Murray's Cheese Shop

I don't know when the stretch of Bleecker Street between Leroy and Morton turned into a mini Chelsea Market, but I imagine that the transformation occurred this fall. In November, Murray's Cheese, having bought a large building, moved across the street and soon started renting space to Amy's Bread and Wild Edibles. Now, a shopper needs several hours to fully absorb the cornucopia of deliciousness that is Bleecker Street.

Tonight, I tackled the new, improved Murray's Cheese. (Amy's and Wild Edibles, don't worry, you're next.) Although the salespeople at the old location had been generous with samples and advice, the store was so cramped that a bit of tension always hung in the air. The new store is vast and welcoming. There's even a room upstairs for cheese education!

I was greeted by an impressive assortment of chorizo and aged cheeses. The first thing that went into my bag was a hunk of Prima Donna, described as a popular Dutch cheese made with Italian cultures. I then looked to my right and noticed many different prepared foods, many involving cheese. There were mascarpone bacon tarts, cheddar onion pies, tins of macaroni and cheese, goat cheese watercress panini... I was speechless!

Walking towards the dairy case on the left, I noticed that Murray's now sells their own smoked salmon in addition to their famous horseradish cream cheese. There were containers of creme fraiche, homemade basil pesto, grillable halloumi cheese, crumbled blue Stilton, fresh mozzarella, and many other goodies. Just past the dairy case were shelves of jarred condiments. I picked up some hazelnut cream, roasted piquillo peppers, and lavender honey with mixed nuts.

Between the dairy case and the cheese case there was dried pasta in bulk, and even a selection of my favorite food: chocolate! Of course I had to pick up the box of single-bean chocolates from ten different countries.

Moving towards the cheese case, I was entranced with a black truffle-dusted Brie and a wedge of baked lemon ricotta. The cheese descriptions on the blackboard were irresistible... how could you not buy a Gruyere Vieux described as tasting "like white chocolate?" (I succumbed.)

Although I somehow resisted the Cerignola olives, I did grab a loaf of Amy's Pugliese bread. However, my shopping bag was now so heavy that I knew it was time to go.

Murray's Cheese: 254 Bleecker St., (212) 243-3289.