katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,391 
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Post by katybee on Jul 30, 2023 0:22:42 GMT
I love, I mean LOVE living in Santa Barbara and feel blessed every day that I do. The weather is amazing (although I miss AC). I go to the beach at least a couple of times a week. We go to the mountains and wine country. There are beautiful places to hike. It is a beautiful city. And there are so many things I don’t miss about Texas—the heat, the POLITICS, the bugs. But after a year, these are the things I REALLY miss… 1. TexMex. The Mexican food here is good. And abundant. And we have a few favorite local spots. But it’s not TexMex. I miss good ol’ cheesy, saucy, ground beef TexMex. Guacamole here is hit or miss here. And nobody has frozen margaritas—from a MACHINE. And most of all—good QUESO! I know the food I’m describing is an American bastardization of authentic Mexican food. I don’t care. I miss it. 2. HEB. We desperately miss HEB. If you know you know. The grocery stores in actual Santa Barbara are small. We have to go to the next town up to get a bigger variety. Even now, we visit 2-3 stores a week to get everything we need. We start at Trader Joe’s, but have to go to at least one other store to get other things. HEB really is the best. It’s just special—I can’t describe it. 3. Iced Tea at restaurants. So many restaurants here don’t have it. Or if they do, it’s out of a fountain, not brewed. Yuck. 4. BBQ. I grew up in KC with the best BBQ ever. I had to get used to Texas BBQ, but I did, and grew to love it. Here—there is no BBQ. At least that we know of. I would kill for some BBQ brisket and a big cold glass of iced tea! 5. Breakfast tacos, which are an Austin staple. We have breakfast burritos here, but not the foil wrapped breakfast tacos you find at nearly every gas station in Austin. 6. Bluebell Ice Cream. We have a local ice cream shop which is delicious. But I miss some Bluebell flavors. I now realize everything I miss is food related. And you really didn’t need to know any of this. But I’m telling you anyway.  |
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Post by AussieMeg on Jul 30, 2023 0:30:29 GMT
I can totally understand. There would be so many things that I would miss if I moved away from here, and most of them would be food related! I don't think the food differs too much from state to state in Australia, but it sure differs from country to country.
Friends of ours were thinking of moving to Delaware at one stage, for the husband's work. His wife said to me (only half joking) that she didn't want to move because she wouldn't be able to get Aussie style Fish & Chips there!
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,391
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Post by katybee on Jul 30, 2023 0:49:08 GMT
I can totally understand. There would be so many things that I would miss if I moved away from here, and most of them would be food related! I don't think the food differs too much from state to state in Australia, but it sure differs from country to country. Friends of ours were thinking of moving to Delaware at one stage, for the husband's work. His wife said to me (only half joking) that she didn't want to move because she wouldn't be able to get Aussie style Fish & Chips there! My sister-in-law is from New Zealand and we are on a continual search for “decent” fish and chips. There is a place here in SB that is “pretty good.” Funny enough, they don’t have a lot of Mexican food of any type in NZ (according to her). She misses TexMex more than me and if she were ever to move back to NZ, she would absolutely go into Mexican food withdrawal. She misses a lot of NZ/Aussie food and is always excited when she finds it here (mostly candy). And she misses marmite (yuck). |
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Post by busy on Jul 30, 2023 1:17:33 GMT
I can relate to missing good queso, TexMex, and breakfast tacos. I spent a lot of time in Houston for work for a couple years and grew to love all of those things. We don't have any of them in the PNW or the parts of CA I've spent time in. We have excellent Mexican food, but Mexican food and TexMex are not the same!
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 30, 2023 1:26:19 GMT
I can relate since I live in CA. I've missed food from Louisiana for 40 years! BUT, I don't miss the weather and the bugs so it's a trade off.
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Post by Lexica on Jul 30, 2023 1:27:49 GMT
I can relate. I moved from Southern California to Oregon and while it isn’t so much the kinds of food, it is specific restaurants that I miss. They were small businesses so I know they will never appear here. I do have to say they have delicious Mexican food here. And if I was to have to choose only one type of food to be able to have access to, it would be Mexican food, so I consider myself lucky there. But while it is superior to what I could get in Orange County, I do miss the other restaurants.
