Candy Store Tips - Pain In The Ass Bulk Bins

For many years now I've been lucky enough to explore candy stores all over the world.  I've seen the worst and I've seen the best.  Now, each week, I'm going to give you a tip that will help you know instantly how good any candy store you walk into might be.  This is also useful if you happen to own a candy store as well, follow these tips and customers will notice.

I can't tell you how many times I've been trying to dig some tasty morsel out of a bulk bin and had the stupid bin door slam in my face.  I'm not saying at this point that you shouldn't shop at a candy store because their bulk bins keep slamming down when you're trying to get your candy, but I am saying this drives me nuts.  I guess this tip is more of a plea to the candy store owners (in particular the new ones that are designing their stores right now).  Please, make sure your bins are easy to dig candy out of.  Also, make sure the bins are easy for your employees to clean.  I've been to a few candy stores with functional bins to take the candy out, but then notice the employees struggling to try and clean them out.  Employees could get frustrated with this and stop cleaning out the bins regularly.  This leads to some pretty gross bins and candy that I don't want to buy.

I'd like to thank the beautiful Snyder's Candy for providing photos for this article.

CC

Airport Find - Worst Coke Machine Design Ever

One of my favorite things about traveling is checking out airports.  In particular I love checking out all of the unique treats and treat advertising that you can only find in airports.  On my recent trip to Brussels I took note of a few of the great candy displays and exclusive treats, and I'm going to post a new one every day this week.

Seriously?..  Do I really have to write any words down here to explain how wrong this Coke machine is?  Why in the world would anybody from Coca-Cola approve this?  I'm not complaining, but I'm also not tempted to buy a Coke right now .

CC

Best Pop Frozen

The other day I read an article all about Popsicles, the content of the article isn't important, but for some reason while reading the article I made a connection in my head.  When we think about frozen treats we tend to add the word "sicle" to the end of it, like cake-sicle, pie-sicle, etc.  So then what does the "pop" portion of "Popsicle" mean?  The first thing that came to mind was pop as in soda pop.  After doing a little researched I learned that the first Popsicle ever made was in fact an attempt to make a new flavour of soda pop.

So that got me thinking, why not take the frozen treat on a stick back to its roots, why not try and find out which flavour of soda pop tastes best frozen.  I've selected 4 different flavours, Cola because it's a classic flavour, 7 Up because I think a clear treat might be fun, Fanta because it's one of those great fruit sodas, and Yerani because I wanted to try something a little different.

Cola - I figured that I would try the cola Popsicle first because cola really is the benchmark of soda pops today.  The syrup did have a bit of a strange reaction in the freezer and tended to settle in the middle of the treat.  The carbonation is pretty much all gone, however it did leave bubble throughout the treat in particular on the outside edge.  The cola flavour is OK, and didn't really change that much.

7 Up -  Of all of the frozen soda pops I'm sampling, this one is surely the most unattractive.  Every time I see a clear or white frozen treat my mind instantly imagines that it will have no flavour at all.  Fortunately this frozen treat is full of flavour, and it also has a much better texture than the cola.  It could be because I got a generic cola, or it could be that 7up has a high carbonation, but it's really a light and airy ice.

Fanta - Of all of the soda pops selected for this experiment, Fanta is really the most juice like of them all.  In fact the carbonation of Fanta is so minimal it barely affected the texture of the ice treat at all, and if felt more like frozen juice than frozen soda pop.  The flavour of Fanta is also very juice like, more so than an Orange Crush or C-Plus.  As a frozen treat Fanta is fairly un-impressive, having said that it's also not disappointing either, so I guess it's best just to say that it's fine as a frozen treat.

I think I have some explaining to do.  I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of this particular treat and only realized it after I had already eaten it.  All I can say it that it looked exactly like the cola frozen treat, only with a pink base... Sorry

Yerani - Most of you probably have no idea what Yerani cola is, and frankly neither do I.  All I can say is that it's a cola coloured drink with a  light cola and slightly fruity taste.  I can also tell you that I'm not a big of it as a frozen treat.  The flavours are way too light and hard to detect, so all you can taste is frozen water and that's not good.

