A tale of two cheese shops

So enamored am I with the decidedly delightful addition to the Penn Quarter neighborhood, Cowgirl Creamery, that I've had to actually restrain myself from blogging about it. The reason for my self-imposed delay? I decided that the only responsible thing to do would be to scope out Alexandria's Cheesetique in the Del Ray neighborhood for a bit of comparative due diligence. Well, as I suspected, both of the artisan cheese shops are veritable gourmet playgrounds, and I am now pretty equally enamored with both. Below are some vital stats.

Cowgirl Creamery
Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Easily accessible via Metro Center or Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stops
Selection: Cowgirl Creamery boasts the more extensive selection of the two shops. You can find everything from Nubian goat Alleghany Chevre, to the creamy sheep's milk Cave Aged Marisa, to cow's milk Marin French Triple Creme (as decadent as it sounds). Also, if you're looking for a particular cheese, their website offers a search function, allowing you to input milk type, treatment, etc. Cowgirl beats out Cheesetique if you're looking for a rare or very specific type of cheese.
Staff: Cowgirl Creamery was the better staffed of the two shops, with a whole host of friendly cheese enthusiasts ready to assist us with any questions or requests for samples. The staff at Cowgirl appeared truly passionate about the cheeses. When we asked one staff member about good fondue cheeses, she helpfully pointed us toward their pre-assembled fondue kits, and she made suggestions about what kind of wine would work well in the fondue.

Cheesetique
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Cheesetique is not quite as accessible as Cowgirl Creamery, but it's easily reachable by car.
Selection: Cheesetique has a perfectly respectable selection of artisan cheeses, including the ever-wondrous Humboldt Fog (pictured above). It's not quite as extensive as Cowgirl's selection, however. On the other hand, Cheesetique offers a broader array of complimentary non-cheese items, most notably a nice wine selection, as well as imported beer, gourmet salts, artisan honey, jams, crackers, cookies, and even serving dishes.
Staff: The salesperson who was working at Cheesetique was perfectly nice and helpful, although I noticed with amusement that she seemed a bit taken aback at the amount of cheese and cured meat we ordered. "Are you having a party?" I believe were her exact words. Um, no, we weren't having a party. We were, however, gathering ingredients to make this inarguably festive sandwich.

Depending on what kind of cheese shop experience you're looking for, both Cowgirl Creamery and Cheesetique offer much to recommend. Thankfully, there seems to be ample room in this town - and on my plate - for the both of 'em.

Photo of Humboldt Fog cheese by Flickr user Cheezemaster.