Since I moved to Chicago at the end of November, a lot of people ask me if I miss New York. The short answer is: no. I've been happier in Chicago than I ever was when I lived in New Jersey and commuted to my office in Times Square and later, Tribeca.
The long answer is: I miss living close enough to my family to visit for an afternoon, I miss the coffee shop around the corner from my morning bus stop and I miss the market across the street from my apartment building where I could run in the middle of cooking dinner if I realized I needed an ingredient; the round-trip could take under five minutes if there was no line.
While I can't replace my family in Chicago and there is a Starbucks on just about every corner in my neighborhood, I'm lucky to have
Pastoral, albeit not directly across the street, but in walking distance from my apartment.
Pastoral is a family-owned business with three locations throughout Chicago, including a storefront at the new
Chicago French Market. Pastoral is owned by a Chicagoans Ken Miller and Greg O'Neill who returned from Europe to realize that they couldn't find a neighborhood cheese and wine shop like the ones they loved so much overseas.
Pastoral offers the highest quality fine and artisan cheeses from America
and around the world, along with the best small production wines and freshly baked
bread and related items like charcuterie and olives.
Recently, I sat down with Pastoral fromager Cesar Olivares, a certified sommelier and cheese expert
, who talked about all things cheese and gave me a little insight into how Pastoral selects is cheese offerings.
"I've been all over the world, sampling cheese and learning about cheese," Olivares said. "The best way to learn is to taste and we like to offer the best quality cheese we can find, while also showing support for local farmers."
Community values are important at Pastoral. A lot of the products they sell are handcrafted in Wisconsin, Michigan and other states in the Great Lakes Region.
"A lot of our cheeses come from Vermont," Olivares said. "We have some that are available all year round and others that are available seasonally."
For example, certain goat cheeses are only available during during the spring. Dairy goats tend to breed and freshen more seasonally than cows and begin producing their milk in the late winter, allowing cheese to age for a perfect two-six week time period.
In addition to cheeses, evergreen and seasonal, Pastoral offers custom gift collections,
gourmet sandwiches and salads, catering and ongoing classes
and events. While prices are higher than those at say, your local Jewel, you'll not only take home a quality product, but you'll be supporting local farmers and small businesses.
1 Comment
tokissthecook said:
I am a Pastoral junkie. When I lived in Lakeview, it was a weekend habit maybe twice a month but since switching jobs, I walk past the Lake St location as part of my commute. I'm in at least once a week for the olive bar, great wine and the cheese. Leonora, Humboldt Fog or something new...I cannot walk away empty-handed. The item I pick up only at Pastoral is butter. They carry the high fat European butter that's great in pastry crusts and goat butter which I swear by for cooking. Last but not least- they carry McClure's Spicy Pickles.
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