Jerseygirl

I empty the boxes into carrier bags...takes up less room in the suitcase.

johnwoo

robin1234

You can accept America for what it is - but that's no reason why you can't ameliorate it by buying proper tea and halfway decent food.

dj6372

Half decent food? I'm sorry but the food i have had here is easily better than UK's offerings!
As for tea, amazon is my friend.

scrubbedexpat097

Yep, Amazon is my friend as well.

Prime member usually means you get the goodies quickly (while you still have the craving!)

sherbert

As others have said Trader Joes will be your friend. It's owned by the guy who owns Aldi so you see a lot of nice Euro import chocolate (steer clear of the American shite) and a good selection of cheese. TJ's Extraordinary Cheddar is the closest to proper English strong cheddar I have found. Great Euro, New World and South American wines at low prices.

Costplus World Market sells some British stuff but it's pricey (it's not a supermarket but a furniture/decoration shop).

Surprised no one has mentioned CostCo - you can get imported English cheddar there (although my local one has been out for over a month ).

Sprouts also has a few UK items: malt vinegar, crumpets, decent bread.

Basically just be prepared to have to go to several shops to get what you need and it will take several months for you to find the brands/goodies you like. Some things can of course never be substituted and I spend a small fortune on imported heinz baked beans. But that's basically it. Everything else I bring in with me, buy online (tea) or make do with local versions.

Chrisdc

There's a British food shop in Tarzana - not too far away:
www.facebook.com/Oh-Fancy-That

Trader Joes carries Dubliner cheddar and Kerrygold butter and is about the cheapest of the grocery chains. Whole Foods has a ton of high-end cheese, meat, seafood etc... However they don't call it Whole Paycheck for nothing. If you shop carefully you can find plenty of decent options at TJ's. If you are looking for good sausages, Whole Foods has gourmet breakfast sausages which are pretty good - at the butcher counter.

Pulaski

Our local Kroger-owned grocery franchise sells Heinz beans - for $2.99 a can, plus tax.

robin1234

Currently we are on Cape Cod, so visited the newly expanded Trader Joes. The wine selection really is superb. Saw a AC Bordeaux white there, $6.99. That would have been $12 minimum in New York. As for cheese, that's one category I really don't miss being in England. Granted, cheese here is more expensive than UK, but there's nothing that you can't get here. And there are plenty of Vermont and New York cheddars that are as good as English ones. (I don't know if they have good quality local cheeses on the west coast, probably they do.)

Coffee I buy mail order from Zabars in New York City. Most supermarket coffee here is poor quality. In fact, in standard supermarkets, there is sometimes no whole bean coffee on offer any more. I think the Keurig crap (overpriced, over packaged) is reducing the demand for bulk coffee. Yet again, though, Trader Joes stands out. They have a goodly selection of very good coffee beans, priced very fairly.

dj6372

Yorkshire Tea is my usual need, a friend just bought me a 1500 bag of Yorkshire to keep me going lol.


Vons sell Tetleys for a decent price

robin1234

I used to like Yorkshire Tea, now I find it a bit bland and weak, for some reason. This is my everyday tea now Marks & Spencer Extra Strong Loose Tea (8.8 Ounces) I see it costs $10.99 here, I think it's £2.50 or so in the UK. I spend only a month or two at a time in the U.S. now, so I only bring back half a pound at a time.

toopie28

Well there is an Aldi in Simi Valley - about 20 mins from TO.
Not sure about the sausages but they do sell French chocs (choceur)

Then there are some Brit shops. One in TO - off Hampshire and then one in Ventura, I think? When you get here - google brit shops in thousand oaks.
I believe their sausages are as close as you can get to the real thing.

Then there is an Indian shop in Simi and someone was telling me they had mince pies. I'll need to get the name and post it.

I've ordered from here before - Buy British food online delivered worldwide - Britsuperstore - cuz they have Marks stuff. Pricey shipping tho.

Oh and Ye Old Kings Heed - in Santa Monica. They have a small shop that sells Brit goods.

julymermaid

Fab ... that's very handy! Thanks very much 👍🏻

Abu Nazir

came in to say this

Yogibear1961

Their is a fresh and easy shop in Agoura Hills and Newbury Park, both near Thousand Oaks, they are owned by Tesco, they sell British tea bags in a red box, and they also sell Irish tea in a green box both are ok. They also sell Branson pickle, brown sauce, weekabix and lots of English foods and its not expensive. The English shop on Hamphire is ok and Pat the lady that owns it is very nice, always worth a visit for a treat, especially for English Chocolate as American chic alone smells and tastes like vommit.
Target sometimes has a few goodies same as costplus.
Costco do really nice sundered tomato sausages and a really good bratwurst.
It all depends on your Taste and you soon adapt.