And for some silly reason, I miss the Daiso that came within the last few years. There have been a few occasions already that I wished we had one in this area. They carried this small neck pillow that I am assuming was for travel. My neck has been fused and I have to put something behind my neck when I lay down or I am in terrible pain. I do have one that I brought in the move and it is the perfect size and softness, but I am having to carry it room to room to use it. I know, that isn’t a big imposition, but when you get all settled onto the couch to watch a movie and realize your neck pillow is in the bedroom, I hate having to get up and go get it. It isn’t just the inconvenience, getting up off the couch is very painful for me. I think it is due to the Fibromyalgia. Anytime I sit still for a few minutes, getting up again hurts terribly. So if I had a Daiso here, I’d just buy a couple more neck pillows. Eventually when I find my sewing machine, I will just make a few and it will be problem solved.
But yes, I relate to missing certain foods and even grocery stores.
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MorningPerson
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,509
Location: Central Pennsylvania
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Post by MorningPerson on Jul 30, 2023 2:10:16 GMT
I’ve never been to Texas so I have nothing to add to that part of your post, but one of my kids was at UCSB for grad school so we were able to visit many times. Heaven on earth!
We loved going to the Saturday morning farmers’ market and then heading to a winery or two. Some memorable afternoons were spent sitting outside a winery with our bottle of wine and freshly baked bread, olives, figs and avocados, with the beautiful vineyards just steps away.
This is prompting so many memories. I remember on one of our first visits heading out to visit a winery and we had to go over some mountains. I was sitting in the back seat and at one point looked behind me and I learned that “breathtaking view” isn’t just a saying. The beauty literally took my breath away.
You’re living in such a beautiful, wonderful, amazing place.
ETA: Sorry, that was totally off topic! Sorry you miss your Texas things!
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Post by mellyw on Jul 30, 2023 2:16:16 GMT
I’ve lived all over the world and can get or replicate many of my favorites. I’m lucky that my area has a bunch of international markets
But there’s nothing, nothing like fish and chips in England. It’s just special there.
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Post by Merge on Jul 30, 2023 2:35:58 GMT
I can totally understand. There would be so many things that I would miss if I moved away from here, and most of them would be food related! I don't think the food differs too much from state to state in Australia, but it sure differs from country to country. Friends of ours were thinking of moving to Delaware at one stage, for the husband's work. His wife said to me (only half joking) that she didn't want to move because she wouldn't be able to get Aussie style Fish & Chips there! My sister-in-law is from New Zealand and we are on a continual search for “decent” fish and chips. There is a place here in SB that is “pretty good.” Funny enough, they don’t have a lot of Mexican food of any type in NZ (according to her). She misses TexMex more than me and if she were ever to move back to NZ, she would absolutely go into Mexican food withdrawal. She misses a lot of NZ/Aussie food and is always excited when she finds it here (mostly candy). And she misses marmite (yuck). We are in Australia right now, and DH and I passed a Mexican food restaurant. We shared deep skepticism about what that would be like. I hear you, though - any time we discuss leaving Texas, my first thought is that I'm not sure I could live without HEB. Or breakfast tacos in homemade tortillas. |
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,553
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Post by bethany102399 on Jul 30, 2023 2:42:16 GMT
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Post by quinlove on Jul 30, 2023 4:46:06 GMT
As much as I dislike Texas, I do love my HEB store.
And, yes, the unsweetened tea is pretty dependable around here too.
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,148
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Jul 30, 2023 8:01:20 GMT
Having moved from Australia to Germany nearly 14 years ago, there are a lot of things I miss. Food is a big part of it - decent, spicy Asian is at the top of my list. Every time I am back for a visit, one of my first lunch stops is for a seafood curry laksa, quickly followed by Char Kway Tao. I also miss a good meat pie and pastie, as well as vanilla slices. Good fish and seafood is also scarce, lived so far inland. For the same reason, I also miss the beach. Every year or two, we make a point of taking a beach vacation - this year we are in Bulgaria, on the Black Sea. It is lovely , but not an Aussie beach!
I can get a lot of the ingredients here at one of the several good Asian groceries, but sometimes I just don’t want the hassle of cooking it. I also bring back Vegemite and Tim Tams each visit.
I know too that there will be things I miss from Germany when we eventually move back. Good, frequent public transport and long distance trains are definitely on that list.
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Post by Tearisci on Jul 30, 2023 19:59:16 GMT
I'm in DFW and we've just started getting HEBs here. I haven't been to one and hoping that one moves in closer to my area.
