OT: Death Of Haagen Daz

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munk

Joined
Mar 22, 2002
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Title says it all. Haagen Daz, once the finest icecream around, is owned by Nestles, (or Hershey's- can't tell them apart) and is simply no longer the world's best ice cream. I complained to "Haagen Daz' a year ago- and I was assured the same recipe was used. Well, they may use the same recipe, but there is a vast difference in cream and other products avaible. If you're an ice cream nut like myself, you know I'm speaking the truth- there is no longer any reason to purchase Haagen Daz if you still expect the creamiest and best. Won't find it.

This reminds me of what women did to yogurt. Yogurt used to be a creamy desert. There is now typically 1% or 0% milk fat in yogurt. Health food only.
There are still a couple brands that are barely acceptable, but the days of wonderful yogurt are gone forever. Women are fooled over and over again with this simple formula- take out the dreaded fat, and add twice the sugar to make up for it. It does not make up for it.

Cheese. Good luck finding good cheese. There's a brand in Wal mart that is actually quite good- otherwise- I hope you like flavorless sponge material. Everytime I find a decent loaf of extra sharp cheese I feel I've been blessed. I'll eat it straight or with crackers or bread.

Fruit- if you don't live near Calif or Florida- forget it. Here in Montana the fruit is flavorless, often inedible.

Peanut Butter- we lost the best- Hollywood brand, but fortunately, smaller factories still sell a very good product to local outlets. IN some places you can get Trader Joes- 2 bucks a jar, the way God intended it to be, without preservatives or lard added. Adams is only just acceptable.

Steak- my old man, raised in Kansas, will no longer eat steak. He does not believe the product offered is worth the price and disapointment. There is grass fed beef here that is worthwhile- but my old man can't get it in AZ.

Bread- if you can find bread worth eating by itself, congratulations. In Montana there's a brand called Montana Wheat that is good.

Hotdogs- for God's sakes, will someone please tell me of a dog worth eating? No, not ball park- sorry- I said worth eating.

Please feel free to add to this list.
If anyone can think of a food product that has actually improved, let us know.

I feel we're eating what the market will bear- that is, whatever can be stuffed down our gullets without too much visible protest. If things degrade slowly, people are unaware what is lost.

I hope you are all as confident as I that the case of Mad Cow disease in Washington State does not mean Mad Cow is here to stay in the US....

Genetically altered vegitables do not frighten me. I just wish we could genetically alter other foods back to where they were worth swallowing.

When was the last time anyone enjoyed a store bought cake? Just a cake- this isn't hard.....



munk
 
Cheese - Find a smaller dairy that you like, stick with it, store bought is flavorless, yes. Heini's cheese factory in Ohio is probalby my favorite(and growing up in Northern IL, had all the WIsconsin cheeses, here in OK have Watonga cheese). Heini's is still my favorite. Amish cheese place. And yes, not going to bring it up if OH is only place you can get it. www.heinis.com

Steaks, I can't really help on, best steaks I can find are from little butcher shop in town parents live in. Haven't driven home though in a year or two, and can't take it on plane. Good, locally raised corn fed beef, love it. Also does ostrich, buffalo, beefalo and venison, all from local sources. Cuts to order, jerky, steaks, burgers, whatever.

Hotdogs: Only two chooices, Vienna is a joke, don't get me started on most available in stores. Hebrew National is the best ("We answer to a higher authority", love the slogan), David Berg are very good too. www.hebrewnational.com www.davidberg.com Best hot dogs in country of course are from little guy with cart on most any street in down town chicago.

Fruit, yeah, not much going. One I discovered a few months ago though, and really surprised me, was Oklahoma peaches. Local store had peaches from here in OK, and regualr california peaches you'd find at most any grocery store in the country. The OK ones were a world apart. Sure it's just fact they can ripen longer on branch and get to store fresher, but man it made a world of difference.

And Albertsons on NW Expressway makes a great red velvet cake(though not as good as one my sister and I made), but I think that's probably a bit of a drive for you. ;)
 
Well, try some mid-east or mediterranean, or Indian sources for this. It is still quite good, but perhaps diff than what yer used to.

