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January 25 was the birthday of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, which means that Scots everywhere are obliged to throw roaring parties where they read the “Address to a Haggis” and consume vast quantities of sheep parts and whisky. Such a celebration requires a trip to the Continental Shop.

First on the list is a can of haggis. You can spend more for a larger frozen one, but we think it doesn’t taste as good. Do not, under any circumstances, purchase the vegetarian haggis, which, despite being made of raw material which in its original state is probably less disgusting than haggis constituents, tastes absolutely horrible. Just feed the vegetarians a mince pie and leave them with the air of mystery.

You can find all your British standards–Sharwood’s chutney, Jacob’s Cream Crackers, Marmite, McVities digestive biscuits…you name it. Worth trying are Walker’s Crisps — we love the Thai Chili and Oriental Chicken, but aren’t too crazy about the Smoky Bacon or Beef and Onion (tastes like Week-Old Meatloaf to us!). Keep an eye out for the infrequently-stocked Ham-and-Mustard and Prawn Cocktail, which are fantastic.

The dessert aisle is full of goodies like Cadbury’s, Aero bars and Yorkies, but there’s no Scottish treat quite like the deep-fried Mars bar. You can get full-sized British Mars Bars at the Continental Shop, but we went with bite-sized Milky Way bars (the American equivalent) prepared according to this recipe. Tasty as hell.

The Continental Shop also rents out all kinds of British movies and TV series, so pre-hobbit, pre-heroin Dominic Monaghan fans can get their Hetty Wainthropp fix. You can also stock up on British gifts like this one.

The Continental Shop
1619 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 453-8655

By Maribeth (see more of her posts).