Joe’s Dairy

R.I.P. The store front is CLOSED for good. Joe’s still making product for restaurants but you will be missed in the neighborhood!

Just read Calvin Trillin’s tribute in the New Yorker and you’ll understand what was lost when this joint went wholesale only and closed their retail operation. Thanks, yuppies and real estate goons.

RIP, Joe’s Dairy. I treasure my memory of going on the last day they were open and buying enormous amounts of smoked and fresh mozzarella, along with all the other disconsolate customers who were crowding into the store for their final fix.
The nice counter lady said they would still be selling wholesale, and I think you can find it at Fairway. Still, not the same!

another small old-​timer of new york is gone ;-(
I was at least able to enjoy their smoked mozzarella that my husband got on their last day.

BEST MOZZ in Town !!! Mozzarella That Is! This was Jimmy The Cheeseman’s Shop in «The POPE of GREENWICH VILLAGE» starring Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts. The Pope of Greenwich Village is a New York Italian-​American Classic, as is Joe’s. Check it !

Fun little cheese shop.

Yup, it’s a about the «smokey». I’ve eaten pounds of this stuff throughout the years. Doesn’t get any better than this. It’s a tiny storefront, but with great homemade cheese, and a wonderful, caring staff. Thanks Joe :)

Great selection of cheeses, including their famous smoked mozzarella… combine with Rafettos around the corner and Pino’s across the street and you’ll have a meal!

The greatest handmade mozzarella (regular and smoked) you will find anywhere: rich, stringy, and fresh tasting with a very pleasing salt content. I admit, I haven’t had anything else from Joe’s, because I just can’t get past that superlative cheese. Warning: if you ever bring some to a party or gathering, be prepared to have every host, for every future do, request that you repeat the favour for theirs.

Came by today after hunting for the best smoked mozzarella I can find and one bite of that salty, smoky, rich buttery goodness got me hooked! Traveled on the train with my precious cargo of smoked and regular and both are equally melt in your mouth goodness. Oh boy I can’t wait to make my caprese salad with this mix! It is smoked by hand and is creamy on the inside.

The fresh mozzarella sandwiches with roasted peppers are ridiculously tasty. The mozzarella is of course the star but every single ingredient used here at Joe’s Dairy is a winner.

This place is teeny tiny — heck, my kitchen in Brooklyn is larger than this place. But dammit I got some great freaking cheese from here! Think circa 1930 and God bless this place. I purchased a rosey manchego and a delicious fontina that brings me so much joy. There was also an older gentleman there that made my heart sing with pure love love love! A real sweetheart!

I’m repeating what everyone is saying here, but honestly the smoked mozzarella is fantastic, I mean actually, creamy on the inside, smokey on the outside. They have pre-​made tomato mozz sandwiches with roasted red peppers that are phenomenal. Love this spot, and yes they make it fresh daily.
FYI It is Cash only!

I hate to just be another smoked mozzarella fanatic, but here I go…
it’s ADDICTIVE. I used to live in the hood and every time I smelled the smoker going, it was my cue to pick up a fresh mound of heaven.
I’ve tried many others… none compare. Besides, this place is a true NY institution. They managed to survive the douche-​y changes of the hood for over 60 years. That alone deserves some props.

