Have you ever become obsessed?

If I am traveling for an extended period of time, I can get to a point where I get tired of eating the local cuisine and I sometimes miss Mexican food. While European cities have a lot of ethnic restaurants serving very good food (e.g., Indian, Chinese), finding very good Mexican food is tough. The only good Mexican I have found in Europe so far was actually in Amsterdam. But what they lack in that category, there are plenty of other local foods that make up for it. I also like trying out snacks in other countries that just aren't easily found in the U.S. unless you go to a specialty foods stores. I have gotten to try a lot of flavored "crisps" that I can't get here - Haggis, Lamb & Mint, Prawn Cocktail. So if you can't find your peanut butter crackers, you can pick up something different and give it a go.

For travel withdrawal, getting past it is as easy as just starting to plan the next trip - doesn't mean I need to buy a plane ticket just yet, but I can start thinking about where I want to go next and looking into what I'd want to see, where I would want to stay, easiest ways to get around. I'll read articles online, in newspapers, magazines, watch a tv show or something online about the destination. And I also just take some shorter trips within the U.S. to someplace new until I have the time to travel across an ocean.

For me its American hamburgers or occasionally American Steak. European beef just doesn't compare, but sometimes I get lucky.

K,
If you are not finding good beer in Europe, it is because you are looking in the wrong places. Do not ask for the exportable stuff but look for the local or regional beer (kind of like house wine, you can get house beer). Most is available on tap and is very, very good. Won't be an IPA though.

On our 5 week trip last fall to England and Scotland we found a restaurant called, Nando's! We became obsessed! We enjoyed their Peri Peri Chicken (with an amazingly hot sauce). It is a Portuguese/ South African chain restaurant. It helped hit the spot when we were missing Mexican food. We ate there twice in London, once in Edinburgh, once in Glasgow, and then again in York! I'd say we were obsessed! Wish there was a franchise in California!

Withdrawal systems solved upon returning home and consuming my favorite beers (e.g. Sheriff John Brown, Copper John, Cold Smoke and Yard Sale).

Nance,
My wife could have written your post. She decided not to pack peanut butter crackers. She thought for sure she could find them in Italy. Everytime our tour bus stopped at a rest stop, she would look for her peanut butter crackers. If we passed a market, she would always look inside for them. Evidently, Italy hasn't discovered them yet.

No peanut butter crackers here in Australia, sorry.
(Well not that I have seen or heard of)

There have been those few times I have had some food cravings but very rarely...maybe for American orange juice. I can understand satisfying that hamburger fix. I've been through that in Europe too, even though I can basically do without it. When I get tired of the local cuisine or just prefer something different, I go for Chinese food in Paris, in Germany even though you taste the difference between Chinese food in France and that in Germany.

In Berlin-Charlottenburg at Savignyplatz there is a large Mexican restaurant at the end of Knesebeck Straße.

Peanut butter is a decidedly American preference (I mean i know that it is used in cuisines in Africa and Asia etc but if you want to buy a tiny pot of peanut butter here, it will cost you about 7 euros! No pb crackers for sure!!) I pack a big jar in my suitcase to bring back every time I come home-- and when my mom visits, she brings her PB crackers with her.

Mexican food in Germany is almost always a disappointment. Chipotle is sadly about the best, though there are a few good places popping up here and there. Indian is usually very good, Asian and Middle Eastern are almost always great. American style burgers are all the rage now in Germany with lots of places competing with each other to make the best. Good steak can be found, but you will pay an inflated price for it unless you go with one of the chains like Block House.

Sorry, there are no peanut butter crackers in Germany, but peanut butter is widely available in grocery store chains like Rewe, Penny Markt, or Real. If you are ever in Germany, try Erdnuss Flips. Sort of like a cheeto, but peanut butter flavored.

A bit aghast about the beer comment. The beers of Belgium and Germany are usually considered some of the best in the world.

I enjoy the widely different flavors of chips you get in various countries, from Scotland, to Belgium, to Spain and of course in Germany.

