The Cheese Shop (stand H-9) and Anne Marie’s Dairy (Stand H-4) located at the West Side Market are two of our city’s best shops to purchase artisan cheeses.  If you are new to the cheese game trying to figure out what to choose can be overwhelming at a place such as the Cheese Shop.

Luckily for the uninitiated the Cheese Shop employs two lovely chessemongers. Pictured above are Nicole Bryson and Lisa Seppi. Nicole told SGS that she and Lisa both worked previously in the restaurant industry but prefer their current profession.  Nicole was knowledgeable about all of the cheese we asked about. She explained the best way to eat various cheeses and offered samples.

She scoffed when I asked her to cut a raclette cheese into slices — but after a bit of pleading she begrudgingly did so even as she proclaimed that this was tantamount to sacrilege.

Be advised that once you veer from your superstore cheese aisle and buy cheese from the West Side Market you will never return to Colby and Hydrogenated American Cheese. You will find yourself skipping other meals just so you can purchase a quarter of a rare Selles-sur Cher.