When I was in Europe, all the food tasted better (even in Britain, which for some reason gets bad press for its cuisine). Best sausage and pork products were english sausages (finely milled--mmmm!) and bacon, which is like a piece of ham with a bacon tail to us Yanks. All the bread and beer were rich in grains and flavor, in England and Iceland. The best butter I've ever had was in Scotland, made in Scotland. Best tea I had was in Edinburg. Best cream of Mushroom soup (real cream, freash mushrooms) was in Reykjavik, Iceland. Best rabbit stew, small family pub in Bath, England. Best rum and key lime pie, Abaco towns, Bahamas. Best pumpernickel bread, geyser(well, geothermal oven, anyhow)-baked in Iceland. Best meat pie, streetccorner vended in London.

Any of these foods made in America is a placebo at best.

Keith
 
Josh- I don't suppose you ever picked up girls with that line?

Ferrous- there's a local butcher shop- 120 miles away, with bacon as you describe, and other tasty meat treats, including buffalo sausage, jerky, etc.

The advice to go local and small is good. Lets see what happens to European food in several years of the common market. I still remember what my brother said of British food though- BLAA HUMBUG. As for their brews, I imagine our own micro breweries do well by comparison. Moose drool is very good.

It all makes sense- the larger markets will be cheaper but tasteless; smaller venues will cost more but be worth it.

munk
 
One thing better-
Garden of Eatin
Blue corn chips and Red hot blues

One thing worse- is there a single candy bar in the US worth eating? No See's candies in Montana



munk
 
munk said:
Josh- I don't suppose you ever picked up girls with that line?
Click to expand...

munk--why do you think my wife married me? :D

Bruise, sadly, that's probably as close as I will ever come to celebrity.

I agree that the best foods are often found at local small shops. For instance, the best cheese I have ever eaten comes from the Loleta cheese factory just south of Eureka. They make a sharp cheddar that is sharper than one of Pen's knives :eek:
--Josh
 
Mass marketing and technology has turned food into manufactured items where the prime consideration is not flavor nor nutritional value, but profit.

If you want good food, you will find it in your garden, not in the supermarket. If you want good yogurt, or ice cream, or cheese, make it yourself. It's much easier to find high quality milk from a small independent dairy than to find good dairy products on the comercial market.
 
munk said:
One thing worse- is there a single candy bar in the US worth eating? No See's candies in Montana

munk
Click to expand...

My Mom had the recipe for See's fudge years ago. It must be floating around out there on the Internet. It wasn't all that hard to make.
 
There's a dairy in Claremore that makes their own cheese that's outta this world. And with no artificial color so the sharp cheese looks almost like Monterey Jack.:eek: :D
Actually there's several places here in Oklahoma that make their own cheese.
Reasor's, a supermarket chain here, sells Buffalo that melts in your mouth as long as it's cooked right.:cool: The secret is cooking it slow. Their Angus Beef isn't so bad either.
Bixby, a small town south of Tulsa, has a multitude of small farms where you can get seasonal veggies of all kinds in quanities suitable for canning or freezing.
Porter, another small town not far from Tulsa, is famous for their peaches as has been mentioned.:)
There's a blackberry farm up near Adair that has berries beyond belief. Then up near Grove the huckleberries are a famous treat although they don't last too long.
Then we have the Pantera Bread Company that was St Louis Bread Company not long ago.
Their bread is wonderful, at least most of it. Some of it isn't too my taste but that's just me.
I haven't tried them but I'm told that Tulsa has a multitude of wonderful microbrews.
If'en I was younger and could get out easier you can bet yer arse that I would Know about them instead of being told.
Guess we have it pretty good here as far as food goes.:D
 
Great Topic !!!I will give these folks a call and place an order tomorrow:
LOLETA CHEESE COMPANY
P.O. BOX 607
Loleta, CA 95551
Phone: 707/733-5470
Fax: 707/733-1872
To place orders or request a brochure, call 1-800/995-0453. You can also fax your order. Cheddars: Colby Jack, Jalapeno, Medium, Mild, Sharp, Smoky, Smoked Salmon. Monterey Jacks: Caraway, Garlic, Green Chili, Jalapeno, Smoked Salmon, Traditional. Other: Fontina and Havarti. Offers a variety of gift packs and/or baskets, in addition to individual cheese orders.



