Wasik's Cheese Shop - Wellesley

My husband has fond childhood memories of time spent at the Cheese Shop in downtown Wellesley. His mom used to own a store on the same block and lunchtime for the two of them was often spent munching on cheese and a baguette.

We are spoiled by having such an excellent cheese shop in Greater Portland (The Cheese Iron), so I was skeptical that his childhood memories would live up to our expectations. I can happily report my skepticism was unfounded.

Located a few blocks away from Blue Ginger, Wasik's Cheese Shop is a tiny, family run business that clearly has a loyal following. We stopped in the day before the Super Bowl and the place was filled with locals who knew the owner - and one another - calling out greetings and asking about each others' children.

Despite their small real estate on Central Street, Wasik's has an extensive selection of cheeses. Because of my pregnant "condition", my husband inquired about pasteurized cheeses. They had numerous recommendations and offered us generously cut samples of several different cheeses. We sampled - and purchased - a fabulous aged Gouda. I asked for a triple creme (minimum 75% butterfat), which one of the owners said was not "tasting well" that day - instead he encouraged me to sample the double creme (between 60% and 75% butterfat) - which I thoroughly enjoyed.

While our cheese selections were wrapped in paper, I grabbed a few boxes of Wasik's Cheese Counter Crackers. Created by the family and now baked in an off-site facility, these crackers are clearly popular among the patrons of the shop. There were hundreds of boxes lining the store shelves - in varieties for soft, hard and stinky cheeses. The store also features other speciality foods, such as olive oil, chutneys, preserves, sea salts, chocolate, coffee and tea. A box of Malden Salt and some Dijon mustard rounded out my purchase.

I love patronizing small, family run businesses. Like most that I have encountered, the service at Wasik's was top notch. When I asked the owner to throw in a plastic knife so we could enjoy our selections on the drive back to Maine, he said we shouldn't ruin the wedges we had purchased by cutting into them. Instead he cut a generous portion from the larger Gouda into bite sized pieces - and didn't even charge us. He then threw in an extra box of crackers for us to pair with our snack - also gratis.

I can definitely see why my husband has wanted to return to the Cheese Shop of his childhood for all these years. It is definitely a special place and one I will be returning to when in the area again.