MeFi food swap?

August 20, 2004 3:35 PM

MeFi swap for food? Zpousman asked about it in the moving thread from the gentleman in NYC whose lovely wife misses her home. I am sending a modest care package to the South and have been offered something southern in return - and I don't even know what's down there, let alone crave anything from there. Does someone terribly miss something that can be obtained in Florida? Grumblebee? Are Mrs Grumble's GooGoo Cluster needs met? In my fantasy, someone in upstate NY is dying for something Southern and then turns around and sends me cookies from the Ithaca Bakery.
posted by caitlinb to MetaFilter-Related at 3:35 PM (56 comments total)

Ooh...what a great idea. I would gladly send some Goo Goos for someone who would be willing to send me some black & white cookies.
posted by ChrisTN at 4:08 PM on August 20, 2004

I would send my left arm if someone in Oz could mail a package of Tim Tams and a bottle of Solo.

Seriously though, if any aussies want any american food of any kind, I can hook you up in exchange for tim tams.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:41 PM on August 20, 2004

This is a terrible idea. It's far more entertaining to tease Miguel about Beer Nuts than to actually send him a case.
posted by eyeballkid at 4:48 PM on August 20, 2004

/me watches hundreds of Aussie lurkers firing emails to mathowie to sate his craving in exchange for MeFi accounts.
posted by riffola at 4:48 PM on August 20, 2004

Yeah, but ebk, think of what migs would send you in exchange.
posted by Salmonberry at 4:53 PM on August 20, 2004

oh, good idea riffola. I should totally put that on the new user signup page. "signup requires residence in Australia and access to Tim Tam cookies for shipment"
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:10 PM on August 20, 2004

Well, that would solve some of the USA-centric problem. But Matt, you might try something like this. You can even order Milo to drink through the Tim Tams.

The real question is how to get me some fresh stuff from Tito's Tacos to Utah.
posted by weston at 5:30 PM on August 20, 2004

Do we have any Mefites in Belgium?
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:58 PM on August 20, 2004

caitlinb: i'll see if any of my contacts in ithaca can hook you up :p
posted by Stynxno at 6:05 PM on August 20, 2004

There's this vegan not-cheese, Chreez, that's sold in Vermont (possibly other places on the East Coast), but not sold on the West Coast.

Anyone who would like to trade me some boxes of it for something else would become my lifelong crush.
posted by cmonkey at 6:20 PM on August 20, 2004

i'd like to help you out matt, but i'm VEGAN~! we dont eat things made from animals, just things made from humans. so i can send you some tim tams that have milk chocolate made from pasteurized breastmilk if you want.
posted by kv at 6:55 PM on August 20, 2004

gross.
posted by Quartermass at 7:05 PM on August 20, 2004

Matt, you can also get your friends up here in Canada to send you Tim Tams. We have a local company importing them — although they go by the name Walker's Original biscuits. I'm assuming this has something to do with a conflict of trademarks, possibly with Tim Horton's. I've only seen the regular kind, although those forums seem to indicate that the double coated and caramel ones are floating around somewhere. In any event, they can be found up here for about $3 Canadian and the shipping is probably cheaper than from Australia.
posted by filmgoerjuan at 7:10 PM on August 20, 2004

I'll send some clear Rhode Island quahog chowder. Bulk rate. You'll get it in 7-10 days.
posted by PrinceValium at 7:28 PM on August 20, 2004

I haven't seen proper sponge candy anywhere outside of upstate New York, aside from one little chocolate shop in Monterey, which shut down way too quickly for my liking. Unfortunately, it's way too hot down here in the Texas summer to ship chocolate anywhere, or I'd beg someone within spitting distance of Parkside Candies in Buffalo to fedex me some.
posted by majcher at 8:06 PM on August 20, 2004

This thread makes me think about all the food and drink I do not have access to where I live, and that makes me cry. Thanks for making my cry, caitlinb!

*shuffles off, weeping disconsolately*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:32 PM on August 20, 2004

"In my fantasy, someone in upstate NY is dying for something Southern and then turns around and sends me cookies from the Ithaca Bakery"

That's not much of a fantasy.

Just sayin'.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:13 PM on August 20, 2004

I'll trade a six pack of Dead Guy Ale for a 6 pack of something of equal value you can't get in the northwest.
posted by Keyser Soze at 9:23 PM on August 20, 2004

Anyone with access to IBC Rootbeer -- is it expensive as fuck where you live? It's $1.69 a bottle here in Toronto whereas a few years back I used to get 6 packs for $3.99. Just curious if the price as spiked everywhere or just where they know I want it?