As it turns out, although soda pop was in fact the inspiration behind the "Popsicle", it's not always the best choice of flavour.  Some of these drinks did make for a fine treat, but I think the better bet is still juice.  However if you are looking for something a little different, or something that might make you feel a little nostalgic, why not try using pudding instead.

CC

Finnish Review-A-Thon Part 3

I have to admit that my knowledge of Finland is pretty scarce.  In fact I'm learning more about this wonderful country this week, than I ever knew before.  For example did you know that the Finnish coat of arms depicts a lion wielding a sword while screaming.  It's pretty much the greatest coat of arms I've ever seen.

Click here to read the latest addition to the Finnish review-a-thon.

CC

Wednesday's Candy Links

Nestle tries to muscle in on Cadbury's trademark purple.

Serious Eats examines the new Pepsi Throwback, and compares it with colas of today.

Is the traditional meal a thing of the past for the new generation?  I'm thinking that it's been fading for a while now.

CC

Sleeping In Food

Boing Boing recently posted about this great looking pizza sleeping bag.  Not only does it make me hungry but it makes me feel all warm and comfortable inside as well.  Then it came to me, what other foods would make for a great sleeping bag?  I think pigs in a blanket would be one of the better ideas, imagine being the warm sausage in a puffy pastry bag.  I also think that a cinnamon bun would be a great place to sleep, right in the gooey center.  What other foods do you think would be great to nap in?

Click here to buy one of these tasty looking sleeping bags for yourself.

CC

Finnish Review-A-Thon Part 2

In my continuing effort to promote a great country that provided me with some awesome treats, I've decided to make a special banner at www.candycritic.org, you can check it out yourself.  My only fear of doing a Finnish review-a-thon this week was the Finnish love of licorice.  I'm not a big fan, and I knew that I'd have to face my fears many times this week.  Fortunately my first introduction to Finnish licorice has actually been rather pleasant, here's hoping this keeps up.

Click here to read the latest Finnish review.

CC

Airport Find - Hot Dog Airplane

One of my favorite things about traveling is checking out airports.  In particular I love checking out all of the unique treats and treat advertising that you can only find in airports.  On my recent trip to Brussels I took note of a few of the great candy displays and exclusive treats, and I'm going to post a new one every day this week.

I like this sign a lot, the idea of a hot dog airplane makes me giggle, and I just like the sentence "Need Food?".  The problem I have with this sign is how it seems to be advertising the idea that you can get food at a reasonable price in an airport.  With a few exception, food is overpriced at almost every airport in the world and I'm certain they do this because they know that travelers have no other choices.  I have spent 20 euros (that's like 35 dollars) on Burger King in an airport for one person, if that's not ridiculous I don't know what is.

CC

Tuesday's Candy Links

Dentist makes environmentally friendly gingerbread houses.

Gelatin prices are going up, so that means candy prices are going up too.

The continuing journey of the worlds largest chocolate bar, spreading the news about health... and really big chocolate bars.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

The 26-pound Party Gummy Bear - Made by: ? - Why: I want to fill its tummy with more gummy bears and eat meta-gummy bears. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Airport Find - The Secret Message On An M&Ms Machine

One of my favorite things about traveling is checking out airports.  In particular I love checking out all of the unique treats and treat advertising that you can only find in airports.  On my recent trip to Brussels I took note of a few of the great candy displays and exclusive treats, and I'm going to post a new one every day this week.

Allison made the connection on this M&M's machine that convinces me that the folks at Mars are trying to take over the world, and aren't afraid to use force.  On the front of the machine is the large atom like structure found in Belgium (The Atomium).  On the side of the machine is an airplane bombing the world with M&Ms... So, take the front "atom", and take the side "bomb", no more proof needed.

