01 August 2006

Supporting Friends and Allies

Much has been made of supporting Friends and Allies by purchasing their goods, and I agree wholeheartedly! So this will be my ongoing post of good places to find goods either directly from a Nation or via a reseller that has such goods. There are many resellers for some of these around, but other things are just very, very hard to find. Also will be my dining out recommendations for things to look or ask for when out on the town.


Support Israel
Support Israel

Being a relatively Net savvy folk, they have quite a few sites online for many products of their fine Nation. So a simple search engine lookup will get you quite some number of hits. At this time I have only purchased from one site and will look to expand my horizons in a bit:

Zaramart

Now, if you are *also* looking for a good liqueur I recommend Sabra, which is orange-chocolate in flavor and a familial favorite since the 1970's. It is damn difficult to find from retailers and even large liquor stores. That said I have found one supplier that gets it in the US and recommend them for that and decent prices, and another that has it at something of a markup:

Hi-Time Wine - Use the Search box and type in Sabra... and for the rest of the Israeli goods, search for Israel
Table and Vine - Large selection, large markup. Search on Sabra and Israel.

Wally's Wine and Spirits - I have not bought from here, but they have a Coffee Sabra... search on Sabra

There is also a *mocha* version of Sabra which I have never tasted and believe it was a limited production run... haven't tasted it but from the quality of normal Sabra, I would think it would be delicious.


Support Denmark
Support Denmark

Lots of lists and lists of lists available, but they all seem to get you to the same few places:

Danish Deli Food
Nordic House
Nordisk Import

Those you can find all over the place, but this one I have just found and ordered from, and will see how it goes. You will need an online currency converter and possibly some translation tools, but their prices are very reasonable as they support Danish Ex-Pats around the globe:

Danish ExPat Shopping - Which has very reasonable prices and no English available and currently their checkout system has gone south.

Hjemve - Is new to me, has a *huge* variety and is in English, ships worldwide so a new order to them has just been placed. Prices are not bad considering the work that went into the site.

Now Tuborg and Carlsberg beers are pretty easy to find, but for some more exotic things head back to our friends above. That said why anyone would miss out on aquavit is beyond me! Available from many Scandinavian Nations and many that are not, this is a distilled liquor with various flavors and can vary from extremely smooth to somewhat harsh and biting. I have enjoyed the Aalborg in both of its flavors, but particularly love the caraway aroma and smell of their standard.:

Hi-Time Wine - Use the Search box and type in Danish.. and for a treat try aqavit

I am trying to find a good way to get Cirkel Coffee from Denmark, or any of the local blends/grinds. Denmark is one of the highest per capita coffee consumers on the planet... think of them as the jittery and wide-awake folk. And like South Africa with beer, you cannot get the stuff outside of the Country, save for the larger domestic brands like Cirkel and Merrild. I have an order in for a variety of the second, and have found Cirkel to be a rich and smooth coffee but now find that there are some varieties of it. Good coffee is hard to find and I detest Starbucks for homebrew. And since the multinationals have bought into the major producers in Denmark I am desperately seeking out smaller and more local players for coffee. Because if their domestic products are any indication, they have a world to gain by advertising and shipping.

Finally, as to cheeses and such. You can find quite some number of local supermarkets that carry them. Check the label for Product of Denmark or Made and Produced in Denmark. More of those are always appreciated! Let the store manager *know* these things. And if you enjoy 'salt licorice', which is black licorice with a salt coating/taste, then Denmark is your Nation of choice. I cannot stand the stuff, and a friend who enjoys plain licorice says it would be excellent... without the salt. Buyer beware, assume all black licorice from Denmark is of the salt variety.



Support Poland
Support Poland

Poland has stood up to defend the West and beat back Islam ONCE already, at the Battle of Vienna. I have further thanked the Polish People for standing up to Communism and striking the blows necessary against it to crumble its base, and then to stand up *again* against the vituperative response of the Islamic world against the West. And NOW they stand up FOR ISRAEL and against Islamic Terrorism. I am sad to say that this is far more than the United States has done for its LONG-TIME ALLY. I proudly and with a tear in my eye salute the Free People of Poland, the first to consider themselves to BE a Free People in the World and the ones who can be defeated but NEVER VANQUISHED.

And you can find many goods from Poland at your supermarket, including such things as: beet borscht, sauerkraut, and even imported hams.

My favorite place to purchase foodstuffs was Ernie's Deli, but it is in the process of moving and so not available at the moment.

I have *not* purchased from the following, but recommend giving them a look:

Food From Poland, LLC
Polana
Pol-Store

Needless to say our friends from above are good links to find Polish liquor and beer:

Hi-Time Wine - Use the Search box and type in Poland
Table and Vine - Large selection and markup. Search on Poland

You can find many fine Polish vodkas at your local liquor supplier, so best to check them out first. I have only had a smattering of beer from Poland over the years and really cannot recall a stand-out, so buyer beware.

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