UPDATE Spring 2011: I still haven't found a source for the real thing, but I found a close second. A friend in Germany sent me some "Vitalis Knusper" cereal, Dr. Oetker brand. It tastes great! And it's easier to find online. The best is the "Double Chocolate" version he sent me, but I haven't found it online yet. I just ordered 4 boxes of the regular version from Euro Food Mart. The boxes are small -- maybe 4 or 5 bowls -- and the shipping is pricey, but I'll take what I can get. It's also available (for a higher price) at Germandeli.com. The regular version (not double chocolate) isn't an exact match for taste, but it may help with withdrawal symptoms. If anyone finds a place with the double chocolate version, let me know in the comments.

Warning: do not get the Vitalis cereal called simply "Schoko Musli". It tastes like dirt. I spent $40 on a few boxes before realizing my horrible mistake. Fortunately, it's pretty good added to no-bake cookies, so it wasn't a total loss.

Original entry (2008):

The best breakfast cereal in the world is Chocolate Cruesli.

The slogan in French is "le plaisir croustillant", which is roughly "crunchy pleasure". This, in my opinion, is not hyperbole. It's not like Cocoa Krispies or those other fake chocolate cereals - it has real pieces of chocolate in it. Just holding the box, you can tell by its weight that this is no ordinary cereal.

And - one of life's great injustices - you can't get it in North America.

I've checked everywhere: dozens of U.S. grocery stores, numerous Google sessions (could only find a Dutch store that will ship it for an arm and a leg), international food markets, Trader Joe's -- I even made my family wait while I ran down the aisles of a Canadian grocery store during a brief visit to Toronto.

I don't get it. It's made by Quaker, which is an American company (owned by PepsiCo). There's got to be a market for it. My family's Cruesli consumption alone could keep a grocery store or two in the black. I even wrote Quaker an empassioned letter. No reply.

So, I have to resort to stockpiling. And begging friends and family to send or bring some from Europe. Two of my brothers were missionaries in France and I would send them $20 to ship me some on occasion. One of the young men from my current ward is a missionary in Paris and sent me a couple of boxes a few months ago. I got some in Barcelona with Wendy. And in Amsterdam and Paris on business trips, much to the confusion of my co-workers.

Ryan and Cheyney surprised me with three whole boxes when they visited us a few weeks ago after their whirlwind tour of Paris, Turkey, Amsterdam, and Greece. I have two boxes left.

Here are a few photos of my relationship with Cruesli au chocolat over the years:

1993 - It's too small to see, but many of the boxes on the top shelf are Cruesli - 

1994 - Elder Tobler shows off his cereal collection - 

2005 - In our crummy but memorable hotel room in Barcelona - 

2008 - In Paris last July - I brought an extra suitcase just for Cruesli. Glad I didn't get stopped by Customs.

4 very expensive boxes (after factoring in train fare) gathered during a 4-hour layover in Paris, Spring 2011. Every grocery store in the area was closed except this one, so I was stuck with generic. Still delicious.