Last Friday afternoon my wife and I drove into Cambridge, Massachusetts to pick up dinner. On the menu: cheese, a crusty bread, and any other specialty foods that caught our eye. We luckily found parking right outside of our destination—Formaggio Kitchen.

Although we aimed to get there a little earlier, my scattered brain and rush hour traffic put us at shopping an hour before closing time. It was fairly busy, and with everyone milling about in their coats it was a little cramped at times. Nevertheless, the staff remained enthusiastic, knowledgeable and genuinely excited to see customers. They offered us samples of cheese, salami and wine, ready to answer any question.

I made a beeline for the Bries when I first entered the store—I’d had a craving for about a week and was dying to get my hands on a soft, creamy one. After sampling a few other cheeses at the table where we chose the Brie, I found myself taking a few extra samples of a Taleggio. A new favorite was discovered, and my wife plucked a pyramid and put it in our basket. And of course, Comté. I’ve heard about this cheese everywhere recently, so obviously I had to try it. Man, am I glad I did. So nutty, firm yet crumbly—so tasty. We sampled a few Comtés sitting by the wine, but decided to go to the counter for more of a selection. The cheesemonger suggested the most expensive one, Comté Extra Grand Cru, and for good reason. Pardon my French, but that shit is delicious. It also happened to pair pleasingly well with a hard salami we purchased (I think it was Olli Calabrese). We forgot the bread in our cheesy excitement, but grabbed some at a Whole Foods on the way home.

Once back at my kitchen table, we uncorked some wine and sat next to the vase of lilacs, sharing our bounty with my family.