Crossroads Creamery in Détroit

Oo là là, baby.  Have you tried the artisanal goat cheese (aka chèvre) made fresh by Crossroads Creamery in Royal Oak? Once you do, you'll become a devotée just like us.  They use local ingredients like Imlay City's maple syrup and garlic grown near the Kalamazoo River. Our favorites are Sunny Detroit and Fig and Honey. Trekking to the Farmer's Market in Royal Oak has now become a Saturday habit to satisfy our goat cheese fix. We are blessed that owner Jonathon chose Michigan to develop and expand his passion.

Raclette Cheese from Sutton's Bay

We have always purchased Swiss made and French made raclette cheese to melt in our raclette machine which we pour over cooked potatoes, veggies and cold cuts.  We were thrilled to hear that the Leelanau Cheese Company in Sutton's Bay makes this special fromage.  We deem it superb!  Raclette parties are lots of fun and all you do is slice the cheese, put it in the little pizza type trays and let the machine do the melting and browning. You can watch the cheesemongers work their magic at the Black Star Farms wine tasting room. The cheese cave holds about 2000 wheels of raclette!

Cheese Lady in Grand Rapids

We were thrilled with our recent discovery of the Cheese Lady in Grand Rapids.  Only open three months, they were doing a brisk business last Friday afternoon.  Susie gave us samples and sold us on several products which make up into beautiful gifts in their wooden boxes. We bought cheese made in Benton Harbor, Muskegon and Fennville. Yum! They taught us a new word: "turophile", which means lover of cheese! To go with their fine foods, they sell good quality Eagle Eye import wines. The Cheese Lady started in Muskegon and they have an additional store in Kalamazoo. Woohoo!

R Hirt Jr Co at Eastern Market

Old world charm exudes from R Hirt Jr Co at Eastern Market in downtown Detroit.  Many people never leave the first floor with its fabulous displays of imports from around the world, but if you go up the back stairs, there are floors to explore with lots of handmade goods of wicker, baskets and assorted treasures. Perhaps the greatest draw at Hirt's is their cheese. They have an unbelievable stock from all over the world.

Zingerman's Cheese Shop

Zingerman's in Ann Arbor has a second location where they made the most marvelous cheeses.  We recently tried their mozzarella and when you slice it up, serve with tomatoes and chopped basil and drizzle with olive oil, it will make your taste buds tingle.  Don't want to make the trek out to Ann Arbor? They have a booth set up at Eastern Market in Detroit!

Fennville's Evergreen Lane Creamery

If you are in to artisan cheeses, then you must make a stop at the Evergreen Lane Creamery outside of Fennville. Watching the chef from a restaurant in Grand Rapids load up his cooler with these cheeses gave us a strong indication that we were in for a treat. Owner Cathy proudly showed off all the 26 baby goats and then Erin gave us a cheese tasting. The fresh chevre is truly exceptional. We had to buy the garlic and the peppercorn as well.  But they also make a hard cheese out of cow's milk called a tome in a round wheel. They wash it in oatmeal stout made from the local New Holland Brewery. We bought an entire 4 pound wheel.

Boulevard Market in Tecumseh

We made the trek out to Tecumseh, south of Ann Arbor, because we heard they made some really good artisan cheeses at the Boulevard Market right downtown on Main Street. It's so true. We came home with this fresh chèvre or goat cheese made from the raw milk of local farms that is embued with herbs. The triple creme is kind of like a camembert, but stronger.   John and Erika Aylward have been holding shop here for seven years and their love of Europe shows in their homey store that draws foodies from all around. Another bargain is their own bottled balsamic vinegar--fabulous!!

Pinconning cheese

Most of the time, we tool around Michigan in Suzie's Smart car. This mouse looks more like a rat. It is located outside one of the premier cheese shops in Pinconning, Wilson's, where we always stop to buy pinconning cheese and the obligatory loaf of bread. Pinconning is the cheese capitol of Michigan and although the colby-like cheese used to be made here, it is now made in the UP and elsewhere. But, it all started here back in 1915. We buy the 12 year old aged super sharp. Go for the gusto :D :D