On 7/24/2014 11:14 AM, sf wrote:
> On Thu, 24 Jul 2014 06:59:53 -0700 (PDT), Bryan-TGWWW
> > wrote:
>
>> Anyone who would drive 70 miles round trip for one of the most worthless
>> items imaginable...
>
> Nostalgia is a great motivator.
>

I was the hero at Christmas when I presented each of my siblings with
a couple of pounds of a little pork sausage we all enjoyed as a
special treat when we were kids. The company went out of business in
the late 1970s, but the family that owned it is still in the area. I
recently learned that twice a year they contract with a local company
to produce a small run of the sausages, which are then sold in one
local grocery store. Since I'm always on the hunt for one-of-a-kind
and hard-to-find food products, I found them there and cleaned out
their inventory, to the amused exasperation of their butcher. Still,
he's a contemporary, he completely understood how excited I got over
them. My siblings were thrilled to death; their children were puzzled
at first, until they tasted them. I take periodic road trips to pick
up specialty foods; this is now added to my group buy list.

On Thu, 24 Jul 2014 12:44:56 -0500, Moe DeLoughan >
wrote:

> On 7/24/2014 11:14 AM, sf wrote:
> > On Thu, 24 Jul 2014 06:59:53 -0700 (PDT), Bryan-TGWWW
> > > wrote:
> >
> >> Anyone who would drive 70 miles round trip for one of the most worthless
> >> items imaginable...
> >
> > Nostalgia is a great motivator.
> >
>
> I was the hero at Christmas when I presented each of my siblings with
> a couple of pounds of a little pork sausage we all enjoyed as a
> special treat when we were kids. The company went out of business in
> the late 1970s, but the family that owned it is still in the area. I
> recently learned that twice a year they contract with a local company
> to produce a small run of the sausages, which are then sold in one
> local grocery store. Since I'm always on the hunt for one-of-a-kind
> and hard-to-find food products, I found them there and cleaned out
> their inventory, to the amused exasperation of their butcher. Still,
> he's a contemporary, he completely understood how excited I got over
> them. My siblings were thrilled to death; their children were puzzled
> at first, until they tasted them. I take periodic road trips to pick
> up specialty foods; this is now added to my group buy list.

That's very nice of you! If you decide to repeat it this year, maybe
they'll let you put in a preorder so they can stock over and above the
amount you want this year.

I'd love to find Nuremberg sausages exactly like what I ate and saw
all over the section of (old) Nuremberg I was in. Those things Trader
Joe's tried to sell didn't taste like what I had eaten (in two
different restaurants on the same day). What a disappointment! I
know I don't have a snowball's chance in Hell of finding a decent
Thüringer sausage here either.

--
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

On 7/24/2014 10:33 AM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
> On 7/24/2014 7:20 AM, Nancy Young wrote:

>> Those must be some crackers! What's the brand, if you don't mind,
>> I'm curious.
>
> Sunshine Krispy Original Saltine Crackers. I can recite it by heart by
> now. Most of the grocery stores in this metropolitan area are now
> serviced by the same grocery wholesaler, who does not carry that brand.
> Which is why I was willing to drive so far to get it.
>
> As for *why* that brand: it's the brand my family grew up with. It was
> always around, and always the less expensive brand, also. When they
> disappeared from the shelves, we simply switched brands, because hey - a
> saltine is a saltine, right? No, they're not. There are vast differences
> in texture, and we couldn't find a satisfactory substitute.

I get that. They aren't going to be the same made by a different
place.

> I discovered after returning from my fruitless trip to Walmart last
> night that our local high-end grocery chain carries them, for about
> fifty cents a box more. I never thought to check there, because saltines
> seem just too plebian for that place. But since they have them, I'll
> swing by and stock up for myself and the siblings.

That's great. Maybe they'd give you a break if you ordered by
the case.

>> I had the same experience with the WalMart website, I didn't drive
>> that far but I really wanted to buy this product and it said they had
>> some.
>> Wasted my time and gas going over there for nothing.
>>
>
> I know from experience that website inventories are not updated in real
> time,

The stuff I wanted I couldn't find at any hardware store. It was
tempting to think maybe I was in luck when the website said they
had limited quantities, like they really had some clue.

And, who knows, maybe they had it in the back somewhere, there
wasn't a soul to help me. It sure wasn't on the shelves.

> so I phoned that particular Walmart to confirm. I got confirmation
> - in fact, the fellow I was transferred to told me they sell about a
> case a day there, and suggested I place a special order with him to make
> sure they'd have them for me when I showed up. So I ordered two cases,
> set Wednesday as the pickup day, and showed up to claim my crackers.
> Turned out he was feeding me a line of bullshit. Hope he got his giggle
> out of it.

That's really bold, to flat out lie to you. Did he think you'd come
in and spend money on other stuff? Or was he just the biggest jerk??
Yikes.

nancy

wrote:
>I was the hero at Christmas when I presented each of my siblings with
>a couple of pounds of a little pork sausage we all enjoyed as a
>special treat when we were kids. The company went out of business in
>the late 1970s, but the family that owned it is still in the area. I
>recently learned that twice a year they contract with a local company
>to produce a small run of the sausages, which are then sold in one
>local grocery store. Since I'm always on the hunt for one-of-a-kind
>and hard-to-find food products, I found them there and cleaned out
>their inventory, to the amused exasperation of their butcher. Still,
>he's a contemporary, he completely understood how excited I got over
>them. My siblings were thrilled to death; their children were puzzled
>at first, until they tasted them. I take periodic road trips to pick
>up specialty foods; this is now added to my group buy list.


You'd be a hero in my book if you could tell me where I can still find Daak
salami, which I adored as a child and adolescent. I occasionally find
availability teases on Google, but nothing tangible ever materializes.

Orlando

Orlando Enrique Fiol wrote:
>
>You'd be a hero in my book if you could tell me where I can still find Daak
>salami, which I adored as a child and adolescent. I occasionally find
>availability teases on Google, but nothing tangible ever materializes.

It's spelled "Dak" and I don't remember ever having seen Dak salami,
only Dak ham... Dak is a Plumrose brand:
http://www.plumroseusa.com/brands.php