AMERICA’S BEST : The Cheese Solution

Flowers start to wear thin as a last-ditch gift for the perennially forgetful. But there is hope for the hopeless: cheese.

Dial-A-Cheese can have a four-cheese gift-box assortment delivered by a tuxedo-clad messenger within an hour or so, as long as the recipient’s address is in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Miami or the Hamptons.

The cheese itself is pretty good. There’s a mild chevre, a double-cream Brie, a smoky Rambol and an authentic Roquefort. The so-called Ile de France Classic Collection serves six to eight guests and can complement cocktail and dinner parties or brunches.

Dial-A-Cheese is an offspring of Dial-A-Dinner, the company created in 1977 that delivers meals to-go from local restaurants that wouldn’t ordinarily do take-out.

When you call Dial-A-Cheese, the operators answer, “Dial-A-Dinner.” Ask for the cheese and they fumble around and put you on hold, so you get to listen to ads for music CDs to accompany your dinner (“Celtic” and “Sensual Classics” are among the choices). Finally someone gets on the line and is able to talk cheese and take your order. They like to chat.

The four-cheese gift box is $16.50. To order, call Dial-A-Dinner at (310) 652-1444. Major credit cards are accepted.