When you start your day a serving of this "hot boudin" from cajun country will really help:
http://www.cajungrocer.com/ekart/catalog.asp?action=displayCategory&cid=89

Some of this Havarti with your Guinness Stout is awesome:
http://www.wisconsinmade.com/wiscmade/html/cheeseg.asp

When you get the munchies try these chips:
http://www.martinschips.com/history.html

For high tea you will think you are in heaven with this Devonshire clotted Cream:
http://www.broadwayhouse.com/creamtea.html

If you like ginger snaps then give this fine lady's ginger crisps a shot:
http://hanescookies.com/hanes_cs/default.asp?

You can get See's to customize you a box of --only those candies --that you like to nibble here:
http://www.sees.com/ :D :D
 
You can keep McDonalds and Jack in the Box. I'll take a burger from Dukes, Boys, Bills or Pauls, any day of the week. Pauls has the "3-D" burger (three 1/4 lb patties) for just under $4.00. Friggin gargantuan! and at least as good as In-n-Out. Boys has the "Colossus" cheeseburger topped with a heap of pastrami. Bills has the best, and most filling, breakfast burrito I've ever had. Carne Asadas come not from Taco Bell or Del Taco but Albertos or SuperMex. And as far as ice cream, make mine Phish Food :D

Frank
 
Silverfox,

Where are those burger joints that you're talking about? I live in Los Angeles, and I love those holes in the wall also.
 
munk said:
This reminds me of what women did to yogurt. Yogurt used to be a creamy desert. There is now typically 1% or 0% milk fat in yogurt. Health food only.
There are still a couple brands that are barely acceptable, but the days of wonderful yogurt are gone forever. Women are fooled over and over again with this simple formula- take out the dreaded fat, and add twice the sugar to make up for it. It does not make up for it.
Click to expand...

Stonyfield Farms "yo baby" is tasty all natural full fat yogurt. I admit that I usually get their low fat myself but the baby stuff is pretty tasty.

Fruit- if you don't live near Calif or Florida- forget it. Here in Montana the fruit is flavorless, often inedible.
Click to expand...

I get fruit from the cider mill when it's that time of the year. Very tasty. Also around here (detroit) we have eastern market where you can find some pretty tasty stuff too.
Peanut Butter- we lost the best- Hollywood brand, but fortunately, smaller factories still sell a very good product to local outlets. IN some places you can get Trader Joes- 2 bucks a jar, the way God intended it to be, without preservatives or lard added. Adams is only just acceptable.
Click to expand...

Try a bulk or health food store. Quite alot of good all natural (just peanuts and some sugar and salt) to be found there.


Bread- if you can find bread worth eating by itself, congratulations. In Montana there's a brand called Montana Wheat that is good.
Click to expand...

For storebought try Brownbury (or Brownberry I can't remember) all natural. Great solid bread. For fresh baked Panerra bread is really good and everywhere.

Hotdogs- for God's sakes, will someone please tell me of a dog worth eating? No, not ball park- sorry- I said worth eating.
Click to expand...

Koegels or Kowalski. I usually get natural casing. Best 2 hotdogs on the market with hebrew national being a close 3rd


When was the last time anyone enjoyed a store bought cake? Just a cake- this isn't hard.....
Click to expand...

Costco has an excellent bakery and their 5 layer chocolate cake is stellar. I work with a french pastry chef who thought for sure I picked it up at a fancy french bakery.

It does take some effort but the good stuff is still out there.

N2
 
con-feltmans.jpg


Kinda says "I'm the Josh Feltman wallpaper of the month!"

Cool!

Keith
 
You guys left out a real treat that I miss here in Italy; apple cider... I was brought up in Long Island, New York, and there were a few private companies that made incredibly good 100% natural filtered or unfiltered FRESH apple cider that kept for about 4-5 days in the refridgerator before it would start to "turn".

