AKA – stuff you should bring me if you visit 😀
There’s so much to love about Portugal, but there are still some things I miss from the U.S. I’m lucky enough to have friends who have already chipped away at this list, either by visiting or shipping me goodies (please don’t do that though – the customs tax I have to pay is *bonkers* on top of the amount it costs to ship things here.)
Unfortunately, most of what I miss is perishable, so a bit harder to smuggle on the plane. When Brady returns to NJ to play video games with his nerd friends, I’ve threatened to change the apartment locks unless he comes back with Jersey Mike’s subs strapped to him like a suicide bomber.
- Jersey Mike’s subs
- Pretzels
- Diet Dr Pepper
- American style bacon (the bacon here is much leaner and a bit more like ham)
- Sour cream (it’s hard to find here – closest I can usually get is crême fresh)
- Good bagels (tho SoCal had terrible bagels too, so I was already used to that.) We buy the Bimbo brand one, but they only ever have plain available. They’re not Sheepshead Bay or anything, but they’re mostly fine.
- Pretzels – I’ve heard they might be available at Lidl or Aldi, but they’re definitely not as common here. You can’t find them in minimercados, etc.
- Keto pizza crust
- Arby’s (don’t judge me)
- Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese (tho a friend shipped me a bunch – THANK YOU!)
- Good nachos – salsa just isn’t that common here, neither is pico de gallo, and cilantro is hard to find as well. Also no cheese that would make sense on nachos here.) In general, there isn’t a ton of good Mexican food here. The stuff that’s ranked 10/10 on Ubereats would be a 3/10 in Southern California. There’s almost an uncanny valley thing that happens with a lot of the Mexican food here.
- Splat hair dye (I can get it shipped here but it’s super expensive)
- Breeze cat litter system (I could have brought mine but the replacement pads and pellets would cost a fortune to have shipped over time.)
- American cheese (yes, I know it’s not “good”, but I love it on a grilled cheese sammich. Sue me.)
- Fresh jalapeños (I’m sure they exist here, but I’ve a really hard time finding them and they’re a pain to grow at any scale without a yard)
- Canned Campbell’s/Progresso soup (Canned soup is just kinda not a thing here, at least that I’ve found so far.)
Portugal is full of such incredible food, so I’m not really complaining, but I do find myself pining for a few old comforts. Nobody does trash food quite like the states.