The other day, while searching online for this week's Berg with Cheese selection, I came across House of Glunz. Centerstage listed it under it's Chicago Cheese Shops so I figured it'd be exactly what I was looking for.

Yesterday afternoon I headed down to Old Town, only to discover that Houe of Glunz was a heckuva lot of wine, and very little cheese. I made the best of the situation and walked around the store a bit, grabbing a bottle of red. "I recommend that Antonia," the guy behind the counter said, noticing my selection. "But then again, my name is Antonio." I courtesy laughed and asked, "I heard you guys had a cheese section."

Antonio led me towards the back and pointed towards a small cooler with only a handful of cheeses. "That's our cheese section," he said. Not exactly what I had in mind, but when in Rome...

"What kind of cheeses do you usually like?" Antonio asked me, and I replied that I like everything from sharp cheddars to soft, stinky cheeses. "Bleu cheese?" he asked, and I nodded excitedly. He pulled out a big wedge of bleu made by Point Reyes over in California.

"You've gotta get this," he tells me excitedly, handing me the cheese. "Great flavor, very strong. My girlfriend and I got this last week and ate the entire thing in, like, an hour." I instantly imagine Antonio and his girlfriend, lying next to a roaring fire, feeding each other bleu cheese. Quickly, I push the image out of my head and tell Antonio I'll take the bleu.

I walk back into the main room to look for a second bottle of wine, perusing bottles that range from $10 to $200, and I notice a sign that says that the store has been around since 1888 - clearly they know their stuff, and the store has a look and feel that really conveys that.

The bleu was less than $10, and with the two bottles of red my tab came in just under $40. Add on the non-pretentious advice and recomendations I got from the staff and I can easily say I'll go back to Glunz before I go to Binny's the next time I need a bottle of wine and a good piece of cheese.