CC

Candy Art - Simple Package Designs

I found this series of redesigns of famous packages that have been simplified to the utmost amount.

 They had a few examples of candy packages as well.

 The last package isn't always the best, but somewhere in the middle I find these designs really appealing.

 I'm not sure exactly who did these redesigns but the credit seems to be given to a website called "antrepo4.com".

I think candy companies should consider going the simple route for their package designs in the future, particularly the brands that have very iconic logos, colours, and package designs.

Images found on "The Inspirations" Google Plus page.

CC

Finnish Review-A-Thon Part 1

Holy crap, another review-a-thon only a short week after our last?  That's really not like us, but lately we've been stocking up on all kinds of treats with great themes and we want to get those reviews out.  This week's collection of Finnish treats was brought to me by a really great Finnish friend that insisted we don't pay for these treats.  In return for that great generosity, I'm going to shower Finland with all kinds of praise, because they seem like really nice people up there.  The first act of kindness I will bestow upon my Finnish friends is I will do everything in my power not to spell "Finnish" with just one "N".

Click here to read the first in our Finnish review a thon.

CC

Monday's Candy Links

Getting Chicken pox in the mail... from a lollipop?...  I'm not really sure what's going on here.

Coca-Cola makes many brands of drinks all over the world (3500 of them), here's a list of a few you may not have tried.

Why do we eat more junk food, is it because it's cheap, is it because it comes in big portions?  Some folks from Cornell say yes.

Family makes candy in honor of their candy making relative that die delivering a batch of candy canes just before Christmas in 1966.

CC

Review - Waffle Fail?

Without giving away too much about this review I want you to know that I didn't get this treat in Belgium.  I got this treat from a regular grocery store on a Greek island.  So when you read this review keep in mind that the waffle represented is not a "Gaufre au Chocolat" but just a convenience store grab.

Click here to read this review.

CC

Swiss Air Does Good

On our way home from Belgium we had a slight delay... by slight I mean our flight should have taken 3 hours but instead with all of the delays it took 16.  Most people on our flight were freaking out and complaining, me I just made the best of it.  The thing is, the folks at Swiss (the airline) did a lot to make us comfortable, including making sure that I was loaded with sweet treats.  We got a coupon to get ourselves some snacks while waiting for part of our journey and I was overjoyed.  I got myself a bottle of coke, a Twix Xtra and a bag of Curry Potato chips. I got the Coke and Twix as a "keep calm" treat, and the bag of chips to be adventurous.  The bag of chips was new, and it was tasty (you can read the review here), but that wasn't the only surprise in store for me.

As it turns out the Twix Xtra was also full of surprises.  I thought the Twix Xtra would be 4 regular Twix sticks in one package, but I was wrong.  Instead it was two gigantic Twix sticks in one package.  I'm not sure if this photo illustrates just how long and awesome these huge Twix sticks are.

Not only did I get these great treats, but every time we met with any staff member from Swiss, and it happened a lot, they would be sure to offer us a few bars of chocolate.  Now I'm not sure if the chocolate is made in Belgium, or in Switzerland, but really does that matter, it's free chocolate?

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Holiday Peeps - Made by: Just Born - Why: Because I like their creativity. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Friday Candy Video - Wait For It...

This commercial is apparently a classic.  Since I didn't have Jaffa Cakes in my neck of the woods I'd never seen it before.  I sat through it and thought "it's not bad, but it's not a classic".  Then after the tag line at the end, I realized why people loved it so much.

CC

Friday's Candy Links

The story of how Macadamia met white chocolate... how romantic.

Thinking of having Christmas dinner at Denny's, well here's what you can order.

Have you ever eaten a sour candy and remarked about how much it tastes like battery acid?  Well you might not be that far off.

Dylan's Candy Bar has a new location... well, sort of.

