Cheese deliveries-summer in the city
Farm News
It’s been a while since I made the weekly trip north to Chicago to deliver cheese. In fact, the last time I delivered cheese, I was wearing my winter coat. Chicago deliveries are usually Wes’ domain, but he’s away in Portland Oregon this week (visiting family and attending the American Cheese Society’s Annual Conference). There’s an art to loading the van with coolers and 25# chevre buckets so that orders are accessible in the order in which they are delivered. Given that most stops are made in haste, with hazard lights flashing in no parking (at any time) lanes, the ability to grab and go is imperative.
The drive north on interstate 57 is monotonal monoculture until you get to the Kankakee River. Corn or soybean fields blanket either side of the highway; the open vistas are punctuated with the occasional decomposing barn or corn crib, memorials to a bygone agriculture. Road construction is rampant. Someone in state government must have a brother in the orange barrel business based on their prevalence. Once you cross the wide and deep Kankakee River, industrialization and suburbanization set in; Illinois Central railroad parallels the interstate, reminding those who notice that rail was once the predominant mode of transportation (not cars or trucks).
As I-57 ends and merges into the “Dan Ryan” expressway, the metropolis panorama of Chicago’s skyscrapers reveals itself and the city driver instincts in me come alive. There is no room for timidity on the city streets. Changing lanes at a moments notice requires assertion. Pulling into and out of tight spots, double parking, ignoring city buses bearing down on your van’s backside-all must be done without hesitation.
The city is hot. The city is congested. The obvious tourists have returned (they are the only ones wearing shorts and walking the sidewalks in large groups) and the fellow delivery vehicles show no courtesy or mercy. One of my restaurant deliveries requires traveling down a really narrow dirty alley reminiscent of street in a Dickens novel. There is irony (and revulsion) at delivering food along a pathway congested with dumpsters. As I make my way around the city, there’s a sense of accomplishment; empty buckets, coolers with ice packs and a few treats to keep me awake for the journey home. In my youth, I was a creature of the city. In my older years, I relish turning into the driveway of our farm where Blue the dog is there to greet me with a giant piece of wood in his mouth.
Happenings this Weekend at the Farm and Beyond
FARM STORE SPECIAL THIS WEEKEND: Weekend Wine & Cheese Flight
We have some unusual and amazing wines in our little farm store, and we want to show them off to you. This weekend’s flight features two crisp whites and a light red wine from different regions of the world. La Frontiere Sauvignon Blanc hails from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. It is made in a natural style (low sulfur) from grapes grown using organic and biodynamic practices. With a strong mineral character and stone fruit and citrus notes, it will pair beautifully with our fresh chevre with herbs de Provence. Next up is an Austrian wine-Wieninger Wiener Gemischter Satz 2019. This complex, dry white contains many different regional grape varieties harvested at the same time. It’s citrusy, but also has herbal notes and hints of tropical fruits. We’re pairing this stunner with our little bloom on the prairie. We complete the flight with an amazing red wine from from Italy—Pico Macario “Villa Della Rosa” (a young Barbera d’Asti). The wild berry and cherry notes and smooth finish from this lighter red contrasts nicely with our “dressed up” feta (olive oil drizzle and fresh herbs). We’ll serve with a rustic baguette bread from Publican Quality Breads in Chicago. $25/person (must be 21 or older) gets you this amazing flight—all weekend long!
No need to reserve; just ask for the flight when you come to the farm store.
Book your reservations now for a very special cheese tasting event on Labor Day Weekend. We are super excited to welcome author and cheese lover Erika Kubick to the farm on Sunday, Sept. 4th from 5:30-7 pm. Join us for a transcendent “Cheese Church” service with author and cheese preacher Erika Kubick, in celebration of her book Cheese Sex Death: A Bible for the Cheese Obsessed! She’ll start off the class with a “sermon” on the basics of cheese worship before leading us through a tasting featuring 5 of our cheeses, each paired with an artisan accompaniment. After the class, you'll have the chance to shop at our farm store or pick up a copy of Erika’s book.
Tickets are $40, plus $5 for charcuterie. Beverages and gelato are available for purchase on site. Feel free to arrive early and play with the goats before class!