I find there are times during my travels that I get tired of the local fare and crave some "home" food on occasion. In some cities in Italy, I can find that at the Roadhouse Grill, where I can get a good Burger and they always seem to serve a small bowl of taco chips and salsa with that.

No one should have trouble finding good beer in Belgium or the Czech Republic.

Tim Tams, Violet Crumbles and Vegemite are Australian food cravings I guess when travelling.

Plenty of crackers here in the UK. Plenty of peanut butter.

No peanut butter crackers.

Jo, you've been away for a while, and have probably missed the whole micro brew/specialty beer trend here. While some of them are good, way too many are pushing so many hops into the IPA's that they taste like grapefruit juice with extra flowers thrown in. I can't stand them. Hopefully, the European breweries can withstand this trend.

Karen, interesting to note that when I lived in Germany, I really started to crave an IPA or at least something with a little more hops. Ales of any kind are very rare in Germany- just about the only brewer that makes ales is Störtebeker in Stralsund, and their products are only available regionally. Now that I've moved back to the US... I long for a nice clean German lager! I'm not too impressed with the US "craft beer revolution", which in 9/10 cases seems to come down to "let's put way more hops in it!"

OK, but back on topic. I missed most kinds of Asian food (or at least, the version adapted for American tastes) when I lived in Germany. I found a few places that made good Indian food, but all the Chinese and Thai I encountered were simply terrible. I don't like Mexican food to begin with, but as noted, the German version is pretty bland.

One constant I have discovered in most all European supermarkets, is the presence of Pepperidge Farms cookies. Not just a couple varieties but the full product line no matter how big or small the store is. So for me the obsession is easily treated.

Last time it was Cheetos (puffs not the crunchy ones) and a Dr Pepper.

I have the opposite form of travel withdrawal. I'm so looking forward to our family trip this summer. Being able to drink a good Kolsch beer or a good cask ale(I don't care that the alcohol content is 4%) or a Fuller's ESB. I'm also looking forward to a good Curry in London.

That's funny about the PB crackers because whenever we drive down to the States, we always stop in a Walmart or grocery store before coming home, and always pick up some of the Lance brand peanut butter and honey crackers (amongst many other things, including various flavours of Coke/Pepsi/Dr Pepper, hamburger helper and chicken helper, cheesy garlic bread Lays potato chips and whatever else looks yummy that we can't get in my neck of Canada). I think here in Canada we have Ritz peanut butter sandwich crackers.

After a few weeks in Europe, I am always craving a 'homestyle' meal - I want veggies, potatoes (not french fries), gravy if possible, chicken breast (not chicken thigh/leg like seems to be popular in Europe), a big glass of COLD milk...on our last trip in Oct, the night before coming home, in London we ate at the Stockpot (RIP - they have closed I've been informed) and I was never so happy to have roast potatoes and veggies. For the record, generally on our trips we tend to stick to either pasta/pizza, I may have a salad, or we have burgers.

re - European burgers. In Paris, we stumbled on this little restaurant down a shopping alley (what is the technical term for those?!) and had one of the best burgers I think I've ever had. Mind you, it was mid-afternoon and we were starving so that could have coloured our tastes, but it was made with Saler beef, had some caramelized onions on top and the cheesy dip with the potato wedges was delish! It was just called Buffet Bar and it was on our walk as we were heading towards Galleries Lafayette, down a little alley off Blvd Poissonniere/Blvd Montmartre area. Décor left something to be desired, but the burger lunch deal was great (small salad, burger and roast potatoes and a drink for 10Euro).

On the flip side, last time I went to visit my sister in the UK, we took pop tarts for her daughter (and they survived two weeks in the carry on!). They don't have all the flavours like here. And there are a few other things my mom always takes over - but they aren't coming to mind right now (oh - I think one is Manwich! Also these little flavor packets to mix in with your vanilla icing/cake frosting). I once sent over 10 sticks of deodorant (in exchange for Thornton's fudge...my obsession) because she said most of what they had in the UK was spray and the few choices of stick deodorant she didn't like.

