So you like cheese — really, really like cheese. Not only are you in good company there, but science might also explain why we love gooey, melty cheese the way we do.
According to a Forbes piece called "This Is Your Brain On Cheese," some proteins in cheese bind to the same receptors in our brain as hard drugs:
Cheese contains casein. It also contains casein fragments called casomorphins, a casein-derived morphine-like compound. Basically, dairy protein has opiate molecules built in. When consumed, these fragments attach to the same brain receptors that heroin and other narcotics attach to.
"These opiates attach to the same brain receptors that heroin and morphine attach to. They are not strong enough to get you arrested, but they are just strong enough to keep you coming back for more, even while your thighs are expanding before your very eyes." — Dr. Neal Barnard, author of The Cheese Trap
There you have it: Eating cheese is a biological imperative. Get cheesy this weekend with these Dallas snacks:
Las Almas Rotas' chicharron de queso
It's no secret that we love Las Almas Rotas, the new mezcaleria and restaurant in Expo Park, but we're particularly enamored of one dish on the menu: the chicharron de queso, a bar snack made entirely of cheese.
Stretchy, chewy Oaxacan cheese is grilled until crispy, then rolled up and served with fresh salsa. Rip a piece off, dip it in salsa and eat it like a tortilla chip. The slightly greasy cheese does a great job at cutting through the smoky burn of a straight glass of mezcal. And did we mention it's made entirely of cheese?
Armoury D.E.'s rantott sajt
Speaking of dishes made entirely of cheese, head to Armoury D.E., Best Bar Food winner in this year's Best of Dallas, and try the rantott sajt, a firm, Hungarian-style white cheese that's breaded, fried and served with a sweet lingonberry jam and a creamy white truffle sauce flecked with black truffle. Sweet, savory, cheesy and fried — is there a better bar food than that?
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Ddong Ggo's Cheese Island
There may be no better DFW restaurant for cheese lovers than Ddong Ggo, a Carrollton restaurant that serves cheesy takes on both American and Korean pub dishes. Get the full experience with Ddong Ggo’s house specialty, the Cheese Island ($25), a large cast-iron skillet filled with shredded white cheese. Set atop of a burner on the diner's table, the cheese stays beautifully hot and melty so you can easily dip fries and fried chicken wings into the cheese ocean.
Mozzarella Company's mozzarella
If you're jonesing for cheese, head right to the source: Mozzarella Company, which has been making fresh cheese in Deep Ellum for 35 years. If you really wanna work up a cheese craving, watch this video of the ooey, gooey process behind Mozzarella Company's cheese-making.
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