And Seaman's Grapefruit and Lime drink has vanished from Toronto shelves... anyone?
posted by dobbs at 9:58 PM on August 20, 2004

dobbs: I have some of this action down the street from me, but I'm guessing that it'd cost you $1.69+ for me to ship it to you anyway. All that glass would be a fortune in S&H.

That place also carries Dead Guy Ale.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:14 PM on August 20, 2004

Yeah, thanks ebk. It would work out the same, pretty much. I was just curious if the places I frequent jacked the price themselves or if the distro did. Guess that answers my question.
posted by dobbs at 10:19 PM on August 20, 2004

What Southern things do you have access to, caitlinb? 'Cause don't you live in SFO?

At any rate, I'll be in Ithaca in just over a month from now, and can certainly take orders.
posted by Vidiot at 10:28 PM on August 20, 2004

I'm sort of tempted to put up a request for a few bottles of decent British cider, but I suspect the shipping would cost more than the actual cider. Not to mention that the only authentic dutch thing that's edible you can get around here is stroopwafels and and drop, and nobody's going to fall for that.

So, on a related note: Does anybody know where you can get proper cider (retail, not in pubs) cider in the Netherlands?
posted by fvw at 10:39 PM on August 20, 2004

While we're on this subject, does anyone know where one can get Almighurt or similar unbelievably good German yogurt in (or to) NYC?
posted by sueinnyc at 12:29 AM on August 21, 2004

Do any New England expats want Moxie? If you're in the US or Canada, I'll send you some.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:08 AM on August 21, 2004

ChrisTN, I have easy access to black & white cookies (too easy!). I'd love to do a B&W/Goo Goo trade!
posted by grumblebee at 5:22 AM on August 21, 2004

Also, I really LOVE the black current fruit pastilles (U.K. candy). You used to be able to buy boxes of just the black current ones, but when I was in London recently, I could only find the multi-flavor pack.

If any Englishman or Englishwoman has a lead on the black currents, I would gladly trade for some NYC something-or-other.
posted by grumblebee at 5:25 AM on August 21, 2004

If anyone in a place where Schweppes sells its bitter lemon soda wants to send me some, I will send them crap from Chicago in exchange.
posted by kenko at 6:04 AM on August 21, 2004

This reminds me of that movie where the rich guys from Georgia wanted something they couldn't easily get and hired good old boy Burt Reynolds to bring back a truckload of Coors beer from Texas. I thought the internet could provide all but in the spirit of Smokey and the Bandit, I'll be happy to trade "Southern" stuff for a vintage Cona coffee machine.
posted by oh posey at 6:33 AM on August 21, 2004

Grumblebee - I have the same yen. There's a store on 86th st between 2nd and 3rd (a drugstore on the south side of the street, near Garden of Eden) that sells tins of blackcurrent pastilles, the chewy kind. They are pricey, but damn they are good - much like the common British kind. They should be at the counter.

oooo I miss Bitter Lemon too
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:04 AM on August 21, 2004

fvw: only authentic dutch thing that's edible you can get around here is stroopwafels and and drop, and nobody's going to fall for that.

I can get drop here (in NYC). But stroopwafels!! Jeez, this is a better idea than I give myself credit for!

Perhaps I should get to work coding something up. There are some non-php-type problems though, problems that don't show up in the mefi-swap.

1. Shipping items - Food is perishable. Well, good food is perishable, twinkies and Lucky Charms being the exception that proves the rule. Shipping would have to be done appropriately and that can be expensive.

2. Packing items - and it's fragile. The sender would need to do his or her best to pack the foodstuffs well and this gets expensive and complicated.

3. Un-equal swaps. Somebody wants black-n-white cookies shipped from NYC. Somebody else wants (uncooked) Chicago-style pizza shipped on dry ice, overnight, to New York. Will the swap cover the difference in price and handling? Seems like it should, right?

4. Need for eBay-style reputation management. Well, we'd need it if we opened up the swap to people outside Metafilter. Perhaps we can start small and work our way up.

I'll think on this and see if there's a nice way to set up a php-food-swapper.
posted by zpousman at 8:13 AM on August 21, 2004

Go zp go!

