Seattle Cheese Festival 2009

One of the first things Jon and I experienced in Seattle was the Cheese Festival, held annually in the Pike Place Market. We stumbled on it quite by accident the first weekend we came out for a visit. The fact that it existed just added to the magic of Seattle for us. Of course, we had no idea that we’d be moving here at that point. The trip was more of a “happy graduation” present when jon graduated from CU.

Evey May, cheesemakers from around the NorthWest set up a booth and slang their cheese. For free. You can buy wedges from your favourites, but for the most part you’re just gorging yourself of free, artisinal cheese.

There are always some that are much better than others, and some that you wonder if *anyone* likes. (when they say the goat cheese tastes like “barnyard”, I don’t expect it to taste like a direct relative of goat poo.)

A few years ago at another foodie event in Seattle, we learned about Manchego. It quickly became one of our favourites – with its slightly honied, semi-firm texture. It’s a great cheese to bring to a party because it’s simple to pair (with food and wine) and it’s always a crowd pleaser. It’s from La Mancha, Spain. (Think Don Quixote) The texture on the rind has conflicting stories: some say it’s reminiscent of the particular baskets that it was aged in, and others say it’s from the weave of the grass it was aged in. Regardless, now it’s just for show. And easy identification.

Throughout the day there are also chef-demos. I remember these being more awesome in previous years. This was the chef from Crow / Betty, Craig Serbousek(?):

The place was packed. On the crowd-entering side, it was difficult to get any cheese at all because the crowd was so dense. These boys seem to have given up. Their cheese wasn’t that good anyways. It made me laugh a little.

After the Cheesefest, we headed over to the Seattle Symphony for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (and a few other pieces). It was so much fun! I decided that I love Gershwin for his jazzy, upbeat awesomeness.

Okay, I have a confession. I love the matinee. Despite the fact that I’m a solid 50 years younger than the rest of the ticketholders, I really think it’s the way to go. You can still get to bed early, get dinner, your day’s still open. It’s… so great. The old people are on to something. They come by the busload.