On love and cheese and surprises

Valentine's Day is this weekend and I'll admit up front that I am a jaded ex-restaurant worker who has no love for the holiday.  I don't think I am shattering any innocence by stating that Valentine's Day at restaurants is often over hyped and over priced.

In my retail life I want to be the opposite of that.  Now I understand that sitting at home in the living room with a nice cheese plate isn't quite as romantic as a dimly lit room with service abound, but I think with a little imagination you could find some spectacular treats in our shops.

There are cheeses in my case that I know very well that are a constant revelation to me.  Not to sound overly dramatic, but there are some cheeses that I taste and taste again and am amazed by how delicious they are.  Every time I pop a piece of Sweet Grass Dairy Green Hill in my mouth I can't help but think "Hot damn that's delicious".  Cheese can be one of the most savory mouth watering foods I can think of.

So if I were composing a Valentine's treat for my beau and I it'd probably go a little something like this (don't forget we do cheese Bento boxes for two people for $20): a little wedge of Green Hill, a couple of nice wedges of Comte, a dollop of Stickney Hill Chevre de Terroir, Rogue River Blue, a handful of hazelnuts from Piedmont, and a nice wack of Ames Farm Honey Comb.  I'd probably slice up some Jamon Serrano just in case I was feeling a bit weak or anemic.  On hand for dessert we always have Rogue Chocolatier chocolate in the house but I might bring home a Cake Eater cupcake just in case we need even more sugar.  Even with cupcake, the chocolate and some of the other fanciness I could easily feed two of us for $40 or less.  Now that's sexy.