Canadian Food (and other things) that I Miss
Being a Canadian, living in the States I do get homesick from time to time. I am sure reading this blog would give you a few hints to that effect. Not only are some of my favorite food items not sold here in the states, but take-out food is different as well. Here in Buffalo, they seem to have this crazy tradition of cutting pizza into squares instead of slices. Not to mention the pizza here is usually pretty greasy. If you are in buffalo, try crossing the border to Canada and find a Pizza Nova pizza place or a Pizza Pizza. Then comment letting me know what you thought. Some other items I miss would be Aero Bars and Caramilk's. Yum! I have yet to eat an American chocolate bar which was as good as its Canadian cousins. Other favorites include All Dressed Chips and Ketchup Chips. Not to mention Miss Vickie's. Now I am sure you are saying that all of this is snack food. Well you are right. But these comfort foods are nice to have. That being said, I do have some digestive issues, and I can not eat too much HFCS (High Fructous Corn Syrup). Canadian foods are rarely made with HFCS, as we favour real Sugar in our cooking. That means I have issues drinking most American soft drinks. I am not a water drinker, plain water does not appeal to me. It has to have some flavour. I used to drink Coke mainly in Canada (and Tim Hortons Coffee, and Black Iced Capps; Iced Capps without any milk or cream). While I am sure that was bad for me in the long run, I never had any serious problems with it. Once I moved to the states, I instantly had issues drinking Coke, or any caffinated or non-diet beverage.
This is where Wegmans has come to help me. While I can't find any Coke made with Sugar in the states (as it is in Canada), I can find Wegmans Diet Orange pop. Wegmans Diet Orange Pop is a nice tasty alternative, which I usually dilute with ice (water) and drink quite often. Had I stayed in Canada, I likely would of kept on drinking Coke. Another interesting point is that Pepsi sucks in Canada, specifically diet Pepsi. Few people drink it. I guess their flavour doesn't work well with sugar. Another interesting feature is that yes, Canada does sell milk in bags. And yes it is awesome!. Not let us move on to other Canadian stuff... Banks... Canada has about 4 or 5 banks which you can find anywhere in the country. Everyones debit card will work in any other banks machine thanks to Interact. While I am sure this may seem more socialistic, I think it works well. Also, in Canada, your debit card is not a Credit card. You HAVE to enter your pin code every time you use it, making it more secure. The same can be said about Gas Stations. There are only about 3 or 4 major gas stations in the country. And they can be found anywhere. All of their stations are very nice, and modern for the most part, in urban areas they usually also have TV's at each pump which show you the news and weather while you pump. But I digress. Canada... I miss you! But while Buffalo, NY may be kinda shitty, it is cheap to live here. And at this point in my life, that does help.