Cross-Border Grocery Shopping

[TeacherFoodie]

Planning on going to New York (Buffalo area - Amherst/Cheektowaga) in March and am wondering what everyone likes to bring back to stock their fridges and cupboards. There was already a thread on this, but it was fairly dated.

[beach_cook]

from WalMart: imported from Spain, Goya brand green olives, stuffed with real pimiento, as they used to be (not bastardized w minced pepper, colour & gelatin as they are now).

Argo aluminum-free double-acting baking powder.

LandoLakes unsalted butter in sticks, whipped butter.

[1sweetpea]

Izzy naturally sweetened carbonated fruit beverages and Modelo (Negro and Especial) beer from Sam's Club. Organic chickens from Costco in Detroit and wine at much better prices than at the LCBO. Kahlua Especial (35% alcohol) from Duty Free. I get all the Mexican ingredients I can't find easily in Windsor (fresh tortillas, good tortilla chips, serrano chiles, queso Oaxaca, queso fresco, queso anejo, crema, salsa fresca) at the Honey Bee Supermarket right near the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit.

[youdonut]

sounds like a good selection but the OP is asking about buffalo not detroit..

my suggestion would be to check all the online flyers for places like Tops, Wegmans, Walmart, Target, kmart and the like to see what specials they have going on and make a shopping list. also look for item that are not available in canada or are much more expensive like eggs, be careful though, fresh meats, fruits and veggies are not border friendly,

[Toucan67]

My crossborder junk treat includes the various hot and spicy Cheetos snacks that don't seem to have a market up here. XXX Hot and Cheddar and Jalepeno are the most common flavours, I think.

[burlgurl]

I usually go for the huge choice of crackers and snack foods..one guilty pleasure is the Entemans cheese
Strudel....so so good..

[piccola]

I go to Trader Joe's and bring back all sorts of stuff we don't have here. Recently bought freeze-dried mangoes, which are absolutely delicious. I really regret only buying one bag.

[Yongeman]

There's a Trader Joe's near Buffalo?

[gregoryyyz]

Rochester opened last year. Buffalo will open later this year-in Amherst, by Boulevard Mall next to Barnes & Noble.

[Yongeman]

That's great news, gregoryyyz. Thanks for the info.

[magic]

Oh snap! Nice.

[bigos70]

OMG - Trader Joe's in Buffalo - I think I might faint! Seriously, I'm in shock. I have been to many on trips to the US, but that is not very frequent. This changes everything...

[burningrome]

That is awesome news!

[piccola]

I thought we were talking about general U.S. x-border shopping, not just Buffalo. But great to know that it's opening there soon!

[Yongeman]

The OP mentioned the Buffalo area--that's why I questioned the option of Trader Joe's...and I'm glad I did! Otherwise I may not have heard about the new TJ location near the Boulevard Mall. So, thanks for bringing up TJ in the first place, piccola.

[piccola]

Glad my mistake paid off!

[Full tummy]

Have you tried the chili line mixed nuts? So spicy and addictive!!

[piccola]

I'm a big fan of their entire trail mix and dried fruit aisle.

[bbbradk]

I get Sahlen's Hotdogs too, but I always get the skinless ones

[Yongeman]

Love Sahlen's. Never miss a trip to Ted's Red Hots where they make the most awesome Sahlen's dogs and 'footlongs', cooked over real charcoal. Their onion rings are topnotch, too. Just something to augment your shopping trip to Buffalo and area.

[pearlD]

I love to bring back jars of 'pickled Okra', Grits, and when I'm in Savannah, shelled fresh pecans and also
Pralines and Pecan Rolls made by the Savannah Canady Company.

[maple99]

King Arthur white whole wheat flour
Post Grape Nuts (US version very different)
Land o Lakes whipped butter
Armenian string cheese (Sun-Ni)
Goldenberg's peanut chews

1st 4 all at Wegman's, last at Rite-Aid

[magic]

Wegmans' Placek Coffee Cake
Wegmans' pork/apple sausage wheels
Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (formerly "Honey Nut")
Yancey's Fancy cheeses
Jell-O coconut pudding mix
Archer Farms pumpkin pancake & corncake mixes
Trader Joe's (Detroit)
Keebler Town House Flipsides Garlic Herb crackers
Cheez-Its!
Man, the list could go on and on......

[TorontoJo]

Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage in the tubes, not pre-sliced.

[vil]

I was one of those who received some excellent advice on this from the previous threads, happy to see a chance to get updated.

I am also thinking junk food when doing cross border shopping too: chips, various brands of hotdogs, cheese-filled combos.

Also: yogurt from pastured milk in a glass jar, various cheeses such as cave-aged "artisan" cheeses that can be a much better deal than those up north.

[ParsleySage]

Fage yogurt by the bucket load
Biscoff cookies by Lotus
LaCroix flavored water
Oscar Mayer turkey bacon
UTZ's potato chips & party mix
I enjoy the Newman's Own frozen pizza's so if its wintertime I will haul some of those back too.

[LearningHow]

We used to head to Tops when there to buy Crystal Beach Loganberry drink (they serve it at Duffs here in Toronto). They used to sell it by the 2L bottle, but now I can only find bottles of concentrate.

Kids and DH also love the Cheez-It crackers -- they're nothing special but very nostalgic for DH :)

[kwfoodiewannabe]

just back yesterday, but my trips tend to be a "junkfest" rather than anything approaching "gourmet", so with that in mind:

Sahlen's Hotdogs (a Buffalo fave for years)
Wise Potato Chips (I am a Reg chip guy, but Onion and Garlic are good and not "overly seasoned")
Nutter Butter cookies (or Bites)
Dove Dark Choc. covered Almonds (tough to find usually only at Walgreen's)
Dark Choc. Raisinets (I have found them in here in Canada but have not seen them for quite some time)

Plus if you're an OREO fan, the array of flavours is getting ridiculous (good?) choc creme, peanut butter, golden w/ choc creme, neopolitan triple creme, mint, etc. plus the new Oreo Fudge creme (available in Canada) but new U.S. flavors choc and mint (tried the choc)

just writing this is making me think about getting on the treadmill...

[midtowngirl]

Kwfoodiewannabe if you're into the various Oreo flavours and in Toronto you should check out the Peek Freans outlet over at O'Connor and Bermondsey. According to their website they currently have regular, chocolate, golden, cool mint and berry burst ice cream. Not sure how up-to-date their website is, but they usually have a pretty good selection. I think they're usually around $2.50 a pack.

http://peekfreanstore.com

[CocoaChanel]

omg - I can't "un-know" this...

:S

[TeacherFoodie]

I love junk so am happy to hear your recs. I always come back with some type of chocolate, usually form Target.