Say Cheese! I don't mind if I do! (Sorry for the cheesy joke :/ .. ok I'll stop!). This was the inaugural fest of what I hope is many more to come in the future. Of course many north east cheese makers and mongers were the stars of the show, but there were other tasty treats to go along with all that dairy goodness. Here's some highlights: - I was really impressed with The Maiden Creamery's ( https://www.facebook.com/The-Maidens-Creamery-947353872006400/ ) Seven Sisters Aged Raw Goat Milk Cheese because it is something you don't see too often, most goat cheese is soft and creamy, but not here. The aging added a depth of flavor to goat cheese usual funkiness. I liked it! - I loved Cooperstown Cheese Company http://www.cooperstowncheesecompany.com/ assortment of raw cow milk cheese - so much so I bought some to take home. - Awestruck http://www.awestruckciders.com/ (great name and branding) offered up inventive ciders that were not too sweet. Lavender hops along with a slightly sweeter Hibiscus Ginger. They were drier than most ciders I have tried and reminded me of a good prosecco in being accessible to most people's tastes. Also, how adorable does one of the creators Patti look holding her "baby" in my photo? - Finback! http://www.finbackbrewery.com/ The guys were having some fun while giving away some tasty saison and hoppy dry pale ale. Great stuff from this Glendale, Queens brewery! - How cool is that Rooftop Reds http://www.rooftopreds.com/ is launching NYC first commercially viable rooftop vineyard in Brooklyn! The wines at this event came from grapes grown in the Finger Lakes region, which were delicious. - Reisling was thee wine of the night - a no brainer to accompany many of the delicious cheeses here. - Silk Cakes http://www.silkcakes.com/ with their delicious cheese cake (of course), but assortment of different flavored profiterole. Working some magic right here in Forest Hills, Queens. - The M Wells Raclette http://magasinwells.com/ was absolutely mesmerizing and freaking delicious! There was a line ALL NIGHT LONG for this delicious dish and to see the show of half wheels of cheese being scrapped like a waterfall upon toasted bread and pickled veges. Of course it's ooey gooey deliciousness was the subject of Yelp's photo contest winner (Congratulations Katie - awesome photo!) All and all a great event with so many good things happening on two levels here. I do have a constructive criticism for next time: there needed to be better ventilation on the second floor with all the people and the hot soup, and raclette smoke made the space a bit oppressive at times. Overall, the event hit the right mix of vendors and had impressive offerings from most! read more

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The Great NE Cheese Fest is a feast of cheeses with a side of prosciutto. There are multiple cheese vendors, two dessert vendors and a couple drink options. K and I had so much fun! Growing up in Vermont, I am a huge fan of cheese. I loved sharp cheddars so much, I would slice squares of it for a snack (until the block of cheese was half gone). This festival was a great way to try other cheeses. We checked in, and got 3 beans to vote for our favorites. Coat check was behind the check in table but we opted to start eating first. The first cheese we tried was Merrion Park, which made round balls of hard cheeses. They looked like gigantic truffles. They were fun to eat. One of my favorite was the Hudson Valley Truffle. It was so aromatic and soft and creamy. It was perfect! The Italian black truffles blended well with the creamy white cheese. Another amazing cheese was Beecher's flagship (aged cow's cheese) and flagsheep (aged sheep and cow's cheese). These aged cheeses were so savory and sweet with Tyrosine crystals. I love hard cheeses with a crunch. It was so amazing that I am salivating as I am typing this. The Beecher's fresh curds was soft and fresh. Tasted like a milky slightly-sharp-mozzarella. The dessert cheese was caramel mixed with cheese from Call me Caramel. This was amazing! Gruyere cheese caramels or Cheddar cheese caramels. They were sticky savory and sweet. It was so unique! Don Rodrigo Duarte served an amazing pata negra. This was a welcome break from all the cheeses. The jamon was savory and slightly sweet from the pig's diet. The slices melted in your mouth. They were generous enough to let some people slice their own prosciutto. It was so fun! There was a VIP room filled with prosciutto, salami and cheeses. There was a gooey baked brie pie. I loved this! The flakey buttery crust complemented the cheesy brie. The raspberry jam cut in the butteriness of this bite. Casa del Chef served a good gnocchi with cheese sauce. Thank you so much everyone at Cheese Fest and Yelp! We had a great time! instagram.com/snackchatnyc read more

In my dream i was greeted immediately by the cheese king and homie welcomed me into his kingdom built out of billions and bajillions of cheese cubes and creamy wheels of brie. Caitlyn Jenner did not exist in this land. Wine filled rivers carried me on a raft made out of graham crackers and hipsters to each cheese laden village and it was heaven. First to Bovina's then stopping at Vulto's Creamery and on and on, then I woke up. Shit no! Put me back! For real Biggie, was it really all a dream? Well, I found out as I was catapulted into reality. Thus realizing I was at a cheese festival in Queens and it wasn't all a dream! *insert pop up ad. Snap! With a bend in the knee, I shouted drunk with glee, all hail the cheese king! Let's continue yelping! read more