No more Donuts for Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

CC

That Is One Blue and Pink Poster

Odd Man Out by candycritic
Learn where to sell art online with Zazzle.

Do you happen to have a blue and pink themed room?  If you do, or if you want to start one, do I have a poster for you.

Click here to check out some of the other stuff available at our store, and help out the folks at Candy Critic.

CC

Pickles Chips

One of the most interesting thing about visiting the northern part of Belgium is checking out some of the old war monuments and sites.  Being Canadian there are many places to visit that have great historical ties to Canada, one such places is Passchendaele.  Passchendaele is a site where many Canadians fought and triumphed in WWI.  On top of one of the ridges is a great monument to the Canadian soldiers lost during that battle.  It was very moving to stand in that place.

Right after visiting that site, Allison and I decided we'd stop at a grocery store only a few meters away to get a snack.  My heart leaped with joy when while looking through the snack section I found that they sold pickle chips.  I later discovered that they in fact sell pickle chips all over Belgium, but to discover this right after visiting a site dedicated to some fine Canadians made me feel really home sick and proud.

CC

Belgian Candy Windows - The Window Type

The widows of the chocolate shops in Belgium are spectacular, almost as spectacular as the chocolates themselves.  The level of competition between the chocolate shops in this country is staggering, so you would imagine they put a lot of effort towards their windows to attract customers.  For the next two weeks I'm going to show you some of the great themes and ideas I came across while searching out my chocolate paradise.

While the set up of any chocolate shop window is important, so can the actual window itself.  The type of window you see at a chocolate shop can really say a lot about the kind of chocolate they sell.  Some windows are full of signs and strange sculptures, and these shops often sell boxes of chocolate there are mass produced and other touristy stuff.  Other windows are a large single pieces of glass, very clean, and often featuring simple and modern looking hand made chocolates.  Then there are the window like the one featured above, these windows are a little rough around the edges and very traditional looking.  For the most part, other than a few pieces here and there, these windows look right into the store and the hand made chocolates for sale in the store.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertising - The Scary Puppet

Was this some kind of creepy way of hitting on the ladies in days of yore?  Sure the chocolates would work, but I think you can leave the creepy puppet at home.

Ad found on Vintage Ad Browser

CC

Thursday's Candy Links

The price of cocoa keeps going up, strikes hit, and then this expensive cocoa goes to waste siting in ports, I hate economics.

If you find yourself in Abilene Texas, why not check out Vletas Candy.

Storing candy?  This article about how leftovers go bad might give you some insight as to why you're old candy goes bad too.

Check out these awesome thanksgiving themed cupcakes.

Boing Boing found the greatest Thanksgiving dessert ever.

CC

Winter Is a Great Time To Buy More Clothes

irony by candycritic
Join Zazzle's clothing affiliate program

Even just a t-shirt would keep you a little warmer... right?

Click here to check out some of our other stuff and help out your friends at Candy Critic.

CC

Candy Store Tips - Too Many Toys

For many years now I've been lucky enough to explore candy stores all over the world.  I've seen the worst and I've seen the best.  Now, each week, I'm going to give you a tip that will help you know instantly how good any candy store you walk into might be.  This is also useful if you happen to own a candy store as well, follow these tips and customers will notice.

I think the decor of a candy store can really say a lot about the owner and about the quality of candy they offer.  If you see a chandelier chances are you're going to be offered some high quality treats, if you see stuffed toys and an uncut sheet of Garbage Pail Kids stickers on the wall, then you can be fairly certain you're going to get some of the best penny candy ever.  I often don't have a problem with stores decorating, however I do have a problem with stores over decorating.  In particular I don't like it when they fill their store up with more toys than candy.  I find this often leads to selling toys, and this often leads to selling more toys than candy, and this often leads to lower quality candy at a premium price.  It's not that I have a problem with candy stores diversifying a bit, I just get frustrated when a great candy store turns into a mediocre toy store.

I'd like to thank the beautiful Snyder's Candy for providing photos for this article.

