For those of you looking for American import food in Thessaloniki, here's a great place to stop!
I stumbled upon this store completely by accident the other day. It's right by the City Hotel, on Komninon, close to the corner of Komninon and Mitropoleous in the center. I went in assuming it was your basic grocery store - only to find out there were tons of American imports throughout the shop! Check out some of my finds...
(excuse the terrible photography by the way - I'm pretty sure I wasn't allowed to be snapping photos!)
 |
| Celestial Seasonings has the best Chai tea |
 |
| Ritz Crackers |
 |
| A+W Root Beer - first time I've seen it. No more float cravings. |
 |
| Great selection of soups - I was looking for cream of mushroom forever for a recipe. |
 |
| Some of the cake stuff is affordable, some not so much... |
 |
| Extracts - definitely hard to find! |
 |
| No need to ship over the pumpkin pie filling! |
|
|
|
|
Other finds include saurkraut, a variety of salsas, peanut butter choices, real maple syrup, and stovetop stuffing. We all know the food in Greece is amazing, but sometimes you just crave that one thing you can't have easily - hope this helps all my fellow ξένοι living in Thess!
Happy shopping,
Andrea
I seriously cannot wait to visit Thessaloniki for Easter, I will most definitely be finding this store and stocking up!!! Thanks for sharing, this blog makes me wish I were in Thess so I could explore with you!
ReplyDeleteYou can get cake mixes and frosting at the supermarket, namely AB Vasilopoulos. Root beer, at least in Athens, has been available for a decade even at the neighborhood hamburger places along with Dr. Pepper.
ReplyDeleteI hear from contacts in Thessaloniki that Am. products have been available for years, found normally at small shops. So it may be the first time you've seen them, but it's not new.
Pumpkin puree comes from real pumpkins, and mushroom soup can be made from mushrooms, butter, onion, milk and a bit of flour. I mention this because it's healthier and cheaper, and there's no need to search for these products. Just to inform you, not criticize you. :)
Hey Kat! Thanks for your feedback - appreciate you adding your two cents because you've been in Greece longer! I'm sure as i explore the city other shops will come along with these items.. and hopefully at better prices.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with AB grocery store is that the large one with a good selection is far out of the center, and I'm without a car. If I want imports, it's much more convenient for me to get them downtown. Finding a small grocery store with american products has proven to be a bit tricky. However, I've gotten some great fair trade brown sugar from AB before on the occasion that i'm out there.
Also, so jealous that you guys have have dr pepper and root beer readily available in Athens! This is definitely not true in my experience of thessaloniki... as far as i know from my foreign friends, the only import store with dr. pepper is right by aristotle square.. but they often don't have it. Oh well - like you said about the soup, soda isn't so healthy anyways. : ) And lemon ibi is a decent trade-off, haha.
Now that I'm moving from Athens to Thessaloniki, I'm really excited and grateful that You are doing this blog, Andrea!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips!
ReplyDeleteTry IHEART Cafe on the back side of Rotonda. They are Americans who opened the best cafe in town and have all sorts of American drinks and snacks. It's excellent and like home.
ReplyDeleteAll the American products in stores are expensive and over the years I have learned to make due with natural resources available to me. Hey I'm in Kastoria so your lucky to be in Thessaloniki and close to everything. Good luck!