As for travel withdrawal - it's hard for me knowing we won't have another trip overseas until 2017 (our dollar really sucks right now). So I have to content myself with planning a trip to Toronto next spring, but it's certainly not as exciting as planning a trip to Europe...sigh. It helps to work on my travelpod blog of the last trip and relive everything we did!

Ceidleh, you and I must have eaten at the same Mexican place in Amsterdam. It was so good because it was owned by Mexicans.

I miss Mexican food when I travel, along with Americanized Chinese and Thai. I had Chinese food in Germany a few years ago and it was so bland. In general Germans don't like spicy food so even the dishes marked spicy were not, at least according to American tastes.

I go through withdrawal when I come home because I miss certain foods in Europe. No judgment here, but In London I bought a lot of £1 sandwiches at Tesco for cheap meals and quickly came to love the triple cheese pack. I'm still thinking about those sandwiches 6 weeks later!

And in Belgium in 2008 I came across a brand of chocolate called Jacques, in a tiny convenience store in Louvain-le-Nouve of all places. I've never been able to find it in any other convenience or grocery store in any other city or country in Europe. It was a dark chocolate bar with raspberry cream filling - oh my God, to this day one of the best sweets I've ever eaten!

@David, I was out doing a little Christmas shopping at Target (a big Walmart-like chain in the US) and a box of Tim Tams practically jumped into my cart. I now have a new vice. Too much of a coincidence to pass up. Pass on the Vegemite, however.

I thought I was the only one who missed Mexican food! In 2014 on an 8 week trip I ate at a Mexican Restaurant in Bath which was awful so I kind of shy away from them now. This Fall I flew home from CDG via SLC and knew I would hit the Mexican restaurant in the airport on my 9 hr layover. Wow, did the beans, rice, guac and chips taste wonderful!

The last few years I've started my trips in London where I know I can get a decent jar of peanut butter for the rest of my trip. I'm vegan and always carry it for back up food in case I can't find a vegan option somewhere along the way. Plus it's a great reason to figure I need to start in London!

As to the travel obsession and withdrawal, the only cure is planning another trip....or 2!!

I usually stay in an apartment when I travel to northern Europe and one of the things I love the most is shopping for groceries. In Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands there is no shortage of snacks and I like to try their brands. At Albert Hijn in Amsterdam I was looking in the freezer case and noticed a line of the "extra portion" frozen pizzas called "The Big American." I have nothing I absolutely need from home for the month I'm there. In Berlin I crave laudenbretzels, those big soft pretzels available everywhere for a Euro. I've gotten them warm from a little stand in the U-Bahn station. The croissants anywhere in Europe put ours to shame. Maybe I'm not picky about burgers but there are McDonalds and Burger Kings all over Europe. Quick is also about the same. If you need a good one there's always Hard Rock. I like to start the day with a big breakfast so when I'm in Paris I'll go to McDo for a couple of McMuffins. I'm not proud. In Paris there is stellar Mexican food. El Nopal right off the Canal St. Martin in the 10th is a hole in the wall run my a couple of guys from Mexico. Their street tacos and burritos are the real deal. Strictly take away, but the canal is right there. There is so much good casual and snack food in Europe. Chocolate, ice cream, crepes, pretzels, roasted chestnuts in the fall, pastries and cookies like we've never seen, shawarma donners, deep fried items at FEBO. Aside from my glasses and prescription medicine, there is nothing I need from home when I travel and I look forward to finding the European equivalent for almost anything when I'm on the road. Part of the adventure for me.

Just the opposite for me - I look forward to the European snacks! My favorites are cracker sandwiches with a cream cheese-tomato-herb filling.

I do sometimes miss pancakes - and I don't normally eat them here. But, you always want what you can't have.

Speaking of peanut butter, we have family who live abroad (currently in Ukraine). The big request when anyone comes to visit is as much American peanut butter as we can bring. Aside from that, they are pretty content with the local cuisine.

Personally, I tend to try to sample as much of the local food as I can, but there always comes a point, usually in the middle of my trip, where I crave something like a hamburger or a sub sandwich. It's strange because I usually enjoy the local food and even rave about it, but I just can't eat it every day of my trip. I still feel bad that I didn't sample anything local in Montenegro when we passed through -- I was seriously craving a burger at that point of the trip. But that burger somehow reset me and I was ready for all the local Bosnian food the next day.