(Must it be just food? I would kill for a few tubes of Boots' clay mask. The idiots have online shopping but won't ship overseas.)
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:44 AM on August 21, 2004

fvw, don't forget frikandellen en kroketten. They should be mandatory tourist food.
posted by sebas at 9:32 AM on August 21, 2004

fvw, don't forget frikandellen en kroketten. They should be mandatory tourist food.
mmm....FEBO : >
posted by amberglow at 9:39 AM on August 21, 2004

ah--they have a theme song!
posted by amberglow at 9:40 AM on August 21, 2004

majcher: I usually get my sponge candy at Watson's, but I could be persuaded to get some from Parkside instead and FedEx it. Let me know if you're interested when summer's over. =)
posted by Melinika at 11:34 AM on August 21, 2004

This is the kind of thing I was hoping to find when I asked Metafilter about Chocodiles.
posted by amarynth at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2004

If Matt ends up under a pile of Tim Tams I'll swap for any spares.

And Reece's Pieces or mini cups from the US.

I have access to anything from the UK be it face packs or 'candy'. (We call them sweets, you know.)

fvw: I'm a couple of Kms away from the The National Collection of Cider and Perry :-) But you're right about the postage.
posted by i_cola at 3:07 PM on August 21, 2004

what's a face pack?
posted by amberglow at 3:10 PM on August 21, 2004

I hate the swarming tourists as much as the next guy, but I still think making them eat compressed bits of junk found on the slaughterhouse floor at the end of the week is going too far.

i_cola: Well ok, how about I live on your couch for a few years until my liver finally flees my body and gets adopted by some nice loving family?

amberglow: face pack.
posted by fvw at 4:14 PM on August 21, 2004

i thought he was talking about a food, not mudpacks or facial stuff. oops.
posted by amberglow at 4:21 PM on August 21, 2004

posted by wendell at 4:25 PM on August 21, 2004

i_cola, I'll send you Reese's galore if you send me Aero bars galore. :)
posted by riffola at 4:29 PM on August 21, 2004

Aero bars for you, riff
posted by amberglow at 4:33 PM on August 21, 2004

I'd like some Aussie musk-flavored lollies or Musk Lifesavers, but I could prob'ly just order them somewhere online. I'd love to try Chreez, though.
posted by Shane at 4:33 PM on August 21, 2004

i_cola...I would be happy to trade you some Reese's Pieces for their value in Little Robots lego sets we are missing! We get to watch LR on TVO but unfortunately, can't buy the Lego sets in North America. We have been trawling ebay, but it is often kind of pricey...Anyway, my email address is in my profile, so let me know if you are interested...I am not 100% sure what we are missing yet!
And...it is my daughter who loves those guys, not me, I mean, sheesh, what kind of grown man likes animated British robot shows? Erm...
posted by Richat at 6:57 PM on August 21, 2004

If you can still get them, I would love some Clarnico Mint Creams and would be happy to swap for Tim Tams or perhaps someone would like to try a Tasmanian product like Leatherwood Honey or D'anvers Chocolate Truffles?
posted by Tarrama at 7:17 PM on August 21, 2004

Chreese. I thought it tasted like shrit, but maybe I was in a cranky mood. You can input your zipcode and find the local stores carrying their products.
posted by Feisty at 8:18 PM on August 21, 2004

stoopwaffel/drop nothing; i want strawberry vla. how you gonna get that over here?
posted by bingo at 8:45 PM on August 21, 2004

International sweets are available in the UK from cybercandy.co.uk, Tim Tams from Harvey Nichols (London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham?). They will swap money for food.

You could always get some penguin biscuits and leave them to go dry, if you want to get the taste of a Tim Tam ; )

It is amazing how far people will go to get a taste of home. Most asylum seekers will gladly spend the majority of their pitiful £38/week on exotic foods, many of which are virtually indistinguishable from the much cheaper local varieties.

/storytime
posted by asok at 6:59 AM on August 22, 2004

Mayor Curley I'm not a New England Expat but I'm interesting in getting some Moxie. Of course I have no idea what you would want from the midwest in exchange.
posted by philcliff at 7:33 AM on August 22, 2004

Strawberry custard? Just make it yourself! Make a good smooth custard. Stir in strawberries and strawberry juice. Enjoy.
posted by fvw at 9:35 AM on August 22, 2004

Oo thanks for that link amber!
posted by riffola at 9:51 AM on August 22, 2004

kv - I'll make you the best pesto anyone's ever tasted (totally vegan, too) in exchange for some delicious home-baked vegan cookies. My gf is always dying for those but I'm a terrible baker.
posted by scarabic at 10:28 AM on August 22, 2004

roar!
posted by kv at 5:08 PM on August 22, 2004

So...anyone have a craving for Moon Pies? Boiled peanuts? Real Key limes? Alligator meat?

Or perhaps, as offered to many people (including caitlinb) many a previous time, horribly garish headache-inducing collegewear?
posted by casarkos at 10:24 AM on August 23, 2004