NoTrick's thread about the odd item in his shaving kit reminded me of a great story I once saw on the food news wires. The gist of the story was all the wacky foods or food-related items that people bring along with them on trips, you know, the stuff they simply _cannot_ live without for even a coupla days.

Things like mayonnaise, peanut butter and salad dressing are common, apparently. Other must-haves mentioned as I recall were wasabi, worstershire sauce, a certain kind of mustard. The list went on and on. I was giggling like a fiend reading it.

Soooo, the reason I bring up this topic is to out myself. I fess up to such bizarre habits. Can any of you relate?

That item I can't live without? It's hot sauce, specifically, Dave's Total Insanity Sauce. I love hot hot hot food and hate hate hate it when I can't have my fix of endorphine rush. (Actually, there is a hot sauce called Endorphine Rush.) And you gotta double bag it in Ziplocs. I learned the hard way. :/

Speaking of weird food preferences, the ex pat crowd in Prague takes the cake. Has anyone ever seen "The Wall" at Tesco near Old Town Square? "Wall of Shame" is more like it. It's stacked with all the horrible American foods that you only crave when you're halfway around the world, like Jif peanut butter, Stove Top Stuffing, Oreos, Chips Ahoy and no kidding, Wonder Bread. When you gotta sractch your itch, I guess . . .

Samantha

Essxjay: I am a fan of Dave's Insanity sauce too, (acutally all hot food in general). I especially like restaurants where they have at least a dozen of hot sauces for the customer to try. Sometimes there is not enough food on the plate for me to try all the sauces. Bummer!

As for myself, I tend to bring a cup/pack of instant noodles when I travel, it comes in handy in emergencies and only requires hot water.

Right, kyklin. Cup o' Noodles was also a big fave.

S

A friend of mine is just nuts for both Dave's Insanity and Endorphine Rush. He likes it on his scrambled eggs.

Sorry, too much for me. I tried that stuff and felt like the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the ark is opened.

Can't do without? Cheerios. I bring a bowl and plastic spoon with some cheerios so I can eat breakfast in my hotel room at the same time my kids are eating them at home. It helps relieve the daddy-away-from-home guilt.


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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

Jon, that is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. Turns my heart to mush!

S

Cherrios? How about Viagra, Trojans and a little black book

AH, BOB... You would not want Commander catcop to go after you now? That's a bit out there for this G-rated board.

As for myself: When I went to china I took Frenchs Mustard and Lipton Cup A soups in case we got hungry.

Sometimes if I can remember I pack Kelloggs Frosted Flakes and munch on them. They're GGGRRREAT!

And Goldfishes of course.

And PEPSI (and at least twice a year I get stopped by security when they find a PEPSI in my carryon!

Jelly Bellys, and if I am going to be overseas for more that a few days... beef jerky. I never eat it in the U.S.

i carry one of those mini bottles of tobasco in my briefcase ...and i always have several packets of crushed red pepper, which i usually pick up at trade show food service counters. i use the red pepper chiefly to liven up airline pasta, especially in coach, although i've been known to take out a packet in restaurants that don't have their own.

Maybe it's boring but I take the minimum along so I can experiment and enjoy whatever is there when I get there!

With a few notable exceptions, most parts of the world have something worth the experience, even if it is sometimes "mystery meat".

[This message has been edited by BlondeBomber (edited 08-13-1999).]

Can't travel without my shaker bottle of Old Bay (Maryland) Crab seasoning, adds that home flavor to just about everything from Tomato juice to tuna, even lobster.

What are some of the items that you have experienced and grown to love from some of your travels?

Just a few of mine are Tastycakes from the Philly area, BagelDogs and Vienna Beef Chicago style hot dogs, Portugese sweetbread from Hawaii and Massachusets. S&S saimin in Hawaii (where they even serve saimin at McDonalds). Cincinnati chili, Detroit coney(Koegel or Kowalski) dogs and Vernors ginger ale. Pepperoni rolls from the Morgantown/Fairmont WV area. Anything hot and fresh from Santa Fe, NM, Bar-B-Q from SC, NC, GA and Texas.

Sounds like you're a more exciting guy than me, Bob.

I'll hit a restaurant, and will see if there is a baseball game (especially minors!). Failing that, a batting cage is next on my wish list.

Funny story, I go to this batting cage, start at the medium velocity, move up to fast, then in an ill-advised moment of testosterone overload, try the super fast. I fouled off 1 pitch and was pretty proud to accomplish that. The next person after my was this kid of 12-13. He steps in and hits ropes (line drives)! A humbling moment.

Breakfast bars are another item I like to bring with me. They ease the pangs of hunger on the 3 hour flight with beverage only service. They are also VERY effective bribes to a screaming child seated nearby.


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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

swiss chocolates from Spruengli or Teuscher - you didn't expect anything else, did you? They are always supposed to be for presenst only ... if I can resist ...

Oh man, anytime I am in New York and I can stay at the Millenium Hilton, just look for me right across the street in the Krispy Kreme, asking for a donut "right out of the fryer." Witha cup of coffee, it is at least the equal of most other human endeavours.

Brian,
You've pegged that little bit of heaven.
HOT AND NOW~! The kids love when they can watch the whole process from the viewing windows as the donuts make their way through the process and down the rollers.

Whether it was a trip to Charlotte or AugustaI used to always bring a dozen or two back when they were only available down south. They've recently been seen here in Baltimore (Timonium and Whitemarsh) and even in Detroit (Dearborn and Warren) and saw CNN mention that they were moving west also, so no longer will I look like a fool as I carry on my two dozen KK's.

BTW did you know that the Smithsonian has a KK donut maker buried somewhere in all of the archives?