Say Cheese: Dean & DeLuca ed.
Take 3. I find myself at Dean & DeLuca’s in Georgetown. It’s 6 p.m. on a Saturday night. A small, upscale Italian mart in the heart of M street, Dean & DeLuca’s can be better described with one word: overpriced.
I walk in hesitantly, already knowing that I’m going to spend too much money on something I won’t need- probably chocolate. Stay focused. The layout of the store is a little unfamiliar to me, and I walk around for a while until I finally find the block cheeses. I notice that all the workers are dressed like chefs, and are serving food from the center island of the store. Did someone say bougie? There’s no better word to describe that I’m seeing.
From a distant view, it seems as though the cheese section is not as large as I expected it to be for an Italian mart (bottom right). I walk over to the display, noticing its strategic location across from shelves containing jams and crackers. I also notice that there are sausages in the same display of the cheeses, perhaps a marketing effort that is really just taking away from the display’s focus on cheese (top left).
Although this store does not have many cheese options, the selection still appears to be unique and high in quality. I again choose to focus on Manchego here (top right), my favorite cheese. I see a 6-month Manchego, 12-month Manchego, and Rosemary-infused Manchego. I ask the lady working behind the counter what how much the 12-month Manchego costs. $32 per pound. Are you serious? I think something in my face told her that I was shocked, because she then added that the 12-month is the most expensive of their three options.
I also saw that there were a few varieties of goat cheese. There was also smoked mozzarella for $11.25 per pound (bottom left). What’s so special about smoked mozzarella? I’ve never tried it.
One price really caught my eye. here was a “Blue Old Chatham Ewes” cheese for $42 per pound. I hope to g** that tastes incredible! There was also one “featured” cheese sitting at the top ledge of the display. It was named “Gouda Beemster XO,” priced at $24.50 per pound. It didn’t look like anyone had bought any yet. No surprise. Next to the cheese were 3 bottles of extra virgin olive oil. I think the display was missing bread or something, because the bottles of olive oil next to the Gouda were otherwise placed in a strange location. Whatever. I lost interest and moved on after seeing that price, too.
While the store itself was not crowded at all, there were two middle-aged people, who appeared to be a couple, standing by the Gouda display. They asked for a few samples, and then walked away from the counter, probably after looking at the prices. I don’t blame them.Look, Dean & Deluca’s is a great place, with what appears to be a lot of Italian authenticity. Its biggest flaw, though, and this is a pretty big flaw, is that it’s not in everyone’s budget, and certainly not in mine. Maybe I’ll visit 20 years down the line, that is if the store hasn’t gone bankrupt yet, and give it another shot. But for now, who needs overpriced Manchego anyways? Kraft cheese, please..
