Prior to visiting Aniata Cheese Co. in Del Mar’s Flower Hill mall, I was perfectly happy buying my cheeses at Whole Foods or even (gasp!) Vons. But now that I’ve enjoyed the benefits of patronizing a cheese shop where the owner personally helps you choose cheeses specifically for your needs and records your purchases on the computer for future reference, how could I go back to a supermarket where cheese is only one of a thousand products offered?

Short answer: I can’t. I’ll definitely be back to Aniata. For those of you who don’t live in San Diego, I recommend that you seek out a similar specialty cheese shop. You won’t regret this choice.

Aniata Owner Martyna Stonebrook took the time to listen to my cheese needs of the day - Rosh Hashanah dinner last week at my sister-in-law’s house. She selected three cheeses and let me taste each of them. I was instantly bowled over by how layered and luscious the flavor of high-quality cheese can be. I ended up purchasing all three of the cheeses she recommended.

For a food blogger, the best part of Aniata is that Martyna photocopied detailed descriptions of the cheeses I bought. Not only did this come in handy for today’s post, but the party guests appreciated knowing exactly what types of cheese they were enjoying.

I’m not much a “food stylist,” so here’s my attempt at being Martha Stewart-ish in my presentation of the cheese and crackers:

Here’s what adorned my cheese platter that evening:

• Manchego - $15.25.00/lb. - A 12-month old cheese from La Mancha, Spain, it’s made from sheep’s milk with buttery and nutty flavors. My friend Amanda recently visited Spain and she raves about Manchego, so I was happy to finally try it.
• La Tur - $22.00/lb. - A semi-soft cow’s milk cheese from Alta Lange, Italy, Martyna recommended cutting its cylinder shape in half for serving. I loved this cheese’s fluffy texture and tangy bite. However, it appears I was in the minority because I soon noticed party guests referring to it as the “stinky one” and warning others not to try it. Oh well, more for me!
• North Hollander - $15.75/lb. - This orange-colored cow’s milk cheese from the Netherlands was the hands-down favorite of the bunch. The information card on this cheese describes it as having “butterscotch and caramel notes.” Martyna recommended hand-flaking it into little chunks for people to put onto crackers. I’ll definitely be buying this one again.

On Martyna’s recommendation, I bought these delicious and expensive ($6.99) but worth-it crackers:

These crackers by La Panzanella are flecked with rosemary, giving them a garden-fresh flavor that truly complemented the savory and complex notes of the cheese. I also stopped by Vons for a French baguette that I had the nice lady behind the bakery counter cut into uniform slices for me with her slicing machine. Boy, that was a revelation for me! Usually I cut the bread at home, creating a crumb explosion all over my counter and, inevitably, the floor. Major time- and hassle-saver!

Buying cheese at a specialty store rather than a supermarket is definitely more expensive. My bill was about $30 for 3 cheeses and crackers for about 20 people. Despite the extra cost, my experience at Aniata has left me with the desire to learn all I can about the complexities of cheese. I loved learning about new cheeses that I’d never heard of before. I can tell that there is as much to learn about cheese as there is about wine. I’ve always loved cheese, but now I’ve kicked my passion up a notch!

Too bad I started that damn diet the other day…