March 2002
Shop Talk
Are your salads dull? Want to throw a Tex-Mex party but can’t find any of the ingredients? No need to buy a roast chicken or change your theme to Bavarian beer night—just log onto
www.american-food.com and shop online for Wishbone dressing or surf the well-stocked Mexican food section. Many Munich expats, who long for a taste of home, know that is it near to impossible to find large selections of their favorite foods. And, by the time they finally locate that large bag of chewy Chips Ahoy on the bottom shelf of the American section at Karstadt, the craving has long since passed, having been replaced by a hankering for a glittery bag of Hershey’s Kisses. Several department stores (Hertie and the aforementioned Karstadt, to name two) and a couple of small shops in Munich offer imported goodies, but there is a bounty of other options to be found on the Internet, where you can grocery shop and have the items delivered in one convenient package to your door. If it’s American foodstuffs you’re looking for,
www.american-food.com is a great place to start: this Web site includes such popular sweets as Lemonheads, Nerds and Reese’s, baking products from the Pillsbury Doughboy, Aunt Jemima and Betty Crocker, a large selection of cookies (including Oreos!) and every flavor of Gatorade and Kool Aid you could want. This site also has a search option, where you can type in your choice treat and see if they have what you are looking for. Such comfort foods as Kraft or Velveeta macaroni and cheese, beef jerky, Jello, Jif peanut butter and Hamburger Helper can be found at
www.usa-direkt.de . In addition, cyber shoppers will find a complete section of diet products, vitamins and medicine. The site
www.americanshop24.com also hawks a wide selection of goods, as well as a home-and-diner division complete with diner stools, blenders, bar and cocktail accessories and BBQ equipment. For a combined American and Canadian online store, try
www.usa-gourmet.com , which offers Newman’s dressings, New York-style bagel chips, PAM no stick cooking spray, Northland cranberries and Honeycup products. For only Canadian specialties, go to
gareis.de and discover an array of tasty options such as bison steaks, lobster, sockeye salmon, maple syrup and maple cream cookies. At
www.instore24.de , you will find American and British products alike, ranging from treacle puddings and English tea to Heinz soups and sauces, as well as broad categories like chips/snacks, home baking and breakfast spreads. Looking for grilling gear? Visit
www.weststyle.de , where you will find just the right Weber BBQ set to prepare the chicken you basted in Wishbone.
