This Week's Tasting Plate: Leaning Tower of Cheese

Hoarding isn't funny, you guys. Seriously, there are very real and dangerous risks to having massive piles of debris teetering over however many cats have managed to wander into your home.Toes get smashed.

We don't let cats or any other animal wander into our shop, nor would we describe our delicious eats as debris, nor do we hoard, technically, but if you don't come help us devour the mounting wheels of cheese stacking up at 2201 Airline, a Dairymaid might get crushed. Elizabeth is extremely scrappy but Haley is short--who knows what could happen.

This week, we're featuring Pawlet from Vermont. This Italian-style cheese is made with raw Jersey milk and aged for 4-6 months for a creamy texture and a bright bite. It's versatile and has broad appeal, sort of like Gangnam style.

We will also be carrying a cheese called Chimney Rock, which sadly doesn't have any connections to the Houston road. It's made by Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco and it's one of their seasonal bries, covered in organic Pioppini and Shiitake mushrooms and black pepper.

Also on the plate: Veldhuizen Caraway Cheddar, Carmody and Rogue Creamery's Smokey Blue. Save a Dairymaid today by eating your weight in cheese.

This Week's Tasting Plate: We Buy Gold Cheddar

You won't read this on thecomingdepression.net, but we believe that when the dollar fails, invest in cheese.

It can be used for barter, lasts an exceptionally long time (well, the harder cheeses) and is calorically dense, so it can effectively fuel you through worldwide fiat currency collapse. We feel this is a strong economic platform. We also support food truck ordinance changes.

As you stockpile this weekend, we have some exceptional product in store. The Jasper Hill Harbison, the bark-wrapped bloomy-rind cheese best eaten with a spoon, will be the first to go. We also have barrel-aged Mt. Vikos Greek feta, Red Rock cheddar and Pure Luck Dairy's Hopelessly Blue.

Forget the gold standard. It's all about the cheese standard.

This Week's Tasting Plate: In With the Newfangled Edition

As folks around the world fall to their knees in awe over Apple's unveiling of the iPhone 5 and Nabisco's new Candy Corn Oreo, iPhone 4s and traditional chocolate cookies are retreating into the nursing home where aging, outdated technologies go.

Cheese, a very old human invention, might have been relegated to a rocking chair there once. But even pizza flavored goldfish and Cheez Whiz couldn't put baby in a corner, so to speak.

This week, like every week at the Dairymaids, is going out to the classics. We'll have Barely Buzzed, Shaker Blue, Bonne Bouche and Rimrocker on the tasting plate. The Arabella, a soft, raw milk cheese styled after the fragrant, buttery cheese of northern Italy, is a new option. Not as newfangled as churro-flavored cereal, but still.

This Week's Tasting Plate: A Tale of Hope Edition

Maybe you're working long hours at the office or you can no longer tolerate that Houston summer lower back sweat thing or maybe you're doing pretty good and enjoying an afternoon snack this very moment. Whatever your situation, a good success story never hurt anyone.

Not only is the Sarvecchio Parmesan a delicious cheese--the best domestic parmesan we've tasted--it has a mood-lifting back story. You see, it was a group of laid-off Kraft employees that decided to start a cheese-making co-op in Wisconsin after they lost their jobs. Their great work produced a crumbly yet firm cheese with a nuanced flavor that has since collected numerous awards.

Because this is America, Sarvecchio was eventually purchased by a larger cheese company but the product remains as good as ever. Also remaining the same are our store hours--10am-6pm Tuesday through Friday and 10am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday. This week we'll also have Pure Luck's St. Maure, Little Boy Blue and the smoked Marieke Gouda. Come on by and make your cheese dreams come true. As the folks at Sarvecchio have proven, it is possible.