Petite Breakfast - The Little Brie with Big Qualities

I have swam through a sea of cheeses. The deep blue cheese sea was difficult for my oars but I made it. I weathered the storm, I'm brie-d and battered. The old man who cuts up meat calls me Mr Formaggio. That's a bit rich. As rich as St.Nuage. I know 5% of that which I wish to know. Alas, it's a start.

   The longest continually operating cheese company in America started making Brie and Camembert in 1865. They are called Marin and this year is their 150th anniversary. They make an array of cheeses which are in their own words 'artisan, approachable and authentic' but that which is on display today in my store is 'Petite Breakfast.' This year it is wearing a commemorative label to signify 150 years of cheese making. It wears nothing else. It's a naked Brie. There's no bloomy rind on this bad boy. It's a rindless wonder. And it's sweet. Sweet, fresh and tangy. Much like I imagine California to be. It's simply a circular button of a cheese with a spot of cream added in order to wake you up in the morning and get you ready for the day. No-one who sees it can deny that it is cute but it also tastes bloody fantastic which makes it even better! At my store it storms out of the case at 4oz for $3.99 so not only is it light in the bag but it's light on the wallet too. When I eat it I'm transformed from my dark 5am Boston kitchen to the Northern Californian Petaluma creamery where the cool breezes dart around. I'm probably romanticizing but so what. Eat it!

Cheese-o-meter rating: 8/10