Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
foods movement, and was a catalyst in
transforming the gritty Covent Garden
area into a retail hotspot. The Neal's Yard
guys made their own cheeses as well as
sourcing artisanal products directly from
small cheese makers around the United
Kingdom and Ireland. Although the opera-
tion has grown into a major business, the
original passion for British cheese (some
would say obsession) is still apparent. The
store has a sort of scrubbed-deal honesty
that's very appealing, with immense
wheels and wedges of cheese jumbled
everywhere—not only double and single
Gloucester, but more unusual varieties
such as Irish Gubbeen and Cornish Yarg
and Welsh Caerphilly, not to mention
Stinking Bishop. Though the selection is
smaller than P&W's, the focus on flavor
and quality comes through; they also offer
several unpasteurized cheeses. Neal's
Yard has an outlet at Borough Market as
well.
Cheese lovers, be forewarned: Choosing
between the two stores is nearly impossi-
ble. The only solution is to visit both.
(
Heathrow (24km/15 miles) or Gatwick
(40km/25 miles).
L
$$$
22 Jermyn St.,
22 Jermyn St.,
St. James (
&
800/682-7808
in the U.S.,
44/20/7734-2353; www.22jermyn.com).
$$$
Covent Garden Hotel,
10 Monmouth
St., Covent Garden (
&
800/553-6674
in the
U.S., 44/20/7806-1000; www.firmdale.com).
Gourmet Emporiums &
Specialty Shops
21
Valvona & Crolla
Beyond Haggis
Edinburgh, Scotland
Back in 1934, when the Italian wine mer-
chants Valvona & Crolla opened their new
shop in the gray precincts of Edinburgh's
New Town, there were no other delicates-
sens in the Scots capital. In fact, most
Edinburghers probably didn't even know
what a delicatessen was. But these enter-
prising shop owners quickly filled the gap,
providing local Italian immigrants with all
the foodstuffs they so sorely missed from
the old country. In just a few years, the
shop's expanding gourmet food selection
had outstripped the wine shop, with
imported cheeses, cured meats, pastas,
vinegars, and luxury tinned goods shipped
in exclusively from Milan. It didn't take
long before the market's fame spread
beyond the immigrant community, intro-
ducing haggis-loving Scotsmen to the
wonders of salami and prosciutto. (Just to
be safe, though, V&C made plenty of room
for a wide-ranging whiskey selection along-
side the wine offerings.)
Still run by descendants of Raffaele
Valvona and Alfonso Crolla, the shop
maintains an air of epicurean dignity
behind its sober white-and-green façade,
discreetly emblazoned nowadays with the
crest of a royal warrant as cheese mon-
gers to the queen. In today's globalized
food culture, the goods at Valvona & Crolla
may not be as exclusive as they once
were, but the shop's longstanding gour-
met reputation has taken it beyond mere
retail. Besides operating its own in-house
bakery and stocking fresh fruits and vege-
tables, Valvona & Crolla has an excellent
kitchenware and cookbook section, and
presents a continual line-up of events—
from cheese tastings, cooking demonstra-
tions, and wine tastings to the ever popular
Fungi Forays, field trips to forage for the
