Connecticut
My Three Year Quest to Find Limburger in Connecticut is Complete
I loved watching Our Gang and The Little Rascals while I was growing up, if I see a dog that looks like Petey, I fall into a nostalgic haze. Thinking back on the show as an adult, there were two things that scared the kids, but made me curious – castor oil and limburger cheese. After a three-year quest to find Limburger cheese in Connecticut, I’ve finally succeeded.
The Little Rascals/Our Gang has entertained kids of all ages for almost a hundred years, and it’s inspired the feeling of doom and gloom every time I’ve heard Limburger cheese or Castor Oil mentioned. I’ve tried Castor Oil, it’s not anywhere as bad as I had imagined.
When I started working with Ethan and Lou three years ago, somehow my wanting to try the stinky cheese came up in the course of conversation, and my quest began. The Limburger leads started coming in – DeCicco’s has it, they might have it, Stew Leonard’s had it, but I couldn’t get there. I looked in supermarkets all over Connecticut – multiple Big Y’s, Stop & Shop’s, Bantam Market and Northville Market, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Balducci’s, Key Foods, even Aldi. Nothing. I asked inside Oakville’s New Curds on the Block, at the Caseus Crispy Melty truck too.
Finally, this past weekend, I shopped at Torrington’s Market 32, and there it was. I bought a 6oz. block of Country Castle Limburger Cheese from Monroe, Wisconsin, and I’m about to take the first whiff of Limburger in my lifetime, be right back.
Photo by Large “It’s True” Dave
Yowza. It’s true. My God. It smells like a teenager’s room that’s been filled full of dirty socks, with a hint of an Italian combo grinder that’s been left in the sun for 3 hours. Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Darla, and Stymie, you were right.
The End Has Truly Begun at Torrington’s Doomed Stop & Shop
Although the reported closing date is “By Halloween” the long, slow death of the closest grocery store to my place in Torrington has truly begun. I took a walk around to do some bargain hunting, have a look.
Gallery Credit: Photos by Large Dave
The Best and Worst City and Town Nicknames in Connecticut
I was born in The Brass City, and now I live in Borington, you know them as Waterbury and Torrington. Both nicknames are a good fit, in my opinion, but some cities and towns in Connecticut have done a much better job, or failed miserably. These are the best and worst nicknames that have been adopted by a city or town in Connecticut
Gallery Credit: Google Maps