Sara Hohn – Food… Brooklyn & Beyond

Zoning out to the Jimi Hendrix and staring at a gorgeous display of European and North American cheeses, I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone at Stinky didn’t just offer me a chair to sit down and relax. Are you deterred by a reeking roquefort? Do you feel an uncomfortable stinking sensation when you need to select a cheese? At Stinky (and its sister store Smith & Vine) owners Michelle Pravda and Patrick Watson take products that can sometimes seem unapproachable to people, like wine and cheese, and make them accessible and fun.
When we stopped in, Pravda was running back and forth between her two shops. Like the best restaurant industry veterans, she is friendly and composed, even when things are busy. What we like best about Stinky is the way they cross-pollinate with restaurants in the neighborhood. The owners have formed close personal and professional connections with local restaurants and offer their house favorites for sale at Stinky. They carry savory blue cheese cakes and duck rillettes from Applewood, charred long beans from Taku, pickles from Chestnut and focaccia from Savoia. Locals who patronize these restaurants are delighted when they come into Stinky and find their favorites are available here as well. Stinky is proud of these relationships with restaurants and should be. Not only does it speak to the mutual supportiveness of these Brooklyn businesses, it gives restaurants a chance to expand the audience for their food.

If you want to put together a picnic, Stinky carries more than just cheese and continues to expand their grocery selection. In addition to de facto cheese plate accompaniments such as cornichons and quince paste, Stinky carries packaged snacks, farmers’ market produce, and fudge from Red Hook-based CaryMo Chocolate. Cheese devotees who like to try small amounts of lots of different cheeses will appreciate that Stinky prices items by the quarter pound. There’s only so much Epoisse Berthaut, a delicious superstinker, that one can put away in a sitting.

Visit Smith & Vine across the street for suitable fermented accompaniments. While Stinky is great for letting you try before you buy, we hear they are planning on hosting more formal cheese tastings and seminars starting this fall.

Stinky
261 Smith Street

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn