This Week's Tasting Plate: The Mini-Vacation Edition

This time of year, it's pretty normal for people to escape on exotic vacations to the south of France or Cozumel or Portland or wherever people with 10 days and no burdensome cats like to visit these days. Not all of us have been so lucky to go abroad yet this summer, but soldier on we must. Just like it's hard to eat chicken tenders without honey mustard sauce, but we handle it.

One thing we like to do to help with the vacation envy is suppress our wanderlust with cheeses from faraway lands. We pride ourselves on stocking amazing Texas cheeses, but there's nothing wrong with something oozy and Italian from time to time. (If you know of something else that qualifies as oozy and Italian but isn't cheese, just keep it to yourself.) Speaking of which, this week we'll have some La Tur from the great region of Piemonte. It's a dense, creamy blend of cow, sheep, and goat's milk that's runny around the perimeter with an earthy and lingering tang. We are expecting to run out of La Tur before the week is up, when we'll sub it for Cremont.

Also on the plate: Wagon Wheel, Cowgirl Creamery's first aged cheese, Dunbarton Blue and peppercorn-studded Bellwhether Pepato (Italian-style, but from Cali).