Here’s Where to Find Good Cheese and Cheap Lunch in Williamsburg

Specialty cheese shops abound in NYC, selling pounds upon pounds of dairy from nearby farms and far-off corners of the world. Some of these are monstrous showcases of nearly every variety under the sun. Others are small and curated, with staff that offers patient one-on-one help. Williamsburg’s Campbell Cheese & Grocery (502 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn; 718-387-2267) is the second type, and it offers a nice selection of aged dairy and really good inexpensive meal options.

Read: Each item on the menu is made from high-quality ingredients yet still costs less than $10.

Bread comes from local bakeries like Bien Cuit, Amy’s Bread, and Sullivan Street Bakery. Produce is local and seasonal. Meats and charcuterie come from artisanal producers. And then, of course, there’s the cheese.

For breakfast, try a jalapeño ham & egg biscuit ($6.50) with Paris ham, cheddar, soft-boiled egg, berber mayo, and pickled chiles. Or ask for an upscale bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with fig jam ($6.50) with Benton’s bacon, raclette, soft-boiled egg, and scallions.

Later on, you might want the ricotta and pesto ($8.75), which combines a fresh mix of roasted carrots, parsley-pecan pesto, kale, and honey-sherry vinaigrette on five-grain whole wheat bread. The basic grilled cheese ($8) goes fancy with romesco, Danish havarti, Pasamontes manchego, arugula, and red-pepper-almond dipping sauce on sourdough pullman. Ham and cheese ($9.75) includes jambon de Paris, gruyère, and mustard butter on a Bronx Baking Co. pretzel baguette. Get certified sustainable albacore tuna sandwiched with white beans, capers, kalamata olives, radish, parsley, and lemon between two halves of a ciabatta loaf. And the classic Italian ($9.75) is kicked up a notch with mortadella, soppressata, provolone piccante DOP, market greens, and spicy peppadew relish on baguette.

There are lighter options as well. In addition to soup of the day and specials, the shop also offers a few healthy(ish) salads. The kale caesar ($9.75) is topped with tomatoes, croutons, lemon zest, and high-quality parmigiano-reggiano. The buttermilk bacon ($9.50) incorporates market greens, Benton’s bacon, toasted pecans, tomatoes, and soft-boiled egg in a buttermilk-herb dressing.

Or you could fill up on cheese. We won’t judge.