Hometown: North Haven, CT

How Liz came to be working with Cheese: I took a risk on something that struck me as interesting and wound up doing something I love.

What Liz is Recommending Now:

Bergkase Alt
We used to carry cheeses no one else had, but the cheese world has gotten smaller. This new, 20 month aged mountain cheese from Austria cements us as the hard-to-find cheese people, and it's dense, nutty and crystalline.

Edwin's Munster

Meadow Creek Grayson
Because I can't get enough of the petrol funk, and this small production from Virginia is about to go out of season. So this is it until June, and it's plump with butterfat.

Monte Enebro
Because most goat cheeses are sucking here in mid-winter, this lactic, aged version with its peppery blue-like ashed rind zings with intensity and doesn't suffer from seasonal milk shortages like the freshies do.

Amanteigado
Because the luscious, slippery, fatty texture feels so nice, and the bright, olive-like brininess reminds me of summer with last night's Vinho Verde. Scoop it, baby..

Creminelli (any of them)
The interior of these cured salami are practically smearable, sweet with fat and porky goodness; the Tartufo is redolent of musky subterranean fungus.

Virginia Chutney Co., Spicy Plum Chutney
Because all I knew was Major Grey's (thanks mom and dad) and this stuff walks the tenuous line of luscious dark fruit, garlicky savor, and vinegary smack (and it rocks with Bergkase Alt).