You are willing to accept bad, preservative-filled substitutes. I saw that this German discount chain here was advertising "America Week" complete with bagels, peanut butter and something called a "Rib Burger" sold in the freezer section. I bypassed the freezer section and the Rib Burger and headed straight for the bagels and peanut butter, which are actually imported from Germany. The brand-name is some funky fictitious creation meant to sound American - "McEnnedy" (I can just see the German marketing gurus sitting around the conference room table deciding on that one "McDonald's is popular in America and that Kennedy family seems to be pretty famous..."). The peanut butter looks a little greenish in color. My real American peanut butter ran out during the long, final wintery days of pregnancy. I haven't tasted my loot yet but I'll report back on the authenticity factor. I'll be tasting the originals in a month. Yeah!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Signs you've been away from home far too long...
You are willing to accept bad, preservative-filled substitutes. I saw that this German discount chain here was advertising "America Week" complete with bagels, peanut butter and something called a "Rib Burger" sold in the freezer section. I bypassed the freezer section and the Rib Burger and headed straight for the bagels and peanut butter, which are actually imported from Germany. The brand-name is some funky fictitious creation meant to sound American - "McEnnedy" (I can just see the German marketing gurus sitting around the conference room table deciding on that one "McDonald's is popular in America and that Kennedy family seems to be pretty famous..."). The peanut butter looks a little greenish in color. My real American peanut butter ran out during the long, final wintery days of pregnancy. I haven't tasted my loot yet but I'll report back on the authenticity factor. I'll be tasting the originals in a month. Yeah!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
15 comments:
I hit up the Lidl sale as well. I passed on the PB because the grocery store by my house carries Skippy, but I got bagels, marshmallows and the salad dressing. All of it tastes great! It's nice to have ranch on my salads again!
you are very brave. that bagel looks scary. I would complain about the ones in L.A. "they are not like NYC bagels!" ha.
urg. I bought that PB as well.. too sweet for me and pasty/stale-tasting. Italian DH was all over the bagels but I limited him to 1 pkg. as they were an eye-popping €2.99. Got the hot dog and hamburger rolls since they were right there, but the Mulino Bianco versions commonly available are far superior.
I now know how disillusioned Italians must feel when they see all the pseudo-Italian processed food junk in US supermarkets. Who ever heard of beef-flavoured potato chips in the US? I think that's more of a UK/Canadian theme (along with chicken and prawn). Hot dogs in a jar? ick. I couldn't get my head around the red relish, either, having only ever known the green (pickle) kind. There was another incomprehensibly pink sauce that looked like a cross between the color of Pepto-Bismol and an orthopedic device. Those crazeee Germans! They are promoting this stuff as "American" all over Europe.
I did stock up on the cranberry drink (hello Seabreezes!) and PECANS.
Didn't venture into any of the frozen items except the onion rings. Ok for a once-a-year evocation of Burger King should that be your desire.
Like yours, Michelle, my mini-spree was definitely a manifestation of cutting down on US travel from 2x a year to 1x. Tell us how you found the bagels, as my DH ate them all and I didn't get a chance to evaluate them.
The peanut butter (crunchy) has kind of an odd slightly "whipped" consistency. I used to be a Jif Crunchy girl growing up but since I went over to "all-natural, no salt, no sugar added" kinds I find it harder to stomach the old-school versions full of corn syrup. Not to be a snob! I have other schiffezze-filled guilty pleasures but I'm finicky about my peanut butter.
The bagels. Well, H&H they aint. Nor are they Lender's. But...I ate one for lunch and it sort of satisfied the craving. In the same way eating "Mexican" (Hello, Uncle Ben's tortillas???!) here satisfies the craving for about an hour. Then you realize you were just tricking yourself all along and are better off waiting to go home. All in all, the bagels were a little bland but not altogether cattivi. I've definitely had worse.
The best thing I bought at Lidl was this GINORMOUS (I mean, really, I had to hand carry it because it didn't even fit in the big Lidl shopper) jar of real dill pickles for 1.99. I've eaten about ten already. The Germans know their gherkins.
GRRRR.... Stupid Venice and its complete lack of supermarkets. I need to make my way to the mainland. Is the sale still going on??
I knew an American man here who had a friend at the NATO base in Aviano, about an hour from Venice. He would bring me back JIFF peanbut butter, hickory bacon, maple syrup, and oatmeal. All from the USA. Sigh...
Did someone say REAL dill pickles?! I would kill for one right now. I've tried every variety here in Rome but they're all nasty...
Maybe I'll take a lil' trip to Milano ;)
Girl in Giro,
The special runs through this Thursday. Is there a Lidl somewhere near you on the mainland? They have a list of the offers on lidl.it
Romerican,
I think Lidl always carries pickles and German things. I know a German girl who used to always go there to buy some special brown bread. I just looked on the site. They have tons of Lidls in Rome. Honestly, I never shop there and there's one right by my house but I may need to make a little exploratory trip more often.
Okay this may sound like a weird question. Can you buy peanuts in Italy? The reason why is that I make my own natural peanut butter just by grinding up peanuts.
Its much better than that hydrogenated, sugared stuff.
Those bagels look pretty scary.
Thanks for the Lidl tip!
Most of those big supermarkets are outside of the the centro storico (for obvious reasons) so I never manage to check them out but... I'd be willing to take a 50 minute bus ride for some pickles =)
Hmmm...I really like the German pickles (I buy them at my local supermarket) and I think frankfurters in jars are a German thing too. It's funny that all these foods are being marketed as "American" (although made in Germany) because I'm pretty sure that Frankfurters and dill pickles at least are originally central European. And bagels are central European Jewish...
We buy PB imported from Holland at the Piazza Vittorio markets near our house. Euro 1.50 a jar and quite nice. No sugar and non-hydrogynated.
I stopped in the Lidl in Nardo. I love that town name. It sounds like an insult. Hey Nardo!!
I picked up Marshmellows, bagels, and the funky pancake mix in the plastic bottle. I plan on trying the pancakes this Sunday, if it's cool enough to cook!!!!
Thanks for reminding me. As from today, it's Italian week at Lidl Germany!!
I usually boycott LIDL as do many people in Germany because of their exploitative employer practices. LIDL is very aggressively expanding, which is good when you visit Norway and the prices are the same as they are in Germany. (Norway has the highest grocery prices in Europe, I think).
I wonder what wierd and wonderful Italian goodies I'll come across!
Straciatella yoghurt?
Tiramisu breakfast flakes?
take care
Cath
I must say that,if you dont have a Bagle and desire one, the Mcenny bagle is the best when toasted with cream cheese!Although i do agree with N.Y. bagles...My problem is that Polish stores restock their shelfs at random much more they order various specialties such as doritos,bagles, once in a blue moon..I call it,"now youre here and then youre not",market strategy.......I wish theyd restock those bagles...
Being Italian and living in Japan for the last two years, I've found out it's pretty hard to find some good Italian food..And the only choices are:
a) Being able to justify spending a lot of money for two, thin, almost invisible slices of Italian salami (but so fancy, yeah :( ) from Dean & DeLuca or
b) Say Welcome!! to cheap "Original Italian Salamis" with a small writing "made in Mexico" on the label.. this time thanks to Costco..
Anyway.. thanks to American companies I can at least eat original western food sometimes ;)
Post a Comment