I love the food here and love that I can get my east and west coasts favs here as well: Utz potato chips and Tillamook cheese.
Oh and I had lunch at In N Out Burger today so another west coast thing to love about Texas.
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Post by ~summer~ on Jul 30, 2023 20:38:56 GMT
I don’t think Ive ever even had Tex Mex…
I’m surprised about the iced tea - I feel most places have good iced tea.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 30, 2023 20:52:51 GMT
After many, many disappointments on trips we made some family rules:
We don’t eat Mexican food outside of Texas
And
We don’t order tea north of the Mason Dixon line or west of Amarillo 🤣🤣🤣
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Post by katlady on Jul 30, 2023 21:06:20 GMT
I don’t think Ive ever even had Tex Mex… I’m surprised about the iced tea - I feel most places have good iced tea. I haven’t had Tex Mex, that I know of. I haven’t ever had breakfast tacos either. We have breakfast burritos here (so cal). And I have no problem finding unsweet iced tea out here. |
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,986
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Post by Sarah*H on Jul 30, 2023 21:21:27 GMT
Trip Advisor says La Tapatia Bakery has breakfast tacos in Santa Barbara!
I definitely feel your pain though, it's always food things I end up missing too. We're lucky to have good Tex Mex where I live but I would be so sad if it wasn't available. Our local place has been closed for a few weeks several times in the last few years due to immigration issues (the owner appears to be a real scumbag) and I thought I might go into withdrawal.
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Post by Restless Spirit on Jul 30, 2023 21:45:51 GMT
Lived in far north Fort Worth for 10 years. Gone from there for 13. Still miss Tex Mex, Babe’s Chicken and Taco Casa.
With that said, I’ll be more than happy to never set foot in Texas again the rest of my life. (Or Florida). I live deep in Trump land as it is, but those places are far, far worse.
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Post by Gem Girl on Jul 30, 2023 21:48:54 GMT
Tea from a fountain? I don't know what that is, but it can't be anything good.  |
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Post by ntsf on Jul 30, 2023 21:56:23 GMT
our family rule is we don't eat chinese outside san francisco.. though new york city would be ok I guess.
or generally any asian food.
I love my tillamook cheese, farman pickles and fisher scone mix from seattle.. and the hazelnuts off my friend's oregon farm..
my son just moved to Wash DC. he is missing big time mission burritos. though last night, he actually got the local mexican restaurant to wrap his burrito in foil to take home.. and of course.. boudin's sourdough bread.
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
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Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Jul 30, 2023 22:09:30 GMT
our family rule is we don't eat chinese outside san francisco.. though new york city would be ok I guess. or generally any asian food. I love my tillamook cheese, farman pickles and fisher scone mix from seattle.. and the hazelnuts off my friend's oregon farm.. my son just moved to Wash DC. he is missing big time mission burritos. though last night, he actually got the local mexican restaurant to wrap his burrito in foil to take home.. and of course.. boudin's sourdough bread. Surprisingly, Atlanta has incredible Asian food. So many immigrants — Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Chinese… the Asian markets are amazing and cheap, and the restaurants are top notch. I live in Massachusetts and wish we had some good Louisiana food. My husband grew up there and really misses it. |
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Post by tenacious on Jul 30, 2023 22:16:22 GMT
our family rule is we don't eat chinese outside san francisco.. though new york city would be ok I guess. or generally any asian food. I love my tillamook cheese, farman pickles and fisher scone mix from seattle.. and the hazelnuts off my friend's oregon farm.. my son just moved to Wash DC. he is missing big time mission burritos. though last night, he actually got the local mexican restaurant to wrap his burrito in foil to take home.. and of course.. boudin's sourdough bread. Surprisingly, Atlanta has incredible Asian food. So many immigrants — Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Chinese… the Asian markets are amazing and cheap, and the restaurants are top notch. I live in Massachusetts and wish we had some good Louisiana food. My husband grew up there and really misses it. Vegas also has great Asian food if you go to China Town. Also, Vancouver BC has some of the best I have ever had outside of Asia. I am from the Bay Area, and lived in Taiwan and China for 7.5 years. |
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Post by katlady on Jul 30, 2023 22:17:39 GMT