Here in Italy, there are shops that sell only cheese and other dairy products. The selection of cheese in astronomical, and the quality very high. They do have quality yoghurt too. Any supermarket has a section where they have employees slicing up maybe about 50 different types of hams, salamis, mortadellas, etc. For breads, there are bakeries all over. The very best are usually found in health food stores, or surprisingly, at a chain of Macrobiotic restaurants called "Punto Macrobiotico". For fruit and vegetables, there are shops everywhere that sell only there items. Many Italians have small gardens, and always have fresh "salad trimmings" year round, which are better than the quality found in the fruit and vegetable stores.

In specialty shops, you can find porcini mushrooms (botulus edulus), probably the absolute king of mushrooms... For anyone who's had them, you'd have to agree. There's a town nearby called Acqualagna that is famous throughout Italy for its white truffles. For connoisseurs, there's not too many things better than an exquisite dish of fresh pasta with truffles and white wine.
Here, the supermarket meats are in general, better than the U.S. offerings, but the best place to go is to the local farmer. Oddly enough, horsemeat is considered a delicacy in Italy, and butcher shops everywhere sell it, alsong with better quality meats than offered in the supermarkets. There are fresh pasta shops everywhere too, as there are wine shops. Pizza no problem -- the best is found in Naples; connoisseurs always try the Margherita first... It's the simple cheese and tomato sauce pizza... If that's good, you can be assured that all the other varieties are also excellent. Good ice cream can be found everywhere.

On the downside, beer in Italy is horrible at its best. Fortunately, you can find many excellent non-Italian brands in English style pubs that are popular here, or find bottled beer from other European countries. I've even seen Bud sold, for those with really warped taste buds! I've never found decent corn chips or soft tacos, unless you consider Uncle Ben's to be quality. :barf: We have McDonalds, Burer King, Wendy's, etc., but no GOOD hamburgers can be found. Pancakes are unheard of here :eek: , and they cut their bacon (called panchetta) differently than we do. I've yet to find a good Mexican restaurant in Italy. There are Chinese restaurants everywhere, and they are horrible!!! Corn on the cob does not exist in Italy. Hotdogs are fair, but nothing compared to what the cart vendors with the Sabrett roll umbrellas in New York City offer. Pastrami? Forget it in Italy!!! Come to think of it, we need a good New York Deli here with bagels, lox, and other goodies.

At least in the U.S. you can order some items, and have them delivered. :)

Dan :)
 
Burgers? Now, I didn't mention burgers for a reason- you can still find great burgers. Tommy's used to be good in LA, and In and Out is still great.

There is a great 2 dollar, 4 to 5 dollar, and then the sky's the limit burger category.

Peanut butter? Health food stores? Bah- humbug. I forget the brand name Maranantha or some such- but you might was well get Adams for several dollars less than that- about the same.

Good yogurt in Montana? Where?

Neko2- I'll try the Costco Cake, though it will take awhile. Cosco is about 300 miles round trip and we don't make the journey enough to join. I do wish I could recall the name of the good cheese at Walmart- it comes in bricks, sharp, extra Sharp, and pepper jack. All are good.

I'll say again try Reeds Dairy in Idaho Falls Id for the best icecream on the West Coast or Western States. Next time through I'm dry icing some- that's how good it is.


munk
 
I have a Lancaster Dutch Market in my town. Real deal. Everything's handmade/hand-packed. Meat is real fresh, dairy - super nice.

I go there every weekend....no kiddin.

Better than Disneyland.

:eek:
 
but there used to be a Pauls on Willow by Santa Anita (might still be there). And if you ever make it beyond the Orange Curtain there's also a Pauls in Anaheim on Magnolia & LaPalma. Boys is on the corner of Magnolia & Lincoln. There's a Dukes on Cerritos & Western and one on Main St. in Santa Ana across from St. Joseph's. Bills is on Fairview & MacArthur in Costa Mesa. There's also a ma-n-pa Italian place called Demiccellis on Brookhurst & Chapman. They've got the biggest calzone I've ever seen, the SMALL is 16" :eek: The large is 30". For $25 two people can eat like gods.

Frank
 
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