With specialty food stores in Budapest being more common than common, it's hard to remember that not so long one small shop - the Nagy Tamás Cheese Shop - was pretty much the only place in town catering to discriminating cheese-eaters. But even though "Big Tom's" is no longer the sole source of stinky sajt in Pest, it remains the only local culinary emporium to offer original, museum-quality art focused exclusively on the wonders of cheese.

A decade ago Tamás Nagy began promoting his store - and the merits of cheese-eating in general - using the talents of his friend, noted Hungarian commercial artist Péter Pócs. The result was a series of fanciful posters that delighted not only local food lovers but fans of graphic design in general, with several being recognized as instant classics in the area of commercial art. The campaign even generated some unexpected controversy after one of my favorites, which featured a sajt-mad dog howling at a cheese moon (left), was reportedly banned from Budapest's streets because of the pooch's unusual anatomical correctness.

Katalin Lovás, Nagy's public relations coordinator, said Nagy and Pócs share the same life philosophy, which includes shaking-up what Lovás called as "the old Hungarian mentality," and informing people about the finer things in life. (In addition to his shop, Nagy is a wholesaler of fine cheeses, runs the nearby Szalámibolt, is a principle in the neighboring Café Gerloczy, and is even opening a hotel sometime later this year.)

While no new Pócs/Nagy cheese posters have appeared in the past few years, limited edition copies of the originals remain on sale at the shop and online, ranging in price from Ft 20,000 (€80) to Ft 45,000. Of course, for the same price you could buy a year's worth of brie or Bleu de Gex. But these posters will probably pay dividends for even longer - unless you like your cheese really stinky.