Credit: Estrella Family CreameryMy last day on Voracious will be Wednesday, so this is fifth in a series on the things I’ll miss most about eating in Seattle.Even today, some pleasures don’t travel: French jokes. Chinese hip hop. New York bagels. They’re simply not reproducible outside of their native environment. Then there are the pleasures that won’t travel, like Kelli Estrella’s cheeses. The Montesano-based cheesemaker, creative spark behind Estrella Family Creamery, has told me that she has refused to supply four-star chefs, Murray’s Cheese Shop, and other pros who have asked her to ship her award-collecting Caldwell Crik Chevrette or Griswold Goat beyond Washington state boundaries. To get a hold of these magnificent cheeses, you have to catch the Estrellas at the University, Ballard, and Columbia City farmers markets or hunt down a wedge at DeLaurenti (an early champion) or the Cheese Cellar. I’ve raved over and over again about the chevrette, a cheesy Susan Boyle with a daunting funk and a captivating flavor. More recently, I’ve fallen for another local farmstead cheese that won’t travel: Kurtwood Farms’ Dinah, a creamy Camembert-style cow’s milk cheese with a lush, pre-industrial aroma and a propensity for flowing over the cracker/plate/table. Thank heavens I’m planning on paying quarterly visits to my family here. If the cheeses won’t come to Kauffman …
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