I feel that it should be a constitutional right of Americans to be able to purchase the very best stuff available. Not being well traveled, howver, I worry that there is some really cool stuff in other countries that I never see.
Please tell me what cool things you have in your country that I don’t have in mine.
You mean stuff that’s illegal or things that you just don’t see in the supermarket but can find in a foreign goods type of store?
kinder eggs.
English sausages.
(Decent) Irish stout.
Good strong marmalade.
Dutch hashish.
United Arab Emirates mosque-shaped alarm clock that sings “Allah Akbar” very loudly every morning.
Belgian/Swiss/Irish/English/French chocolate.
Um…
That’s all I can think of.
We have Guinness on tap and I’m sure there are other imported Irish stouts avaialble, not to mention a plthora of excellent domestic stouts.
We have imported chocolate plus Godiva and Ghirardelli.
I don’t know about marmalade, but I’m sure it’s available. This is AMERICA, we have everything!
I can get most of the food items at specialty stores, unless some of them aren’t exported.
I was thinking more along the lines of gadgets, gizmos, etc. The prayer-mosque alarm clock seems pretty cool.
What is a kinder egg?
Ah, but Guinness doesn’t travel - it’s crap in England, and crap in the US. It only tastes really good in Ireland (because the export stuff is pasteurized, whereas in Ireland it’s not).
I’m basing my answers on the things I missed when I lived in the States, and the things my parents always stock up on when they’re in England visiting (they live in TN). I’m sure marmalade is available, but the real dark, harsh, bitter stuff - such as Frank Cooper’s Oxford Cut - is very hard to find. When I lived in Connecticut, I drove 40 miles to an English specialty shop, and even they didn’t have the really bastardy stuff. They don’t have it in Ireland, either - I have to get it when I’m over in England.
Boyo Jimboguy, a Kinder Egg is this cool little German chocolate egg, with a plastic capsule inside it. In the capsule is usually a groovy plastic toy that you have to construct.
What about good marmalade? I have not yet found any (made by a U.S.) company that’s actually edible. Last time I had the truly delicious kind was when my parents came back from Ukraine.
Also, liquor chocolates. I know there are plenty in the U.S., but they are always more about the liquor than the entire candy. Again, I had some really great ones in Russia.
And what about halva? German/Polish/Hungarian/Russian kielbasa? Pelmeni? Lots of European chocolates! (I realize these aren’t illegal, but, rather, just hard to find)
Ooh, kinda like chocolate Jack-in-the Box!
I don’t know this firsthand, but someone mentioned in another thread that cell phone service in the US is pitiful compared to Western Europe, and Japan too, I think. Gadgety enough for you?
Universal health care.
Codeine pills that you need a prescription for in the States, available over-the-counter in Switzerland.
Aero Bars and jamon serrano.
sigh
I think I know why this isn’t available here. There would be a $90 gazillion dollar lawsuit the first time some kid choked on the capsule.
Sorry darlin’ - what about mushy peas? Food of the gods.
Call your vote for decent sausages and see you lovely proper bacon.
Guinness does taste different depending on where you are. In the US and England I couldn’t stand it, but when in Ireland - yum! I could sup that all day.
Cell phone service is much better on this side of the pond. The US is also very far behind on phone technology. In '99 I bought my first UK cell phone (still using it actually). It has a phone book, call register, 3 games, alarm clock, calculator, clock, and several ring tones. Nowdays my phone is a dinosaur, obsolete. On the other hand, TwistofFate’s phone is amazing - one of those cool photo taking ones plus all the other things mentioned above and more.
I’m sure there are many other things, but these were the first few to come to mind.
from Brazil: Guarana (a drink sold in a can made by the company Antarctica, you can find powder mixes too, but they aren’t as good) Its so amazing.
most beer from smaller countries, and the best rum I have ever drank (drunk?), One Barrel, from Belize.
I also cannot find fresh conch here, a shell fish.
All of these items are from traveling, as I am from the U.S. I know there are more things I wish companies would bring to the U.S., but it’s all I can think of right now.
Wow, I feel privileged! I can get almost all the food items mentioned right here in Chicago (yes, most of them are imported). Can’t vouch for the beers, though; I can’t stand any beer I’ve ever tried, so I never had the urge to compare Guinness here vs. anywhere else.
I still want my real, lemony-tasting lemon soda! Curse all the soft drink companies for thinking all Americans like water with corn syrup and artificial flavoring!
(Oh, and you can always make pelmeni yourself if you’re so inclined. The ingredients are very straighforward and available in any grocery store; it’s just a pain in the ass to assemble them.)
I would, but I’m handicapped…by sloth!
They’re available in several places in the Boston area around Easter. Definitely not as ubiquitous as they are in Canada, but they are available.