Who's Who at the Brewer's Plate 2011

This image is what I see most mornings when I pop off the train to pick up a nub of cheese at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. The Market is an old train station, and in it, this stand is the nexus of local food.

On March 13, the stand hosts its biggest fundraising smash, Brewer’s Plate – a feast of local beer and grub, the best Philly has to offer within 150 miles. You can meet me there (it's at the Penn Museum). And meet the local cheese intelligensia. Here’s a little primer, for all you red-carpet dairy dreamers.

Cheesemonger Paul Lawler will no doubt wearing a smart suit. Paul, pictured below, is the most knowledgeable person I know about local cheese. Last summer, we drank whey together (a heinous experience; sorry, Paul) while he was “babysitting” Keswick Creamery.

Look for the fashionable folks from Doe Run Dairy (cheesemakers from the Urban Outfitters empire). Paul Lawler tells me, “I am SO psyched to see what mixed milk robiola-esque cheese they will bring!”

You can also meet veteran cheesemaker Sue Miller, maker of Birchrun Blue, along with the much-lauded Jonathan and Nina White form Bobolink Dairy – one-time cheesemakers to the White House.

So, if your Oscar party is a letdown and you want a little red carpet action with the guys from the dairy case, get in on the sizzle. And the oysters. And the snifters of Root.

I’ll be in the Speakeasy, munching Bobolink. Let’s find each other and talk rennet.

Free Beer'n Cheese Pre-Party, March 4

Stop by the Farmstand on Friday between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. for a taste of what the Brewer's Plate will bring. The Foodery will offer local beer and Paul Lawler will let you nibble wheels of Bobolink Drumm, Valley Shepard Fairmount, and Keswick Tommenator.