The Great Northeast Cheese Fest - The most delicious n pungent cheese; John Vulto's Miranda won me over. $10 here but $16-$20 elsewhere. Wish I got 10 wheels. - Festivals Near Me - Flushing, New York

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I can't not give a cheese event 5 stars. It's like saying I don't believe in magic, puppies, rainbows, and Christmas. Event had many different aspects. I arrived a few minutes early which was a thank god situation because the line to get in grew exponentially. Coat check at the door - boom. Cheese at the door - boom. Beer guy - there was sadly only one and it was Finback IPA. But it hit the spot and somehow the two kegs lasted the entire event. Lines grew out of this world was the only complaint. Downstairs there was no cutting unless you wanted to get cut. But the annoying thing was that every one was in line for cheesy (out of this world cheese curd and heavy cream) potatoes, and not what I thought were the sliders but the cheese potato line melded into the slider line and yeah. . . . . . The upstairs area is the same lay out for all the events at the Flushing Town Hall. Baby grand piano on stage, booths set up various cheese farms from upstate, locally, vermont, etc. etc. Barefoot wine and two different cideries were on hand. It would have been nice if there was a larger variety of ciders and wine. Also, if these weren't comped through Yelp I might have been pissed spending so much money on an event that pushes you to buy a bottle and had just a dixie cup sample portion amount of cider or wine. Anywho, the focus was on the cheese. Loved the samples. Would have been cool to see more dishes cooked with the cheese products. The Yelp room was where it was at with mini deviled eggs and yakitori cheese curd skewers. I had a great time. Did two rounds of both floors because my plus one was running late and what else does one do when they are stuck in rooms filled with cheese and beer - consume more cheese and beer. Mmmmm. My two personal favorites of the evening were the cheese booths upstairs closest to the lounge room area. One of them had a chocolate chevre and the other had a large variety of stinky cheeses. Was a little disappointed that people just tossed in their votes to get it over with with the place closest to the exit and entrance. Uh. . . . . yeah. Lame, kids, do your homework. Missed out on trying the chocolate smores brie concoction downstairs and the cheese guys from Vermont were kind at the end of the night to wrap me up a cheese wheel on the house. Everyone was so friendly and passionate about their product. Love. read more

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"A cheese may disappoint. It may be dull, it may be naive, it may be over-sophisticated. Yet it remains cheese, milk's leap toward immortality." - Clifton Fadiman. Last night's event was a revelation! Finding great cheeses will be my next gustatory quest. This was my first time sampling raw milk cheese (goat & cow) and I was totally blown away! There was so much depth of flavor in all that I sampled, I was transported to both farm and barn by the rich smells and the funky barnyard flavors. Visually stunning, was the aged Alderney, with it's basket weave ( thanks to the videographer who provided the lighting for my great Iphone shot). The offerings from Vulto were excellent, the Miranda,raw cow's milk was as they described , 3 S's - smooth silky and savory. Their Ouleout piquant and pungent. My favorites of the evening were the offerings from Consider Bardwell in Vermont, and I can't wait to enjoy my purchases. I fell in love with their Manchester, an aged, raw goat peasant tomme. Lisa E. fell for the Experience,a creamy stout washed pasteurized cows milk cheese. Left in the car for a few hours while we dined in Bayside made for quite an aromatic ride home! Other great offerings were the goat cheese smores ( goat cheese on artisan cracker with shaved dark chocolate), who knew that would work so well, someone's a genius! There was also something amazing Lisa E. brought me, I believe it was mashed potato crack, but is properly called Pommes Aligot. Sorry I didn't have the patience to watch it being prepared. Finback IPA was a nice paring with the funky cheeses. I begrudgingly subtracted one star, for combined reasons. The layout and amount of people made it uncomfortable to talk with the artisans about their process and products, as hordes of people were jostling and breathing down my neck trying to grab a bite. I also had dashed hopes when I learned that there was no raclette, after so many positive mentions last year. Also, I could not get any where near the ciders that were being poured in the far corner of the downstairs room. Laugh of the night...... the guy that kept his hand out asking for "more more more..... you know, for my friends" Side note - I hope everyone took in the architecture, the jazz photos and the great Louis Armstrong collages in the hallways! read more