I'm a huge peanut butter fan and it seems it is not popular in Europe, can't say I've ever seen it. Peanuts don't even seem to be in most candy there, either--I did find Snickers with hazelnuts in Poland, along with Wampire Cheetos--I imagine they were garlic-flavoured, didn't try them.

As for obsessions, though--I happened to buy a bag of sesame-flax-honey-pumpkin seed crackers at a Spar store in Vienna last year, quickly tore through them, returned for more...and more...and more and finally realized I needed to bring as many bags of them home as possible. 6 was all I had room for and once home I rationed them right up until they got close to expiration. Even now I still think about them. While in Poland I saw a Spar store on the road while returning from a day trip and got terribly excited, thought perhaps I'd see another in Krakow where I was staying, already mentally calculating how many bags I could fit in my suitcase this time, gleeful in anticipation--but none were to be found.

Re: the beers in Germany I would go for any German beer over US beers, (French and Belgian for that matter too), be it Pils in Potsdam or Magdeburg, any standard Pils, Klosterbier in Bavaria, Jevers, the various Dortmunder Biere, the numerous Munich choices, light or dark (Helles or Dunkles), Schwarzbier (black beer), Altbier (amber color) particular to Düsseldorf, Berliner Weisse, western or eastern German beers, etc.

The cuisine in Germany has gotten "global"/international. It used to be mainly Turkish or Chinese ( Italian, Greek too) if you didn't want the traditional German cooking. The one exception I know of was Düsseldorf because of its sizeable Japanese population. I've tried them all, except the Japanese, the least was Turkish, much preferred the Italian and Chinese. Now the Asian cuisine is much more specialised with Thai, Shanghai cuisine, Szechuan cuisine. etc, very prevalent in Frankfurt and Berlin esp in Prenzlauer Berg, Charlottenburg such Savignyplatz, etc.

I can put a mirror perspective to this topic. What I was missing the most when I came to the US almost 30 years ago from what was then Czechoslovakia. First and most it was good bread. I lived in small town in Pennsylvania and never got used to that white fluffy thing they called bread. When you toasted it, it got only slightly better. When I go back my first steps are to the bakery or bakery department in supermarket. What a heaven selection of bakery there! Or pastry and sweets sold in konditorei (name of store in German speaking countries) or cukrarna (called in Czech). Over-sweetened pastries which we get here (even in Panera) cannot compare. From butcher department: jelito, jitrnice, tlacenka (kind of pork blood sausage, special pork sausage, head cheese). And then beer. When Kaeleku wrote: "The beer in Europe is almost universally awful compared to American beer." I thought he was kidding. The American Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc. was totally undrinkable. I called it yellow water. I was used to Pilsner Urquell, Czech Budweiser (by the way the original one because it's brewed in Budweis - German name for Ceske Budejovice) and many other very good and excellent beers.
Now it's different. I am in Seattle where there is no problem to buy good bread in German bakery or Russian stores. There is also a Slovak butcher here. There is German-Czech beerhall in Queen Ann neighborhood, Pilsner Urquell and plenty of excellent German beers on draft. Nowadays you can even drink some good American beers from many microbreweries around.
What I miss when I am in Europe: not Mexican food, not steak but good Northwest seafood. Thai and Indian (my other favorites) I can get in many big cities in Europe, well maybe not as good as in Seattle.

