When I was in college at the University of Louisville, I worked downtown at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  I have endless fond memories of working there. First of all, I made some life-long friends that I still stay in touch with today.  As a matter of fact, in January, about a dozen or so of us former "Spaggers" are going to meet up in Louisville, at "Spag" of course, and have a big reunion.  I cannot wait for that!

Another perk of working there, and this was extremely important to those of us who were working our way through college, we got to eat FREE before our shifts started. I can't even tell you how many plates of Spaghetti with Marinara, salads with the Spaghetti Factory's homemade Italian dressing, loaves of bread with garlic butter and scoops of Spumoni ice cream I shoveled into my mouth over the few years I worked there.

One of my absolute favorite "Spag" dishes was one I had never heard of until I started working an Old Spaghetti Factory. They had a dish called Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese and Brown Butter.  And, yep, that's pretty much what it was.  Pasta, cheese, butter.  I remember thinking, "What in the heck is Mizithra Cheese?"

It didn't take long to figure it out because that dish it's an integral part of The Old Spaghetti Factory's restaurant heritage.  According to the website, Mizithra.com (and, no, I am not making that up), "The Old Spaghetti Factory imports over 200,000 lbs of Mizithra cheese a year."  That Mizithra comes from sheep’s milk and Spag's recipe for it has remained the same since 1969. Without a doubt, to this day, it is The Old Spaghetti Factory's most popular dish.  And, having worked in Spags in Louisville and San Diego (I transfered restaurants when I first moved to California), I can attest to that. People friggin' love it.  So do I.

That's precisely why I was thrilled to learn this week, through my friend Jenn Bufkin, who teaches at Owensboro High School, that you can now purchase Spaghetti Factory-brand Mizithra Cheese here in Owensboro.  She found a canister of it at our Kroger location at Wesleyan Park Plaza.  It was right there in the gourmet cheese section!

Here's some good news for you if you're a fan and you don't live in Owensboro. Don't worry!  That website I told you about, Mizithra.com, gives you the chance to Find Mizithra Near You.  All you have to do is put in your zip code and it will show you nearby grocers that stock it.

So, if you love the "unique cheese with a devoted following", you've now got the hook up!  Of course, you can always hit up The Old Spaghetti Factory locations in downtown Louisville and downtown Nashville.

 

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