Beecher's Handmade Cheese

Pike Place, Seattle · Market · $$

Kurt Beecher Dammeier opened this Pike Place corner in November 2003 as the only artisan cheesemaker inside Seattle city limits, and he put the vats behind glass so the market crowd could watch local milk turn into curd on the spot. The transparency is the argument: no artificial ingredients, milk from nearby farms, and a cheddar-style Flagship that has taken Best of Show from the American Cheese Society. Get the fresh curds while they still squeak, which is the one thing you cannot ship home.