Oh...hubby and I are addicted to the thorntons fudge from the uk. We always bring home a half dozen bags. My mom goes every year for a sister visit and we always get her to bring some home. I had my sister mail me a half dozen bags one time...that was expensive! At Xmas time, sometimes it will show up at HomeSense (like Marshalls) with all the different candy (we snagged a few boxes last month). There is a store an hour drive away that imports a ton of British food (the former proprietor was British) but they bring in the toffee and not the fudge. but we have picked up some of the walkers crisps in the bacon and cheese/onion flavour. They sell timtams at our local grocery stores! And hubby got some kind of violet flavoured candy that looks like it's made in Derbyshire. The wrapper is half torn. They look like what we in Canada call rockets (and what the Americans call smarties)

When it comes to having had the absolute worst beer, I won't put US beer in that category but rather that of Sweden. Swedish beer gets that distinction. True, my limited experience with Swedish was over 40 years ago. There have Belgian, Dutch or Austrian beers I could not stand plus a host of US beers, ( totally avoid the US craft beers, these trendy beers), but none was as bad as that I had in Sweden in 1971, and that wasn't limited to only one brand. The beer in Poland and CZ were all right, nothing awful, but nothing great either. I'll say there are some "bland" German beers, but still pleasant. The good German beers other than those from Bavaria are much more preferable, such as what you get in the east, or small northern towns (Herforder Pils comes to mind), and the Berlin beers.

I have loved reading your responses - interesting and educational! I have never heard of Timtams so looked them up. I think I'd like those and will look to see if they have them when I next visit Target. I have a few little trips planned - St. Augustine to see the Festival of Lights and probably up to Boone, N.C. to snow tube again.... just doesn't have the same allure as Amsterdam. Thanks for all of your responses and I hope more chime in!

Well, Kaeleku, I stated that I lived in small town in Pennsylvania and that was almost thirty years ago. Of course I am now aware that we got some good beer from microbreweries around Seattle and elsewhere. IMHO Belgian beer is overrated but Czech, German and some Austrian are very good to excellent. You mentioned that you drank good beer in Hungary. Then I bet that it was imported. Have you been to Prague? Or any other Czech city or town? In all these years I brought there many of my American friends. Since then some of them are not drinking any other beer than Pilsner Urquell. And so many microbreweries abroad practically unknown like Primator, Bernard, Regent and many others are producing excellent beer. Hops from Zatec (german name Saaz) are one of the best and world known. I noticed that Unclegus is real expert in Czech beers on this forum despite living in Edinburgh in Scotland. I agree with you that not all European beers are good. When I travel I usually sample local food, beer and wine. Drink wine when you are in Italy or France, not beer.

@stan, you'll have to try the Tim Tam slam ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqFZBMdFuc

Or some other Australian snacks ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yUEsOPqAQo

Let's organize a tour of these 53 breweries? http://montanabrewers.org/trail-map/

When it comes to having had the absolute worst beer, I won't put US beer in that category but rather that of Sweden.

Believe it or not, Fred, Sweden has moved beyond the extremely bland, weak lagers that you may remember. I've had some exceptionally good ales in that country, although I can't remember the names. Their Norwegian neighbors, however, have not caught up to the game.

I reluctantly nominate Lithuania as the worst country for beer in Europe (this coming from someone of half Lithuanian descent). Every beer I tried there tasted like it was brewed in a rusty drain pipe. Merely being bland would have been an improvement.

Kaeleku, I like beer which tastes like beer. It's always from the same ingredients. They could be of different quality and in different ratio. Some breweries experiment with different ingredients and still call their product beer. Try Belgian beer. There are hundreds of different tastes, sometimes it could be even difficult to recognize that it's a beer but nobody can say that it's boring.

I don't obsess about finding something, but I do obsess about travel in general. I am consumed with thoughts of living life outside the sterile lines of the suburban page I live in. I think constantly of where I would go were I to win the lottery, and I obsess about places I read about in travel magazines. I count the years to retirement (8 btw), and wonder if I've saved enough to fuel this obsession. I wonder what words I'll have for my son next term when he tells me tuition is due (he pays half, and has very good scholarships, but still...), and then think I'm a bad mom for wanting to wander. I obsess about the tattoo I want for my 50th "all those who wander are not lost-Tolkien", then feel scandalous because people like me don't get inked (really???). And then, two weeks ago, the hubby said "my company has an opening in _____ European county", but of course we couldn't consider it at this time (tears of agony). For now, I'll continue to haunt travel forums and voraciously read travel blogs and magazines, hoping the stories there tell a tale of wanderlust and freedom.

