BEST CHEESE SELECTION

After all these years we tend to take Surdyk's for granted, but every visit to the cheese shop reminds us why they are the best. With 300 varieties to choose from, it's hard to know where to start, but the Surdyk's staff is well-trained—they know cheese as well as their counterparts next door know wine. Fancy some samples from California's Pacific Coast? Here's Mt. Tam's Cowgirl Creamery or Humboldt Fog. How about something unique from the British Isles? Check out the Cornish Yarg covered with nettles. You can get a taste of the Basque region or the Greek Islands here, and you could spend hours selecting the perfect brie. Surdyk's cheese shop also offers a wide variety of complementary purchases, including bread from Rustica and the New French Bakery, two racks filled with every kind of olive oil imaginable, a refrigerated case stocked with spicy salami, and much more. The place is always bustling with patrons waiting for their numbers to be called or bumping baskets filled with freshly wrapped purchases. It's like every day is a special occasion here, and indeed, there's nothing more festive than wine and cheese. Surdyk's offers the best of both.