our family rule is we don't eat chinese outside san francisco.. though new york city would be ok I guess. or generally any asian food. I love my tillamook cheese, farman pickles and fisher scone mix from seattle.. and the hazelnuts off my friend's oregon farm.. my son just moved to Wash DC. he is missing big time mission burritos. though last night, he actually got the local mexican restaurant to wrap his burrito in foil to take home.. and of course.. boudin's sourdough bread. Surprisingly, Atlanta has incredible Asian food. So many immigrants — Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Chinese… the Asian markets are amazing and cheap, and the restaurants are top notch. I live in Massachusetts and wish we had some good Louisiana food. My husband grew up there and really misses it. Yes, Los Angeles has some great Asian food. But taste/flavoring could also be regional. My cousin in Hawaii says that the Chinese food in Hawaii tastes different than in Los Angeles. And I heard the Chinese food in New York taste different again. I have noticed a slight different between Hawaii and Los Angeles Chinese food. I have never tried Chinese food from S.F. or N.Y. Vegas also has great Asian food if you go to China Town. Yes, I've had some good Asian food in Vegas! |
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Post by Marina on Jul 30, 2023 22:27:12 GMT
I totally get it. We grew up with a family run Italian deli. When my mom was low on funds they would run her a tab. Just thinking of the scents from the food in there makes my mouth water. Their meatball sandwiches, lasagna, pastries were all home made and delicious. I miss them.
I also miss a Mexican place I used to go to 30+ years ago and their nachos with some type of sauce were spectacular. Haven't found another to match it.
And in Italy I miss really good gnocchi with a beef type of sauce that was so good. And from London their fish and chips.
I can't imagine leaving CA for some areas as I can't live without good dim sum and asian food.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 30, 2023 22:30:13 GMT
Tea from a fountain? I don't know what that is, but it can't be anything good. It’s really bad…it comes out of the soda fountain instead of actually being brewed. If it comes in a can, bottle, or fountain - it’s not iced tea 🤢 |
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Post by Scrapper100 on Jul 30, 2023 22:35:11 GMT
Never had a breakfast taco but looking on google sounds easy to make.? I know it’s not the same though. We have a few local Mexican places with the option of ground beef and I didn’t understand it but didn’t know that was common in TexMex. Bbq is much more difficult. We have several bbq places they aren’t Kansas style but Texas. My favorite bbq or smoked foods are the ones my husband makes but we have a few places in town to get it as well. One is a hole in the wall place that’s family owned and they are from Texas. The other is a local chain. Started in San Diego 25 years ago and only a few locations but luckily they opened one by us.
I totally understand missing things. I don’t miss a lot from San Diego but there are a few things. There was a hole in the wall pizza place that made good Chicago style deep dish pizza our place up here isn’t as good. We have tried several Italian places for lasagna and calzones but they don’t compare. It took a while to find descent regular pizza and Mexican food and finally found those. Still searching for the others. Overall though we love it here and it was the right move for us.
So totally understand I hope you find some new favorites soon.
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Post by librarylady on Jul 30, 2023 22:42:14 GMT
My rules: I don't order Mexican food outside of Texas.
I don't order ice tea in a restaurant.
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Post by librarylady on Jul 30, 2023 22:43:43 GMT
I have shopped at HEB in the Austin area and the Houston area. I'd love, love to have one near enough to shop, but I know that won't happen. The nearest one is about 45 minutes away and in a congested traffic area; I won't go there.
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Post by ntsf on Jul 30, 2023 22:51:05 GMT
I would definitely eat asian food in vancover bc... and maybe elsewhere. but the run of the mill cantonese sort of chinese food outside a major city with an asian population is a no go.. we have many varieties of asian food here.. including a mongolian, muslim appropriate chinese place...half the time I don't even recognize the dishes on the menu..
my daughter in new zealand misses SF mexican food too.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,391
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Post by katybee on Jul 30, 2023 22:51:21 GMT
I don’t want it to sound like we don’t have good food here. We definitely do! I mean, the seafood alone is amazing. And the Mexican food is good. One thing I love here is Chile Rellano burritos….a burrito with a Chile rellano inside! And the carnitas is amazing. Tri-tip is very popular around here….you didn’t see that much in Austin. Also…wine. And the most amazing almond croissants you will ever taste. The restaurants here are really eclectic and quality. So we have plenty of choices….we just miss the things we miss. |
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