Even if you can't plan a trip to Italy this fall, you can still treat yourself to a tasty flight of Italian cheeses in New York. From the rich robiole of Piedmont to the creamy, dreamy burrata of Puglia, Italy’s formaggi offer a fascinating lens into the history, culture, and traditions of each of the country’s 20 regions.
New Yorkers have access not only to a stellar selection of Italian cheeses at shops around town, but also to the passionate owners and cheesemongers who typically delight in sharing the stories of the people and places behind the wedges and wheels in their cases. Following are five to seek out when you’re craving Italian cheese and food culture in NYC.
Fulvi Pecorino Romano, a cheese featured at Di Palo's in Manhattan.
A mecca for Italian food lovers, Di Palo’s dates back to 1910, when Savino Di Palo, a cheesemaker from Basilicata, opened a latteria (dairy) in Manhattan’s Little Italy. Today Savino’s great-grandchildren, Lou and his siblings, and their children carry on the family tradition and continue to provide thoughtful, unrushed service reminiscent of another era. The store carries hundreds of Italian cheeses—a tremendous variety of pecorini from Tuscany, Sicily, Sardinia, Abruzzo, even Emilia-Romagna, plus goat cheeses, mountain cheeses, and much more, in addition to their own fresh mozzarella and ricotta. But the atmosphere and the characters behind (and in front of) the counter enhance the experience of shopping there just as much as their impressive selection of products. Lou Di Palo told me they’ve recently been inundated with calls about food items featured in Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy series, “and we’re fortunate to have these unique products from the different regions to share with people.” Give them a visit for a taste of both Italy and old-school NYC. You can also enjoy a glass of vino and cheese and charcuterie plates at the wine bar next door, C. Di Palo. 200 Grand Street, Manhattan
Barricato al Pepe, a cheese featured at Bedford Cheese Shop. Credit: Francesco Sapienza
Bedford Cheese Shop was the first formal entry into the cheese world for co-Owners Christina Earle and Samantha Fantauzzi, who share a passion for food and cooking and had worked together on various projects over the past 10 years. Fantauzzi was born in Rome and spent five years living in Italy, so she has a soft spot for the formaggi she ate as a child, including fresh mozzarella and ricotta with a sprinkle of sugar. The Italian cheeses available at Bedford strike a balance between crowd-pleasers/iconic staples and more esoteric varieties. Cheese buyer and monger Dan Robinson says one of his favorites in the shop at the moment is Nababbo, a washed rind goat’s milk cheese from Lombardy that’s quite pungent and “has a lot more going on than Taleggio.” He also loves the buttery paste and spicy pop of Barricato al Pepe, a cow’s milk cheese that’s coated in black pepper and aged in wine barrels in the Veneto region. 67 Irving Place, Manhattan
The cheese shop at Eataly.
Between Eataly’s flagship store in the Flatiron District and the downtown location near the World Trade Center, you can take a deep dive into over 350 formaggi and some 200 types of salumi. I have spent countless hours ogling the cheese case and chatting with the knowledgeable mongers at the Flatiron shop, which is just down the street from my apartment in NoMad, since it opened in 2010. From obscure Italian cheese gems to a staggering selection of traditional classics—at any given time, they carry between 7-10 different producers of Parmigiano Reggiano—there’s always something new to explore here. Eataly also carries a notable array of high-quality domestic cheeses: “The underlying philosophy is still rooted in the way an Italian would fare la spesa: local/regional, seasonal, fresh, made with old-world pride and craft,” explains Tess McNamara, Head of Salumi and Formaggi for Eataly North America. 200 Fifth Avenue and 4 World Trade Center, Manhattan
D. Coluccio & Sons in Brooklyn.
A beloved Bensonhurst institution, D. Coluccio & Sons originated with Domenico Coluccio, a native of the small town of Gioiosa Marina in southeastern Calabria, who opened a small deli in Brooklyn in 1962. He eventually began importing food products from Italy to satisfy his family’s longings and the needs of Italian immigrants in the neighborhood, and today his legacy continues through his children and grandchildren. This is a no-fuss shop full of heart and packed with an incredible array of Italian specialty foods, from pasta to pistachio spreads, tarallucci mostarda, cookies, chocolates, olive oils, canned tomatoes, jars of whole artichokes, and the Calabrese olives following Domenico Coluccio’s original recipe in a brine of fennel, garlic, salt, and hot peppers. Southern Italian cheeses such as Primo Sale from Sicily and Pecorino Pepato from Sardinia tend to be among the most popular formaggi, but there are many more to choose from, including one of my favorites, a heavenly sheep’s milk ricotta from Tuscany that’s available seasonally. 1214-20-60th Street, Brooklyn
Calandra's, a cheese shop on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
Arthur Avenue is the main drag of the Bronx’s Little Italy, and if it’s cheese you’re after here, the primo place to go is Calandra’s, according to Danielle Oteri, co-founder of Arthur Avenue Food Tours. “They’ve been open since the 1930s and have always been known as ‘the ricotta shop’ because the stores used to be that specialized,” she recalls. “But now they have a large selection of imported cheese and excellent prices, which you find across Arthur Avenue, because the stores are so old and their hard costs are lower than [those of] new businesses.” Calandra’s still makes the fresh ricotta that they’ve been famous for decades, and recently opened another storefront just for packaged goods, to leave more room in their original tiny storefront for their many cheeses. 2314 Arthur Avenue, Bronx