I moved to Munich in the fall of 1999 (!) and in the almost twenty years that I’ve lived here I’ve had to bring less and less stuff over from my trips home to America.
The list used to be endless, hair gel, hair conditioner, tortillas, coffee beans – you name it. Now, I find I can get a lot of these things – the same brands even – in good old Germany.
One thing, however, remains elusive – good hot sauce. Sure you can get Tabasco, but that’s just the baseline hot sauce. I’ve seen Tapatio at some of the Burrito shops that have opened around town and other places, but at 4-6 EUR a bottle, I’ll pass.
On a recent trip home to California, I found some Louisiana’s Pure Crystal Hot Sauce in my parents fridge and gave it a spin. If you’re not from the states, it helps to know the hot sauce is a very regional item. As a Californian, I usually stick to Tapatio.
Anyway, what a revelation – Crystal has just the right mix of heat and tang. It’s good on EVERYTHING from scrambled eggs to polenta. Of course, of COURSE this is impossible to find in Germany. Well actually you can order it on Amazon.de but it’s kind of steep at 7.50 EUR for a regular sized bottle.
This was frustrating as I suddenly needed to put Crystal on everything I eat. So Crystal will remain on my ‘Bring Back From America’ list for the foreseeable future.
P.S. Franks is a somewhat passable substitute and you can find it at The Candy Store on Paul Heyse Strasse.
wahlmuenchnerin.com 