Eating Around

Spanish Cheese
Katy McLaughlin

Spanish food is having its heyday, with tapas bars springing up in every city. But the dirty little secret of many Spanish restaurants is that they often serve fake cuisine, like spicy dishes, which Spaniards hardly ever eat, and misplaced Mexican items like tortilla chips. That's changing with a huge influx of imports. Sales of Spanish cheese are up 65% since 2000, by volume. While that's great for Spanish exporters, it's about the last thing Americans need-we already put back about 30 pounds of cheese a year.

Iberian options for American cheese eaters:
Tienda.com - Idiazabal Sheep's Cheese Lightly Smoked: By Spanish law, this cheese can only be made from the unpasteurized milk of one breed of sheep in and around the Basque country.