@ Tom...those Swedish beers were lagers out of a can, don't remember much except it was pretty awful in taste, and true, my info is no doubt dated.

@ Julie - I am sure you will find a way to get there! Had to lol when I imagine the shocked look on your son's face were you to tell him that his tuition fund was now your travel fund. Kudos to you though for helping him along.

If it was good beer in Hungary it was probably imported? Really?

In the ruin pubs he probably had one of the hundreds of microbrewery beers: http://www.ratebeer.com/country/hungary/94/

Egészségedre!!!
(egg-is-shae-ged-re) http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/hungarian/cheers2_hu.mp3

I am more of a wine drinker, but find that when I travel a beer is more refreshing after a long day--or sometimes in the middle of the day. Better yet, cider--had some great pear and apple hard cider in Tallinn. So far I've loved Dreher beer in Hungary, Zywiec in Poland and Pilsner Urquell in Prague--and very happy to find it locally at my Trader Joe's. Haven't been to Belgium yet but my favourite beer at home is Chimay.

That's so funny! When in Amsterdam my wife became obsessed with everything Droste and you know I better find it or stash it for her Christmas stocking. At least I can find that in the States but the stroopwafel cookies we just have to fill a bag with or make our son bring for us. I need marmite on my toast a lot now but I don't know where to find it where I live either so one of the kids just has to make it show up at the door somehow. Marmite and their cheddar over there in the UK is something else!

steakshake...I know in our grocery stores in Canada, we generally have an imported goods section and you can usually find Marmite there...maybe there is a specialty section or a specialty shop nearby where you can satisfy your craving. Then again, I really enjoyed Specaloos (spice cookies), but haven't been able to find them here in our grocery store, tho someone told me they have them out west. The best I could get here was specaloos ice cream - but it was a little too much of a good thing.

Another thing I absolutely fell in love with was Ritter chocolate. In Switzerland, I had a strawberry one and hubby had peppermint and they were so good. But the only thing I could ever find here in my neck of the woods was milk, dark and generally hazelnut. A few years ago, they brought the strawberry ones to our grocery store for breast cancer awareness as they had pink packaging (don't go there). Hubby bought me 6 of them for Xmas! I have since found an outdoor store an hour away that stocks the many varieties (especially the coconut!) and seasonal special ones - so a few times a year, we'll go in and pick a few up.

Nicole, you might look for a product called Biscoff spread...kind of like peanut butter (in that section of the grocery) but made from crushed up Biscoff/Speculoos cookies. OH. MY. WORD. The Biscoff brand is what they are marketed under in the US, not sure if this holds true for Canada.

http://www.biscoff.com/indulge/biscoff-cookie-butter

I see Marmite in many of the larger grocery stores around here.

Thanks Pam...if I don't find something like that here, I'll have to hunt for it next time we drive thru the states!

When I lived in Germany, I missed Mexican food the most of anything. When I moved back to the States I missed Nuernberger bratwurst and schaeufele.

But we seem to obsess more about foods we had in Europe than ones we eat here.

My husband became obsessed with Schweppes Agrum in France. We couldn't find it in Spain, but it was in the vending machines in the tiny train station in Hendaye.

Want peanut butter in Belgium? Cross the border into the Netherlands, according to the people in the grocery store where I looked for it. Craving dark chocolate Cecemel (Chocomel) there? Go back to Belgium.

I've been obsessing about sticky toffee pudding since the last time I had it in Inverness in 2009. I can hardly wait to get back to the UK.

Here at home I have to limit the purchase of my absolutely favorite manufactured cookie, Carr's Ginger Lemon Cremes. Based on this thread I recently bought some Tim Tams. I may be in big trouble now, but at least I can get them here at my trusty neighborhood Walmart.

what are Tim Tams???

@Barb Tim Tams are the best cookies in the world, if you like chocolate. Distributed in the US by Pepperidge Farms, but the only place I've seen them here is at Target (I've been checking other places locally). I bought several packages to give out at Christmas.

Still looking here for Schweppes Bitter Lemon.