Honey Market in West Philly.