my mom would use a ready-made crust, period. even if she had room to make one, which we do not.

and no, we don't use lard for any baking. she used to use Crisco for some cooking... in the 80's (not here, no Crisco here)... but now that is known not to be healthy. we don't use anything with transfats. theoretically speaking, if she made a pie crust, she would use butter.

Oh... no we don't have graham crackers either. Pies aren't made here. There is a similar pastry thing but they are not pies. So you can't just go buy a pie, either.

keep in mind when i visited as a kid, the only kind of cereal available here was corn flakes. couldn't even get rice krispies. nowadays you can get more, but there is not a whole "cereal aisle" even in huge mega-supermarkets which we now have. the cereal section is at most maybe 3-4 yards long.

yes this is an incredible food place. if you like the immense variety of local, even regional and d.o.c. products, esp. cheese, meat, and wine, that you cannot get in the US. somehow i don't think those particular specialties would float your boat.

for instance, one of them is a particular type of lard... i nearly freaked when it was offered me. it is served raw/sliced on hot bread or bready-type things. it melts. sound good? ROFL! kidding!

I hope your outing goes smoothly today and that you have a good time with your friend.

~ waves ~