Canadian vs. American PB, and grocery stores

[Danu 19]

I miss price chopper and no frills, I liked getting certain things super cheap. Of course my veggies and stuff I would goto the produce place for but they made shopping nice and affordable.

[darkchilde794 5]

You know what I miss buying at local grocery stores here? Fresh pasta. There was/is always fresh pasta at my Loblaws at North York. I dont even know where to find it in Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City. Trader Joes doesnt even carry it.

[Darnell 8,479]

You know what I miss buying at local grocery stores here? Fresh pasta. There was/is always fresh pasta at my Loblaws at North York. I dont even know where to find it in Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City. Trader Joes doesnt even carry it.

Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City

yer not getting out much.

Wait till the end of March, when it's not as cold, get out and look.

You can find it at specialty stores.

[darkchilde794 5]

Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City

yer not getting out much.

Wait till the end of March, when it's not as cold, get out and look.

You can find it at specialty stores.

Yeah, but I did not have to find it in specialty stores up in North York. It was right in the supermarket.

[Darnell 8,479]

Yeah, but I did not have to find it in specialty stores up in North York. It was right in the supermarket.

Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City is really spread out, compared to North York.

You can prolly find it in a supermarket - but just not one that you know about, yet.

Have you used yahoo maps at all, to map yer place? They're tied into the ATT YellowPages - you can do some severe searching (whilst waiting for the snow to melt) .

If you don't want to wait, if you don't want to use yahoo maps - then -

the next time you get into a supermarket - ASK THE STORE MANAGER where the 'fresh pasta' is.

In the USA - usually - it's IN the produce cold case area. USUALLY.

We don't do it, on purpose, to confuse the Canadiens, I swear !

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

There's a Wegmans up in Cockeysville...about ten miles from Baltimore...

[SapphireDreams 71]

You know what I miss buying at local grocery stores here? Fresh pasta. There was/is always fresh pasta at my Loblaws at North York. I dont even know where to find it in Baltimore/Columbia/Ellicott City. Trader Joes doesnt even carry it.

Have you seen any Buittoni pasta? That's an American fresh pasta brand. I've seen it near the cheese and coldcuts.

[Marilyn. 340]

The markets that I've seen in Ontario are have significantly fewer choices across the board. Fewer choices of vegetables, meats, and fruits as well as packaged foods. But then again, we don't really have seasons here, so everything is always available here in Southern California

exactly

I love buying a 8 lb bag of juicy, yummy oranges for 4 bucks in the middle of "winter"

[Malrothien 6]

I don't get why anyone would be upset by this post. It's a tongue-in-cheek talk about our own individual preferences.

:|

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I don't get why anyone would be upset by this post. It's a tongue-in-cheek talk about our own individual preferences.

:|

Well I know *I* wasn't upset by anything...though I get annoyed when I see "Texas > the world" comments. I mean, it's great if you love Texas. I'm happy for you! I'm sure the steers love it too! But I'm not a fan of dogmatic statements like that...and I said as much.

[Colleens 40]

I am in N Georgia and find the selection for packaged and highly processed foods almost limitless!! And while the cost of produce is cheaper here, I don't find the selection as great. I also find the deli and cheese selections much broader in Canada. One thing I really miss is the selection of ethnic foods that seemed to be availiable pretty much anywhere. Here I find a very large selection of mexican foods, and then maybe a 4' section of asian/thai foods. After looking in about 8 different grocery stores I finally found some curry paste and a selection of about 5 different indian sauces (I really miss a good curry!!). I also find the selection of lower fat options to be not as great here (ie reduced fat cheeses, and yogurts). I love the fact that chicken is super cheap here as well, as I eat a fair bit of it!!!

[redmen99 1]

I REALLY miss Loblaws and No Frills, and especially the President's Choice brand. Nothing compares.

Trying to come on here and tell a bunch of Canadians that their food and grocery stores suck is kind of a dumb idea btw... just my 2 cents on that.

We have SuperFresh here that carries President's Choice brand. I'm pretty sure its the same as what you would find in Loblaws. Not sure if you have those in your neck of the woods though....

I find that things taste different in different parts of the US as well. I have super taste buds and can tell the smallest of differences. For example, a coca cola made here in PA taste different then one made in Western NY. Different water = different taste. There is a HUGE difference between Canadian Coca Cola and US Coca Cola. Canadian coke has more taste.. IMO.....

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I am in N Georgia and find the selection for packaged and highly processed foods almost limitless!! And while the cost of produce is cheaper here, I don't find the selection as great. I also find the deli and cheese selections much broader in Canada. One thing I really miss is the selection of ethnic foods that seemed to be availiable pretty much anywhere. Here I find a very large selection of mexican foods, and then maybe a 4' section of asian/thai foods. After looking in about 8 different grocery stores I finally found some curry paste and a selection of about 5 different indian sauces (I really miss a good curry!!). I also find the selection of lower fat options to be not as great here (ie reduced fat cheeses, and yogurts). I love the fact that chicken is super cheap here as well, as I eat a fair bit of it!!!

I'm just south of Atlanta and I agree with this post! heheheh - I couldn't believe how little unpackaged and unprocessed food there is here. I had a much better selection of fresh foods and different options for amounts I wanted to purchase in Canada. Here you have to buy the size of package that is already available and you get the same variety of foods regardless of what grocery store you go into - the only real differences are the prices. That being said the better grocery stores here are Super Target and Ingles. They tend to carry a lot more options and offer their own brands that are more unique than Kroger's, Publix, etc. There are a number of ethnic stores (mainly Asian) that we also go to and they carry a much greater variety of fresh vegetables and meats than most grocery stores. I actually don't find the cost of produce here cheaper than in Canada - for many things I noticed I was paying much less in Canada than I had to here when I moved down. I also like to shop at Aldi's. They have a more limited selection but the quality and prices are excellent. They also carry many European items too.

Now about Texas, I've been in Walmart and Kroger's there and they definitely have more variety and produce than their namesakes here do. Interestingly, when I looked at the fresh tomatoes and peppers in a grocery store just outside of Houston, the stickers on them showed they were imported from Leamington, Ontario.

Edited February 24, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Dan and Ali 3]

I personally do most of my shopping at Costco and they are basically the same in the US and Canada. I can't comment on any other grocery stores because I really haven't been to many. However, I will say one thing about American food that I really, really dislike and I think I will struggle with: High fructose corn syrup is disgusting, and honestly it ruins any food that it is added to.

[ashenflowers 5]

We have SuperFresh here that carries President's Choice brand. I'm pretty sure its the same as what you would find in Loblaws. Not sure if you have those in your neck of the woods though....

I don't think we have SuperFresh, as I've never heard of it. Around her we've got Vons, Albertson's, Ralph's, Trader Joes and a WholeFoods. Those seem to be the main. I'm starting to find some store brands in those that aren't too bad. I am one of the lucky ones in California with year-round seasonal produce, though honestly, I was never one to notice what was or wasn't in season. LOL

I miss the Real Canadian Superstore as well. Those were great. Though I admit I'm really liking Trader Joes!