Spinoff: discontinued food you wish they'd bring back

[blas]

Not discontinued but only certain grocery stores have them: Chicken flavored couscous.

I have already written to Wal-Mart to carry them. It'd be nice to not have to go out of my way or pay nearly $4 a box for them at the grocery store.

[strawbabies]

Was going to say Jello Pudding Pops - (they were around in the 80's, but they stopped making them) - but I just discovered they are back!!!
Now to find them in my area.

I've had the new ones. Sadly, they are not the same as the original.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Let's see, gonna do this as a list:

1) McDonald's pizza. I never had the regular pizza, but I loved the pizza Happy Meal. I could eat it every day.

2) Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. The last time I had either of those was when I was living out in Alberta, a couple of years ago. I haven't seen them in Cape Breton for a long time.

3) Cheesy Crunch Gordita and Chili-Cheese Burrito from Taco Bell. When I was out in Alberta I spent a summer working at a Taco Bell and I fell in love with both of those menu items. So yummy!

4) There was this one cereal I loved as a kid, though I can't remember the name of it. It was a Rice Krispies-type cereal with fruit-shaped marshmallows in it. The box was red, I think, and it had cartoon fruit on the front. It used to be my favourite cereal, but I haven't seen a box of it since I was 5.

5) Not just a food, but a whole restaurant: There used to be a restaurant in the city nearby called Jasper's Family Restaurant. It closed down years ago, but the food was delicious. Plus, it had the best Seafood Platter I ever had in my life. I was really bummed when I found out it closed.

[Jetfire]

Peanut Butter M&M's are available where I am, but you do need to shop around for them. Seems like the grocery stores and department stores don't carry them, but the pharmacies (Shoppers) do. Weird.

Kinder Eggs (and Kinder products) are available in Canada, but they are ILLEGAL to have in the States; technically they're even illegal (the eggs that is) to import into the States, even as a gift, because the egg inside the chocolate poses a choking hazard or something like that.

The main reason, (as far as i know) for the different Dew products in Canada and the States is that Health Canada limits caffeinated sodas to dark colas. So root beers and Dr Pepper (We don't have Mr. Pibb here, I think Coke bottles Dr. Pepper here) and Coke/Pepsi's are fine to have caffeine, but if its clear (like Dew) it can not be caffeinated.

Count me as another who misses Vanilla Coke. I don't drink much cola at all any more, but I used to love the Vanilla coke. Even the Cherry Coke's are getting hard to find.

And as I mentioned in the other thread, the main thing I still miss is the S'more Galore Parfait that DQ used to have. I'd have at least 1 of those a week while I could, and often asked for it once it got off the menu, until supplies ran out. Peanut Buster Parfait's just aren't the same.

Another ice cream treat I miss is the Hot Tin Roof sundae's an ice cream bar near where I grew up used to have. (They're long out of business now. ). A foam shake-sized cup, with at least 3 layers (more than the PB Parfait) of hot fudge and peanuts and ice cream. PB Parfait is close, but just not the same.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Kinder Eggs (and Kinder products) are available in Canada, but they are ILLEGAL to have in the States; technically they're even illegal (the eggs that is) to import into the States, even as a gift, because the egg inside the chocolate poses a choking hazard or something like that.

Really? That's stupid. Have there been many American children trying to eat and therefore choking on the plastic eggs which prompted the ban?

(We don't have Mr. Pibb here, I think Coke bottles Dr. Pepper here)

Actually, Pepsi does. It's too bad, because I love Dr. Pepper fountain pop, and I can't get it around here because most of the fast food places sell Coke products, and the one that does sell Pepsi doesn't offer it for some reason. If I want it, I have to be willing to drive to a Taco Bell about 15 minutes away to get it.

Of course, since we no longer have a Taco Bell in town, I have to go out there anyway if I'm in the mood for Taco Bell, so I suppose it doesn't really matter.

[AdminAssistant]

Actually, Dr. Pepper is a separate company, from the website http://www.drpepper.com/info/faq/ :

Along with a number of other great brands, Dr Pepper is a brand within the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG). DPSG is one of the largest producers of soft drinks and premium beverages in the Americas. DPSG's brand portfolio includes Snapple, Dr Pepper, 7UP, A&W Root Beer, Sunkist soda, Canada Dry, Hawaiian Punch, Schweppes, RC Cola, Diet Rite, Slush Puppie frozen drinks, Mott's Apple Juice, Clamato, Mr & Mrs T, Holland House mixers, Rose's, Mistic, Yoo-Hoo, Orangina, IBC, Stewart's, Nantucket Nectars and other well-known consumer brands.

I see it most frequently in places that offer Pepsi products, however, there are places that sell both Coke and Dr. Pepper. Also according to the website, production of Dr. Pepper is licensed out to local companies.

