I wasn't planning to buy cheese at the Sebastopol market. I was there for produce and a coffee, and then the Mt. Eitan Cheese stand had samples out, and that was that.
The person behind the table was Omer Seltzer, who makes the cheese himself in Sonoma County. He cut me a taste of Raya, his signature aged goat cheese — firm, earthy, nothing like the mild goat cheese logs at the grocery store — and I bought a piece to take home.
I went in for produce.
I left with a wedge of Raya.
What happened at home
It didn't make it to the refrigerator. I set the bag on the counter to unpack the rest of the groceries, and by the time I turned around, the Raya was already out, sliced, and half gone — everyone in the house circling the counter before I'd even found the good knife. We never made it to the dinner I'd planned; this was dinner.
Seltzer makes the cheese himself, in Sonoma County, drawing on techniques from his family's goat farming background. What I bought was Raya, the signature — aged six to twelve months, or a full year in its reserved version, deeper and earthier the longer it sits. The rest of the lineup is mostly goat's milk too: Tome, an alpine-style hard-aged wheel with a sweeter edge; Ady, a brine-aged, Bulgarian feta-style cheese; Yael and Moni, soft lactic-curd cheeses under a bloomy rind; Gefen and Gefen Leaf, wrapped in grape leaves for an herbal note; and Tamar, a newer, spreadable one built for a knife rather than a fork. One cow's milk line, made with Straus Family Creamery milk, rounds out the case.
Where to find it
Mt. Eitan Cheese sets up most Sundays at the Sebastopol Farmers Market, in the downtown plaza — get there before the last half hour if you want a full pick of what's out. Seltzer also shows up Saturdays at the Santa Rosa and Healdsburg farmers markets, and Thursdays in Marin.
I went back the next Sunday. I'm not calling that a coincidence.