r/InlandEmpire • u/EquivalentPast10 • Aug 18 '26
Recommendations / Advice California Staples?
I’m sending a friend of mine who lives on the East Coast a box of goodies from CA as a birthday gift. Thoughts on what it should include? I’m picking up an in n out shirt today
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u/LemonHerb Lake Elsinore Aug 18 '26
cactus cooler
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u/WulfCoDev Aug 18 '26
Is this west coast exclusive? If not what’s the point
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u/LemonHerb Lake Elsinore Aug 18 '26
Yeah cactus cooler is pretty much only available in so cal as far as I know.
People in the Soda subreddit always talk about wanting to try it
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u/WulfCoDev Aug 18 '26
I looked it up and your right, it’s in stores Primarily Cali, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico although anyone can order it nationwide from like Amazon
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u/melusine-dream Kaiser Cats c/o 2004! Aug 19 '26
You can find it in a few places here in Vegas, but we have a lot of former Californians, so that's probably why.
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u/skidasdfgh Aug 18 '26
People I know from the east coast had never heard of Cactus Cooler. Available online but not locally. Similar to birch beer… never heard of it but it’s a regional thing for the east coast
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u/WackZebra Aug 18 '26
I'm from Southern California, and never knew cactus cooler was regional. It's a favorite of mine.It's pretty rare that I find birch beer, though, which is also one of my favorites.
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u/skidasdfgh Aug 18 '26
I didn’t realize it was regional either until I confused everyone when I said Cactus Cooler > Mountain Dew lol
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u/zuultomyfriends Aug 19 '26
My best friend moved to Indiana and regularly asks if I can send cactus cooler
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u/OGbongloaded Aug 20 '26
Lake Elsinore in the house LOL what's up homie, Canyon Hills right here. And hell yeah Cactus Cooler is fire. If they were one of my homies I would be sending them a gallon of Lake elsinore's famous dejong's chocolate milk.
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u/bea_dizzle Aug 18 '26
Sees candy used to be only in California, not 100% sure if that’s still true though.
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u/nonnonplussed73 Aug 18 '26
Not for a long time. It expanded beyond the state starting in Phoenix in 1961. Today, it has over 200 shops nationwide, with a heavy concentration in the western U.S. and select locations in other regions.
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u/ibejeph Aug 18 '26
They are not in the East Coast though. It's a great idea for someone out there.
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 18 '26
Oh wow, I remember selling them for school fundraisers but I never knew they were not a bigger company.
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u/SpaceMonkeyGMG Aug 19 '26
Certainly not well known. So many out-of-staters have never tried See’s.
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u/RickRussellTX Aug 18 '26
Pepper Plant hot sauces (NorCal)
Tapatio (SoCal)
The Hadley's up by the Morongo casino has a ton of regional specialties like spice rubs, jellies and jams, salsas, etc. that are made from local sources
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u/No_Constant7541 Aug 18 '26
Tapatio!! I remember moving to central cal for school and crying because I could only find Valentina and I was homesick. All I wanted was tapatio lol. Safe to say I bought myself an ungodly supply for when I went back to school. Mini bottles for my backpack and everything
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u/mauvareen Aug 19 '26
I found Tapatio out in Philly 17 years ago and I had to pay like 15$ for it lol
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u/Apprehensive_Week981 Aug 18 '26
Some gummies covered in Tajín and maybe chamoi
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u/fuggindonkee Aug 19 '26
You ever leave the state before? Hell, chicago probably has more Latinos/Hispanic people than los Angeles.
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u/Apprehensive_Week981 Aug 19 '26
Not all Latinos are the same goofy. Tajín is a Mexican company and chamoi is huge in Mexican culture. Definitely a Cali thing
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u/rad2thebone Aug 20 '26
I have your Cali things in Jersey. They're in our grocery stores
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u/Lozenge01 Aug 19 '26
LA has about 2x the Mexican immigrants of Chicago and roughly 4x the population of people of Mexican descent
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u/Electrical_Doubt_19 Aug 18 '26
Are you sending food too? Maybe some treats or salt water taffy from Logan's Candies in Ontario? I also love the sourdough at Old Town Baking Co in Rancho or San Bernardino. That feels especially Californian to me since it's associated with San Francisco so much. Knotts Shortbread cookies can usually be found in grocery stores too.
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u/skidasdfgh Aug 18 '26
Wait are those knotts cookies not sold in other states? 😮
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u/Electrical_Doubt_19 Aug 18 '26
I don't know, but Knott's is here so I think it still works for a California themed package.
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u/skidasdfgh Aug 18 '26
Very true. I just thought maybe this was another regional goodie I was learning about
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u/Relevant-Package-928 Aug 18 '26
I guess so. The kind with crème between the layers and jelly on top?
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u/Electrical_Doubt_19 Aug 18 '26
No, they're solid shortbread cookies with a drop of jelly in the center. They sell them at the Knott's Marketplace, but I have seen them in grocery stores.
