On the hunt for imported junk food
I was, randomly, in a Safeway out on Arden over the weekend where, lo and behold, in the “ethnic food” section - right there between the kosher salt and the devotional candles - was a row of UK food! There were some fun items - no American can stiffle a giggle over the wrongly-named “Spotted Dick” - but not nearly enough of the good stuff. And, though I’m used to paying too much for my biscuit fix here, paying nearly $15 for the items pictured above nearly made me fall over at the register.
In San Francisco, there was a conveniently placed small market at the end of my street with a wall of crisps, chocolates, biscuits, HP Sauce, and other treats from across the pond. But aside from the overpriced Safeway finds, and equally overpriced items at Cost Plus, there’s no reliable outlet that I’ve found here in Sacramento. Any ideas? I’ve been thinking about checking out Streets of London, but there must be somewhere to go . . . .
Check out Nugget in the Pocket. It’s in a shopping plaza at Florin and I-5 and is on the Western side of I-5. They have quite a few UK items–even the spotted dick–aside from having a really nice store.
You could also try Raley’s on Freeport (take 19th Street from downtown South…eventually it becomes Freeport)–they’ll be on the right. Don’t know if Raley’s will have all those UK goodies, but they have a variety of other “ethnic” foods. Certainly some unusual stuff if you’re in the mood to peruse the shelves.
I would recommend Amazon’s Gourmet food section. No sales tax and free shipping over $25. I don’t think you’ll find any deals on the Heinz products. All the places I checked were more than $5 per can. See: http://amazon.com/gp/search/ref=nb_ss_gf/104-0718629-2123936?url=search-alias%3Dgourmet&field-keywords=treacle&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
Amazon also carries Maltesers.
igourmet.com is another fine choice for foods from England and many other countries. Their cheese catalog is especially diverse.
For local sources, Nugget Markets has an extensive “ethnic” foods selection, and though I can’t recall their prices, I do remember seeing Spotted Dick.
Thanks for the tips, all!
I do know there are ways to get the goodies online - but that involves patience! I’ll have to check out Nugget so I know where I can go when I can’t wait for 5 shipping days. ;)