Williamsburg's beloved Bedford Cheese Shop now has a new and larger outpost in Manhattan at 67 Irving Place, right off of Union Square. Staffer Chris Hanawalt tells us that Irving Place is ideal for its "neighborhood-y feeling,"—evoking same laid-back atmosphere that Bedford Avenue offers while staying near the bustling downtown area.
The old-timey establishment is overflowing with Gruyère, mozzarella, Parmesan, and many more cheeses whose names you probably can't pronounce correctly on your first attempt, making it your one-stop shop for everything cheese-related. It's also stocked with a wide variety of fresh bread, jams, charcuterie, and chocolate.
Although there are many product crossovers between the two stores—the Bedford shop just has the items on a smaller scale—the new fromagerie comes loaded with three aging facilities and can thus carry more varieties of cheese year-round instead of seasonally. It also has the Homestead, an education and tasting center that offers wine and cheese classes. Lessons range from "Jam, Cheese, and Wine" to "Sherry + the Dessert Cheese Plate," and are taught by a variety of food connoisseurs.
And we're happy to report that the shop's whimsically rhapsodic cheese descriptions survived the trip across the river. You won't find any cheeses wearing Springsteen quotes, but their labels are mini prose masterpieces that show how well these cheesemongers know their stuff.
67 Irving Place, Manhattan; 888-484-3243