I may not be as thorough a connoisseur of mozzarella cheese as Jessica F. (the review 5 below), but all I can say is this: JOE’S HAS THE BEST SMOKED MOZZ I HAVE EVER HAD. I have searched far and wide for a comparable smoked mozzarella since experiencing it for the first time and have not been able to find a substitute that even comes close to the smoked mozz from Joe’s Dairy.
Unless you know exactly what you are looking for, you would literally have to stumble upon this place. It’s the epitome of a hole in the wall and is quite out of place for the quaint SoHo shops and apartment buildings that surround it. You might be scared away by the odd funk wafting out of the front screen door, but fear not, because just beyond the threshold is pure magic in the form of a ball of smoked mozzarella that can be purchased either in a small-​balled size, or in a large-​balled size. The cheese is generally still warm when I buy it as it is freshly made on the premises and the first taste always brings out the pain from my salivary glands because it is just THAT GOOD. There are other cheeses sold that I should probably get around to trying one day, but every time I think I will get something different, the smoked mozz always wins. I have, however, also had their salted mozzarella, and that ain’t bad, either. There is nothing as wonderful as fresh, creamy, homemade mozzarella.
The folks that run the place are the friendliest I’ve come across: «hey, honey» this, and «yes, ma’am» that. Maybe it’s because I always ask them to find the largest of all the balls of the bunch (and those are some big balls), but they have never displayed even the slightest temper of impoliteness and are always unquestionably accommodating (yes, I realize we’re only talking about cheese here, but this is some good cheese).
They only accept cash and offer an array of other jarred and packaged items such as roasted red peppers, sun-​dried tomatoes in spicy oil and artichoke hearts. They also close early, so I definitely find myself planning my afternoons around making it to Joe’s before they close.
Joe’s Dairy is a true neighborhood gem and I hope it stays around for a very long time.

We discovered this hole in the wall dairy shop through the Foods of NY tour through SOHO & central village. My parents & fiancé absolutely loved the smoked mozarella from Joe’s. My fiancé & I pay $ 20 cab ride back and forth from upper west down to SOHO once a week just to get this $ 5 cheese. :)
I’ve also tried their sharper cheeses like parmeggiano or cheddar — delicious as well.
When we have parties, we take this with us. It’s a great & unique gift because it’s handmade & smoked (by hand) so the unevenness makes it even more wonderful.

The smoked mozzarella is awesome!

Joe’s makes a very good, handmade mozzarella, but quite honestly Caputo’s in Brooklyn, Casa Della Mozzarella in the Bronx and Claudio’s in Philly make it better, much better and best respectively. Plus the afore mentioned give you samples of their cheese willingly. The lady behind the counter at Joe’s didn’t and the gentleman leading a foodie tour of NYC was kind enough to give me a sample of his.
Saying all this Joe’s smoked mozzarella is second to none. I tie it in first with Claudio’s. It’s almost like eating bacon flavored ice cream.

I live close enough to Joe’s Dairy that the church bells everyone mentioned across the street actually wake me up every morning. (Not so quaint at 8am on Sunday…) I always think to go there on Sundays, but it’s closed then, so I have to wait another week, but then I forget until the following Sunday, and… this has been going on since I first read about it months ago.
Until today. I stopped in and bought a big ball of smoked mozzarella, and then I came home and thought I’d rip off a little piece before I put it away. WHOA. Cheese revelation! Next thing I know, I’ve eaten almost half the ball, just tearing into it with my hands.
This is fabulous, amazing, deeeeeeeelicious smoked mozzarella. The outer layer tastes like marshmallows cooked over a campfire, SO intense and smoky and sweet. And the inside is rich and fresh and just salty enough
Now that I’ve tried it, I think I’ll be able to remember to go on a Saturday next time.

I wanted to like the mozzarella from here. Not liking it is almost like saying you don’t like Junior’s. Or Peter Luger. But I didn’t.
Me: My name is Jessica.
Everyone: Hi, Jessica.
Me: My name is Jessica, and I didn’t like the lightly salted fresh mozzarella from Joe’s Dairy.
Everyone: (Gasps)
I know. I’m amazed. And a little embarrassed. I’m not saying this because I am some super-​obnoxious mozzarella snob for whom nothing is ever good enough. How can you not want desperately to like this place and what it makes? It was made for television, it has lines out the door, the people who work there are the salt of the earth, AND, they like dogs. I mean, I want to buy them a drink is how much I wanted to like their mozzarella. But I can’t.
It’s warm. It’s fresh. It’s salted perfectly. But it is rubbery, tough and overpulled. Not even the celestially creamy, earthy, authentic taste of milk in every bite could recover from an eating experience with heirloom tomatoes and $ 20 balsamic that was ruined because my jaw ached from chewing. Rough, rubbery and tough, this cheese was simply murdered by loving hands that killed it with kindness.