ETA: The one exception to the above are college (and I assume high school) campuses. Coke/Pepsi will give them money in exchange for only selling their product. I've never seen Dr. Pepper offered on a Coke-only campus, but it is usually available on Pepsi-only campuses.

[Kogarashi]

Really? That's stupid. Have there been many American children trying to eat and therefore choking on the plastic eggs which prompted the ban?

I'll agree. According to Wikipedia, there've been only 7 choking deaths worldwide because of the things.

I do remember getting one at an international foods store in Utah some eight years back, though, so I wonder how the store owner got them into the States.

[thansal]

I didn't know that about Kinder Eggs

MY step mum tends to give me one on XMass :P I tend to pawn it off on my GF (Milk chocolate and white chocolate? not for me)

They are readily available all over NYC (along with many other Kinder products), so no skin off my back there (my GF is a fan the regular kinder bars).

Honestly, I don't really have many products I miss, if any, as I can't think of them off the top of my head.

[Crossbow]

Another candy company got into trouble for something similar to the Kinder Egg. They had a hollow chocolate ball with a toy inside, this one manufactured and sold in the US. The FDA smackdown on that one was nasty...

Back on topic: I had in my possession once an empty can of Caffeine-free Dr. Pepper (non-diet). I never did find anything more than that one can, and I'm still disappointed....

[DeltaSierra]

Really? That's stupid. Have there been many American children trying to eat and therefore choking on the plastic eggs which prompted the ban?

Not choking on the big plastic eggs themselves, but the toys that come IN the eggs, which are in little pieces and need to be put together.

[Jetfire]

A story about the Kinder Eggs

Luckily a Taco Bell finally opened here in Freddy, so I can go get my cheap taco fix when I want. But I'd been spoiled by a local place before hand (El Buritto Loco) which I can't afford to go to as often as I want. If I'm in the mall though I usually hit the Teriyaki place instead anyways. Mmmm.

[fireheart]

We have vanilla coke over here

[Spork4pedro]

We sell the Kinder chocolates (but not the eggs for prev. stated reasons)at work. The Hippos (is that what they're called..I don't really venture out of wine much ) are DELICIOUS!! Since I've started working there I've developed a love for Kinder and Cadbury! mmm....fingers....

[wolfie]

I remembered another - Michelinas Swedish Meatballs - its a "tv dinner" - they haven't stopped making them, but every single store that used to carry them stopped, even though they carry all the other ones. This was the only one I liked.

Is there an independent grocery store near where you live (not a chain - one where the "queso grande" can be contacted by customers)? If so, let them know that you're interested in this flavour, ask them how much they'd charge for them if they brought them in, and let them know that if the price is reasonable you'd be interested in ordering a case (probably a dozen). Be prepared to wait a few days for an answer. If the price is OK, ask if you can order a case.

Retail shelf space is at a premium (more so in the frozen section than in the "dry" section), so "oddball" items tend to get crowded out. With a special order, they wouldn't be betting on whether or not the item would be worth the shelf space, because it would never hit the shelf - they let you know it's arrived, you go to the customer service desk, someone fetches it from the frozen section of the "back room of infinite storage", and you get rung up. Even if you're the only person in town who wants the stuff, they're not taking a chance on whether it sells or not - they already have a buyer. Worst case is that someone screws up and puts it in the freezer - when you snag the 1 or 2 that haven't already been sold, ask to special order another case.

I wish they had the Kinder Ueberraschung (Childrens' Surprise) eggs over here. I loved those things when I was in Germany. The chocolate was so so, but the toys were neat.

Where are you located? These are probably related to "Kinder Surpise", which are readily available in Toronto.

[DeltaSierra]

Is there an independent grocery store near where you live (not a chain - one where the "queso grande" can be contacted by customers)? If so, let them know that you're interested in this flavour, ask them how much they'd charge for them if they brought them in, and let them know that if the price is reasonable you'd be interested in ordering a case (probably a dozen). Be prepared to wait a few days for an answer. If the price is OK, ask if you can order a case.

Retail shelf space is at a premium (more so in the frozen section than in the "dry" section), so "oddball" items tend to get crowded out. With a special order, they wouldn't be betting on whether or not the item would be worth the shelf space, because it would never hit the shelf - they let you know it's arrived, you go to the customer service desk, someone fetches it from the frozen section of the "back room of infinite storage", and you get rung up. Even if you're the only person in town who wants the stuff, they're not taking a chance on whether it sells or not - they already have a buyer. Worst case is that someone screws up and puts it in the freezer - when you snag the 1 or 2 that haven't already been sold, ask to special order another case.
.

That's an idea!! I might give this a try. Thank you!