Yeah, I'm in NY and there are still very segregated immigrant communities here. The Italian and Polish neighborhoods are where you shop for Deli stuff. The Jewish and French for baked goods. The Irish neighborhoods have the best farm market produce, the Black and Asian neighborhoods have the best fish markets. The Germans for pork, the British for lamb. Some people think it's just stereotyping, but cultures really do have specialized foods.
Tragically, our Mexican cuisine out here is lacking actual Mexicans to prepare it. It's all prepared by Canadians, and they mean well, but it's a travesty. They use Vermont Cheddar cheese in their burritos... because if there's one thing Vermont is known for, it's burritos, lol. Serious, ask for a fish burrito with "Queso Fresco" and they'll come back with a "Case of Fresca" soda

It made the first 4 years in this state a living hell, I had real mexican food flown in from down south to get my fix, lol. Of course when I was down south, NY deli meats were prized for their rarity. If you knew someone who knew someone who was traveling back east, you'd send them with a cooler and a wad of cash to return with real hotdogs instead of that "ballpark" crap. $15 for a 6-pack of hotdogs, and I'd order 10 packs without blinking.
Ok, I'm derailing the conversation, but more on point, if you live in an area with different cultural communities, it's all about knowing where to go for authentic ingredients. Some might think I'm being bigoted for saying this, but I' look at the ethnicity of the person selling the food. I'm not buying Mushu from a white guy named Steve, or Corned Beef in an Indian market, lol. I'll get my Barbeque ribs from a heavy-set black man with a Louisiana accent, not a 90lb Ukrainian woman. I won't win any awards for culinary political correctness, but at least I eat well.
Sometimes authentic ingredients aren't available, so you have to find something close, or go to great lengths to get the good stuff. That is particularly true of cheeses. However, Mozzarella, Provolone and other soft cooked cheeses are probably the easiest cheese to make. That's one you can do at home with just a couple gallons of milk, a cheap packet of enzyme + culture, and a bit of salt. Often there is enough fat left in the whey after making it you can also get a small batch of ricotta at the same time. If high quality authentic ingredients aren't available or are over priced, you can always make it yourself. It takes a bit of learning to get something really good, but with practice you can easily rival the high priced artisan ingredients.