Bargain Buys at East Village Cheese

Friends are fun. Having friends over to your house is fun. Buying snacks for your always-hungry friends when they come over, however, is not so fun. I usually forget about the latter in a frenzy of excitement over the former (“I get to wear slippers while being social! Score!”), so thankfully there is a dairy delight heaven called the East Village Cheese to save me from throwing some leftover stale pretzels in a bowl and calling it a damn day.

I passed by the pretty central spot for nearly three years without going in, despite the many handwritten signs in the windows yelling at me about the deals inside. I was young and foolish.  $1.99 brie wheel in a pastry shell!? Mixed olives for $3.99 a pound?! A variety of soy cheese for my lactose-intolerant friends!? The wide selection of cheeses and low prices seemed so unbelievable that I waited anxiously for a stomachache after my initial consumption.  But I was just fine. Now, this is not a store for the $14.99/lb fine cheese snob, but I’m guessing that if you’re visiting this website that is not you and you will be completely satisfied with the quality and choices available.

The only negatives are that they a) don’t give out samples so you’re left taking a risk with that soft cheese with apricot chunks that sounds great in theory but could be horrible b) the store is cash only and c) they are only open until 6:30PM. But tell me another place where I can get discounted cheese AND discounted crackers to put it on and then we can talk if those outweigh the positives.

After, you can take the money you saved 10 minutes away to Warehouse Wine & Spirits for and choose from over 500 bottles of wine priced under $10 before going home to prepare for aforementioned frenzy of friends and fun. But don’t forget to put on those slippers. You deserve it.