Great cheeses do not only come from Europe.
Latinos in Los Angeles have always known this. Some of the earliest memories a lot of us have involve suitcases full of potent, stinky cheese brought in from our parents' home countries. All are made with raw milk, which is strangely illegal in the United States.
There are ways around this weird law, like trekking two hours south to in Tijuana to experience an equally delectable dairy culture with its own remarkable history.
Mexican cheese can be eaten for any meal of the day, from garnishing dishes to quesadillas to being served as-is—sliced as a snack. A deli just a few miles away from the Tijuana border offers at least a half dozen varieties of local, Baja-crafted cheeses made with raw milk.
Forty-three-year-old Humberto Manuel Cuevas Acosta, the owner of La Bodega de Popo Quesos, and Deli, says locals will more often than not still buy generic cheese from the supermarket, despite the region's abundance of expertly-made cheeses.