This is obviously not a picture of a DC market. But Cork Market & Tasting Room is selling one of the best Cheddars I've tasted in a long while - from Tobermory, the only town on a small island off the West Coast of Scotland. A bit of a stretch for sourcing stuff, you might think.

But this offshoot of the 14th St NW bar opened just down the street by Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts in 2008 is filled with unexpected finds. Like the Isle of Mull cheddar. What's good about its cheeses is that they don't come ready cut. Or when they do, the pieces feed more than a pigeon. My beef with Whole Foods' cheesecounter is that it seems to think that all its customers are either singles or watching their weight: their ready-cut portions of cheeses are stingy in size. Better to have a cheeseboard with one big chunk of hard cheese and one generous piece of soft cheese than a mosaic of mimsy slices covering all bases that has been reduced to barely a bite by the time it reaches you round a table of friends.

Cork is expensive. But it's made its goal to supply what it considers the best of what's out there at home and abroad. There's charcuterie from La Quercia and Fra' Mani. The chocolate is by San Franciscan company Tcho. Pastas are from 'boutique' makers, cookies are made by local bakers, while individual salt caramels in a jar on the counter come from Brittany.

For lunch there's a wide range of hand-made sandwiches with good bread and good fillings. Pastries made in the back are hard to resist. It goes without saying that this well-designed room is packed with wines which the friendly staff are happy to advise you on and, as the store's name suggests, give you a taste of.

Cork Market &  Tasting Room, 1720 14th St NW, 202 265 2675.