GeoffM

Or at least I think... several threads about what Brits miss the most from the UK, food- and drink-wise. Hopefully north LA basin area. I don't care about Jaffa cakes or Yorkshire teabags. But what about...

1. Cornish pasties - not mincemeat but proper beef skirt in a glossy pastry case, not Ginsters. (Sidenote: recent holiday/vacation I noticed it was easier to get Cornish Pasties - and a wider variety - in Wiltshire than it is Cornwall... go figure)

2. Cider (aka hard cider), not Strongbow/Woodpecker/Magners/Bulmers, but tradiitional farm cider, usually flat or only slighty carbonated naturally. Sort of the real ale of the beer world. Bottled ales I'll live with, seen in numerous places.

3. Cadbury's creme eggs (or should that be Kraft - ouch)

4. Indian food shops (where we live they have the type of mangos that my wife prefers) - possibly Historic Filipinotown in LA will have this. Generally Indian spices, sauces, etc. Despite the high Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi population in the US, the Indian food market doesn't seem to have caught on... has it? A friend of mine bemoans the 2 Indian restaurants in his 250k population town in Indiana being dire, and shopping for raw ingredients in Florida was no better.

5. Cerelac (baby/toddler porridgy sort of stuff). Hard enough to get in our Asda since they can't seem to decide whether it's baby food, world foods, or cereal, and thus move it every few months. I must admit we didn't really look for it as we had enough supply, but OTOH didn't really notice it either when shopping for other toddler stuff.

6. Thai curry pastes. A tub in the UK from an Oriental shop costs about a fiver, lasts 6 months once opened, and serves probably pver a hundred meals. All natural ingredients, no preservatives or the usual crap you get in manufactured western "Thai-style" pastes that contain little of the traditional ingredients. Sharwoods, Amoy, Loyd Grossman etc don't count.

7. Decaff tea, of the hot variety, not ice tea. I can live with it when out and about but prefer decaff where possible, which probably means home and work - if I can get such teabags.

Everything else I think has been covered in other threads, or I've been able to source easily. I'm aware of Amazon.com though from what I've seen, it's not exactly cheap. A balance between price and desirability is required I guess.

Sort of side question, Taco Bell. Never bothered going there as I'm fussy with food (can't stand obvious tomato (chilli with some tomato is ok, for example), or salad in general, or mayo/vinegar/salsa). So can you order without the extra crap or is it all pre-prepared, boil-in-the-bag kind of stuff? I'm not a huge fast food fan but if hungry and not much else about...

Cheers.

meauxna

I always order my Taco Bell w/out tomatoes.

Poppy girl

Shame on you I won't eat the skanky stuff with or without flippen tomatoes

meauxna

Hello, lovely!
It's one of those things.. like Marmite. I'm pleased to say I've kicked the habit, but I think they put crack in the seasoning mix or something.

Poppy girl

Just looking at the store locator

neil

Creme eggs are readily available almost anywhere in the US (at the right time of year), and they're all made in the UK. I still have a few left in the fridge after I bought over 100 of them earlier this year.

Around here the Indian grocery stores and restaurants are very good.

Poppy girl

I thought Hersheys made them WOW good to know!

Edit: I Googled http://www.hersheys.com/products/det...5-000000011045

N1cky

Cornish Pasties - You can get some frozen nasty variety in the English shops.
Cider - Forget it
Cerelac - Never heard of it, sounds revolting though
Thai Curry Pastes - World Markets
Indian Food Shops - There are a few stores around
Decaf Tea - Tea now seems to be very popular out here, you can buy it anywhere

EnglishTeaDuck

Ooh, good list!

I have found cornish pasties and pork pies in one shop in Plymouth, which is in the same state but nowhere near me really!

But I now make my own cornish pasties, sausage rolls and scotch eggs from scratch. When I can get decent stilton at a good price, I make steak and stilton pasties (a delight I discovered while on holiday in Cornwall years ago!) which my American husband loves.

Cider is one of the things I miss too, and never found here.

I haven't found a good store that sells a LOT of indian food, but I did find an Indian store on Thayer Street in Providence (just in case anyone is near there!) I have bought curry powder and spices here for indian cooking and they have been quite bland and over priced for a tiny pack - at this place I found a huge tin of really good curry powder, for $5, can really taste the difference and it'll last ages.



Ruth

GeoffM

Good idea re making your own pasties. Maybe I ought to learn now.

Never noticed the creme eggs but fair enough.

Cider Oh well.

Thanks for the information, all.

chartreuse

One thing I've yet to find here (and it was hard enough to get in the UK) is samphire.

meauxna

Nom! Recipe, please!

neil

Whenever I've bought the packs of 3, they always say they were made in England. I would be disappointed if they're switching over/have switched to production in the US by Hershey.

Poppy girl

When I have bought them in Wallie world they say Hersheys

nettlebed

This stuff is available widely in WA state (even in places like QFC):



It is a Normandy cider which compares very, very well indeed to good English scrumpies.

Is is naturally very slightly carbonated: petillant is the phrase I would use to describe it, and it goes down very nicely indeed.

Downside? $11.99 for 750 ml, but every so often I indulge myself.