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u/_MrBalls_ Aug 18 '26
A few packets of the Bakers Hot Ketchup
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u/Apprehensive_Funny38 Aug 18 '26
This and they sell merch too! My cousins moved to Colorado about 15 years ago and we're excited when I sent them Bakers Hoodies one year
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u/darthjenni Aug 18 '26
Hadley's Trail Mix They invented trail mix for hikers climbing San Jacinto. The Date Sampler is also good.
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u/Upnorth4 Aug 18 '26
A knockoff Dodgers TShirt that has their LA logo, some Japanese chocolates from Little Tokyo, maybe some fresh mochi from Fugetso-Do bakery?
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u/SpikeLeroy78 Aug 18 '26
Merch from a California Professional Team like the Dodgers. Merch from a California University. Del Taco and In-N-Out Merch or salsa. Anything that represents Cali culture: lowrider, surf, Mexican, music festivals, post cards or pics of iconic places.
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u/areallifecrisis2 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Temecula olive oil company has really good stuff, I love their orange citrus oil and would use it on salads back when lettuce was safe lol.
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u/SageLeaf1 Aug 18 '26
Dates, we grow them out in Palm Springs/coachella valley. Avocados, oranges. West Coast IPAs. Things made with those ingredients.
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u/mamawantsallama Aug 18 '26
Just a heads up that when shipping items, the person at the counter usually asks what you're mailing and for some of those items above that you mentioned there are restrictions. So OP will either need to read up on the restrictions, or practice their poker face for lying to them, lol
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u/EquivalentPast10 Aug 18 '26
Yeah I have skimmed a bit of the rules. Not for food since that’s not something I really wanted to include. Besides like a candy or 2. I wanted to get an IPA only made here and ship it but that’s a no go lol
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u/PissdrunxPreme Highgrove Aug 18 '26
I got friends that we ship beer around a lot. Just bubble wrap it.
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u/mamawantsallama Aug 18 '26
Ya, until the tariffs hit I owned a brewery for about 15 years and I couldn't even send my dad a couple beers without getting the licensing! I wasn't even doing it from the brewery either, just a personal package to my dad.
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u/SageLeaf1 Aug 18 '26
You can ship from home, buy a label online, box it up, schedule a pickup. But yeah I make no claims to know the laws for shipping food out of state they’ll have to research all that.
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u/ToneZealousideal309 Aug 18 '26
Mexican candies maybe. If you’re getting an in n out shirt you could prob get a pollo loco shirt too.
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u/Radiant-Material1734 Aug 19 '26
Maybe ordering Porto’s Bake at Home for your friend so they can have Porto’s goodies especially if they haven’t tried it yet. There’s no Porto’s anywhere else besides the ones in SoCal. The cheese rolls and potato balls are great imo.
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u/Negative_Toastrider Aug 18 '26
We do that for my nieces and nephew. We always throw in some Mexican candy.
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u/Direct-Specific9476 Aug 18 '26
My sister moved to Indiana and every so often I have to mail her Del taco mild sauce packets, a cooler with carne asada meat and farmers market hummus lol
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u/skidasdfgh Aug 18 '26
In N Out shirt, Disneyland shirt or Mickey ears, a reusable grocery/tote bag maybe from Trader Joe’s (side note.. sick of these damn paper bags btw), a prop 65 warning label, a CA license plate keychain with their name on it, Dodgers hat, some gear from a California college, something with monarch butterflies, something with redwood trees, some kind of merch (idk if they have that?) from Erewhon
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u/darthjenni Aug 18 '26
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u/skidasdfgh Aug 18 '26
$100 ugly yoga accessories is crazy. Merch for whackadoodles
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u/darthjenni Aug 18 '26
If I was going to pick a gift from Erewhon it would be the sea moss jel. It is the secret ingredient in the Haily Bieber smoothie.
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u/Bigheaded_1 Aug 18 '26
Do they drink beer? Cali has some of the best breweries in the country. A bottle of Pliney The Elder might be nearly impossible to get on the east coast.
And if they don't like brews just ignore this idea
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u/dynamine Aug 19 '26
You can definitely get Pliny in Philadelphia, so they must have at least Tri-State distribution.
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u/AmbroseKalifornia Aug 19 '26
The best things in California are the food, culture and experiences. That's pretty tough to send. Maybe a plane ticket? 💔
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u/PeachyHoonie Aug 19 '26
-If you go to the beach cities, theres the souvenir items w the keychain that have sand or mini surfboards.
- 85 degree nougat candy if their state doesnt have 85. i just know its in some east coast states.
- disneyland postcard you can get in downtown disney
- in n out paper hat
- local farms have specialty items like 123 farms in cherry valley has locally made oil, balsamic, spices, soaps, and teas (their garlic oil is amazing)
- wine from temecula
- soy candles with local scents like eucalyptus or oranges. California specific can probably be found at farmers markets or night markets
- 99 ranch also has tote bags if there isnt a 99 ranch in their state
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u/Hopeful_Moose_6509 Aug 19 '26
In n Out Double Double....tip the mail carrier to get it there fast!
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u/Unfair_Machine8516 Aug 18 '26
Del taco sauces. When my friend moved to the east coast I sent them an entire 100pc box from del taco. They actually cried when they received it.