MrEmjoy

Ouch, I know Elgin, can't say I know of any where near there but I will be working in the area allot in the near future so I may come up with an awnser!

Maybe mail order is best for you.

If you done mind a drive you could try Long Grove Vilalge, thats the closest place for you it has an Irish and an English, shop both sell bacon, the Irish shop had the best the last time I went.

Happy hunting.

Paulycarts

Think we will try the mail order first see how that works out.

Thanks everyone

Sophia_S

Coleman's mustard....I see it all over the place...even here in Central Illinois!!!

MsElui

I tried it and they were okay. Not exactly the same but fair enough. Whole foods her also sell some irish style bacon made from pork loin. Its about $6 for 7 small slices but it does taste nice. (its still NOT proper back bacon but its sure as hell better than streaky).

bugman

I know a place.

Caseys grocer in naperville (its on the same tiny shopping block as trader joes). Perhaps call first for availablity but they usually stock 'shannon' irish bacon. Now im not sure if its from ireland or irish style, either way its the best bacon ive tried here by a long shot. its about $5.50 for a 1/2 lb or so pack, so its a reasonable price which makes me suspect its produced here and not an import.

its has a tiny bit of fat on it but mainly lean meat, it cooks almost like a dry cure with little water and bubbling white stuff. tastes very good. im not sure what the cut is, maybe not back bacon, and thats not overly important, im a massive fan of collar bacon when back in the UK.

another irish type is winstons but this uses MSG and is more water filled, also theres no visible fat and you do need some for best flavour and cooking. that tastes ok but i prefer a product without MSG.

if you find some nice soft rolls and you got som HP you can have a real brit brekky with the shannon stuff.

MrEmjoy

Shannon is made by the poeple who make Galtee, it's produced in the USA with danish pork. Ahhhh a taste of Irish. not.

bugman

strange, im suprised they let danish pork in, i thought meat wasnt allowed in generally.

a shame that that bacon will likely be some factory framed miserable animal.

one thing i miss in the Uk is the easily available choice, eg morrisons this spring, i could buy everything from factory farmed danish watery stuff to some dry cured, smoked, organic, rspca monitored, heritage breed (if i remeber rightly), free range stuff that wasnt that much more expensive than the danish.

here the choice is limited to about 20 brands of the same 'fat with faint pink steaks in' stuff.

funny how us shops lack that diversity of product (actually the correct term could be disparity-theres minor diversity in 100 yogurts but theres a lack of different product types, eg fromage frais, creme fraiche, different creams). the fridge is a 100 gloopy yogurt products, a dozen sour creams, several half and half and heavy cream and thats it, i find myself scouring the ingredients for the one with 1 or 2 ingredients.

gripe, grip, gripe.

MrEmjoy

If you want good yogurt, look out for keifer. You'll find it in most polish/russian stores and in whole foods. Lifeway is made here in Chicago and is a great Pro biotic yogurt drink.

As for the bacon, that might not be the case then, but I do know they were using danish cured loin in Ireland. I'll have to re check my info on the meat over here. It's nice to know where it comes from if possible


I hear ya.

Bob

Have you seen how expensive that Keifer stuff is?

bugman

non gloopy yougurts worth trying are meijers own brand natural, well priced around $2.50, its similar to the more set style of two others i'd recommend, omur brand and desi brand (well, i think desi is the brand), generally these are more a middle eastern style yogurt and excellent, they are often called 'home style' thats what i look for.

TJ's organic is a bit gloopy but at least theres no gelatine, also their whole milk version has a nice layer of cream at the top, i like that non homogenity. their european style is good although its a lot sharper than their regular, depends what you like. of course TJ's greek style is very nice, the 2% version is what i choose, the whole milk one is just too rich for general eating, perfect when its needed though.

MrEmjoy

It's cheap here, because they make it here

And it's good for you, and if you put it in the frezzer for a bit its a nice dessert.

Bob

Lucky you! I'd love to have it more regularly, but it's just to expensive down here.....TJ milk ain't bad especially on the price front and the yoghurt ain't bad either and if I'm doing cereal I'll use the soy milk which is pretty decent

Lorna at Vicenza

Don't care where it comes from - but please - can I have some bacon?

All I can get here is a few crappy cubes of 'pancetta' or some slices of prosciutto crudo. Not good enough for a bacon sandwich

emailrob

Yep their bacon (and actually sausages and mmm fresh tapioca) are a-ok

Paulycarts

Anyone in the Chicago area I have the answer for you...this morning my craving was satisfied, a delicious bacon butty with HP sauce...YAY

O'Connors Deli in Park Ridge Chicago