ALTHOUGH THERE is no formal shoppers bill of rights at Whole Foods, it is generally expected that there will be cheese samples out and ready for consumption with toothpicks. 
And for any regular Whole Foods shopper, Parrano makes a regular appearance — and at some locations, seems to be the only cheese available for sampling. So that "unforgettable cheese with a distinctly Italian temperament," as the cheese producers' Web site describes its nutty, buttery, Dutch-origin product, is something you may be familiar with. You may even have some Parrano in your refrigerator. And you probably love it for its combination of Gouda and Parmesan flavors.
But would you ever describe Parrano as hip? Well, some crafty store clerk at a Fairway grocery store in the developing Brooklyn enclave of Red Hook — an out-of-the-way, declining industrial waterfront neighborhood where a future IKEA and semi-reasonable rent are attracting hipsters willing to take the bus — has been hilariously labeling Parrano as "the hippest cheese in New York," as an astute Gawker reader discovered recently.
While judges in Wisconsin might not be the best arbiters of what's hip, they do know their cheese. In this year's World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, a wheel of Rene Rovers' Parrano Gouda won first runner up to the world champion Swiss Emmental. While the winning wheel is likely slightly different than what you get in the store, the honor is good for Parrano's image. And if the cheese makers' marketing team is worth its salt, it'd exploit the Brooklyn hipster-approved label to expand market share with our Logan Circle double-income-no-kid crowd.
» "Fairway Begins Catering to the "Hip" Demographic in the Cheese Aisle" [Gakwer]
» "2006 World Championship Cheese Contest Results" [WCMA]