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Who that there smelling like feet? Oh right that's how you KNOW that cheese is good. And cheese there were. Most of the cheese selections were from cow's milk with one exception with was goat. Floor space was pretty intimate but then the flood of people came and we REALLY got to know each other. On the first floor, my favorite was definitely Beecher's Cheese. Not only were they the only vendor to bring smoked cheese but they also had the sole mac & cheese station. I was already a big fan of them since I've ate at their NYC location at Flatiron previously. If you in Seattle, they have one out there too. Cheese factory and all. The other vendor that really peaked my interest was Awestruck Hard Ciders. I thought the hibiscus cider was really tasty even though I'm generally not a fan of hibiscus. Other's that made the list was the White Blended wine vendor whom's name I forgot to jot down. What was intriguing about that White Blended was the lychee flavor albeit on the lighter side in flavor. The honey station, no not a euphemism but an actually guy that was selling high quality, small batched jars of honey. It was pretty damn tasty that i bought 2 different flavors. The bathrooms? Also on the first floor. On the second floor, was where most of my favorites were. The STAR OF THE NIGHT goes to Duck's Eatery, unanimously. That goat stew with noodles in broth was not only great tasting (super gamey) but also great for the cold weather. The cubes of goat...you just had to have tasted for yourself. Their storefront is in the East Village so you have ample opportunities to. The second star of the night was silk cakes. Out of all the flavor selections, the hazelnut (wrong name) which I keep calling it was the best. It was the light brown creamed one with the evenly jagged top when you visit the bakery. The pistachio flavor was also very good but I was expecting little pieces pistachio. Their cheesecakes were also nom. It's bookmarked on my list to visit. Descendant Cider's Pom Pomme. Delicious. I probably would have bought a bottle if I was sure that my next destination was home. It was not. Lol. I did want to mention that while everyone waited on the long ass line for M. Well's station, rightfully so, they came late as most of the vendors were already set up and ready to go. Strategic planning enabled me to grab a sample towards the end of the night and even though presentation wise was good, the sample itself fell short of wow. Like really. Krave beef jerky was so good. I know, weird right? No, MAN I was at that station for minutes at a time sampling and resampling. That sh*t was good. Across from Krave was the Yelp station. Yeeeaaaahh buddy. There was even a Yelp contest for the ultimatr swag gift basket which someone won. It was not me. However, I did win a Yelp tea mug which I did need so I was happy either way. Thanks to Sierra and Yelp for the tickets. Thanks to Jando for probably putting in some sort of work as he travels for work. I enjoyed myself and most likely will come to next year's festivities if work doesn't conflict. Cheerios! read more

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The Great Northeast Cheese Fest is a great cheese tasting in Flushing Town Hall. The flavors and textures were unique and some were novel. There was also charcuterie, which was a pleasantly surprising way to break up the cheese tasting. The Town Hall is a spacious two floors with vendors on both floors. Each booth had a different farm/label presenting cheeses, jamon, or milk products. We tried nearly all the cheeses in the hall. We had: Casa del Chef served gnocchi with a white cheddar sauce. Beecher's Handmade Cheese offered different stages of aged cheese. Young soft spongy curds made last night. Aged Flagship- aged for 15 months, this hard cheese with crystals was sharp and had a deep umami flavor. Aged Flagsheep- aged sheep and cow's cheese with crystals. This was less sharp and had a soft sweetness to the cheese. Hudson Valley Truffle- A soft white milky cheese with savory Italian black truffles. This was well balanced and delicious. This was my favorite cheese. Baked brie- this had a flakey buttery crust with creamy rich brie. The Great Northeast Cheese Fest is a great spot for a date night. There were many varieties of great cheeses. Be open to trying cheese and milk products you will have a great time! read more

I found out about this event a few days before and surprised my boyfriend who loves cheese. We arrived before the crowds piled in and were lucky enough to try out everything on the first floor pretty quickly. Our favorite stand was Beecher's (located right here in NYC): Flagship, flagship reserve, smoked flagship, and dulcet. I kept going back for seconds and thirds. Second favorite was from the Cheese Board (located in Windsor, VT). I even tried their spicy maple sriracha cheddar (Feel the Bern! lol) which was interesting with the spicy sriracha to say the least. I loved their take on smores too: piece of cracker, slice of windsordale (I think) and crumbled chocolate. Yummy! There was also a honey stand and the one with habanero peppers was no joke! First time ever trying honey with a nice kick to it. The honey paired well with Cheese Board's brie. Nom! Chef Alfonso Zhicay's root vegetable gratin was pretty damn good too. It tasted like sweet potato at first. What a fine way to showcase Bovina's melted alderney cheese. We tried every single drink on the first floor and I have to give it to Awestruck Hard Ciders for the creative hibiscus ginger cider and the lavender cider. They were both very interesting in taste. I was told their hibiscus ginger is their best seller, but I personally loved the light lavender flavors more. Second floor was where the masses were and for good reason! There was a huge line for M. Well's Raclette and had the line actually moved quicker, we would've given it a try. We have tried raclette before in London and we weren't a huge fan so we opted to skip this one, but those that waited were all too happy licking up their little plates and forks. Point of the Bluff Winery had some decent rose and semi dry riesling. Krave's different beef jerkies flavors were tasty. I could just stand there all night sampling each one again and again. My bf wasn't as sold. Best part of the second floor for me had to have been the choux pastries from Creme Bakery. Everyone who had tried his creation came right back to get more. It was a literally a mouth-gasm, especially the pistachio one! All in all, it was a perfect date night. We left with our bellies full, fingers smelling a little bit like cheese, and good woozy feeling with all the drinks. read more