CC

Belgian Candy Windows - Manikin Piss

The widows of the chocolate shops in Belgium are spectacular, almost as spectacular as the chocolates themselves.  The level of competition between the chocolate shops in this country is staggering, so you would imagine they put a lot of effort towards their windows to attract customers.  For the next two weeks I'm going to show you some of the great themes and ideas I came across while searching out my chocolate paradise.

There's something very disturbing about the number of chocolate shop windows that feature Manneken Pis (the famous statue of the little boy peeing).  The closer you get to the real sculpture the more you see of them too.  In fact it's amazing how many chocolate shops are right next to the statue of Manneken Pis.  Other than a pub across the road it's pretty much surrounded.  While I appreciate the pop art idea of these windows, I have to admit it feels a little creepy seeing a whole city celebrating a little boy peeing.  But I guess if that's what people want to see, then that's what these shops will deliver.

CC

A Special Art Show

Our sister site Beware the Cheese Photography (www.bewarethecheese.com) is having a really big art show in a couple of weeks.  The show is the premier of their photography/mixed media series called "Senses".  If you find yourself in the Athens (Greece) area on December 7th, come on out and show a little support for the photographers that shoot the stuff for Candy Critic.

Click here for more details about the show.

CC

Popcorn Storage

My biggest pet peeve about popcorn is the quantity that you have to make.  From Jiffy Pop to Microwave popcorn you always have plenty for you and some friends, but what if you just want a snack for yourself?  Sure you could always make it in a pot (note, that's how I make it most of the time from Allison's secret recipe), but that's a lot of work for a small bowl of popcorn.  The only solution to all of these problems is storage, but nobody like stale popcorn.  So after a fun night with a few friends, who didn't eat their full share of popcorn, I decided to do a little experiment.  I put a small amount of popcorn in three containers.  Then I put one container in the freezer, one in the refrigerator and one, I just left sitting out.

I then let each container sit in their respective spots for about 3 days.  After those three days I sampled them all together to find out if any of the storage methods worked better than another.

There was a difference between each of these samples of popcorn.  The one that was just sitting out was by far the least crunchy, and the pieces with putter on them were particularly soggy.  The flavour was OK, but the texture was most certainly off.

The sample from the refrigeration was significantly more crunchy than the one that was just sitting out.  The buttery pieces also had much more crunch and were more similar to the non-buttered ones than that of the sitting out sample.

The frozen popcorn was fairly similar to the one from the refrigerator, although it might have been a little more crunchy.  Most surprising was how quickly it defrosted, or how little difference there is between the texture of cold popcorn and frozen popcorn.

I guess if I have to give you any storage advice I'd say keep your popcorn in the refrigerator, and if you don't have the room the freezer works too.  In all cases I did use sealed containers and I think that's just a good idea as well.  I would say that butter does affect the lifespan of old popcorn, however I can't imagine eating popcorn without butter and I'm way too lazy to melt more butter every time I want to open one of my stored batches of popcorn.

CC

Finnish Candy = Finnish Candy Review-A-Thon

I just got a monstrous amount of Finnish candy, and I plan to taste each and every piece.  Thanks to my great Finnish friend for setting me up with all of this, it should be noted that she insisted I don't pay for it because she wanted to make sure Finnish candy was well represented in the world.  What a patriot!  I plan to review many of these pieces, and to make things interesting, next week we shall have a Finnish treat review-a-thon.

CC

Wednesday's Candy Links

Dancing, cute people, flashing lights, drinking, and a candy shop... makes sense.

Mental Floss has a list of 14 creative soap shapes including Christmas Ribbon and Rice Krispies Squares.

Go on the internet and make customizable nonpareils from Josh Early Candies, it's the future my friends.

CC

Belgian Waffles

When I told some friends who had already visited Belgium that I was going, every single one of them told me that I must have a "gaufre au chocolat".  My french is OK, so I knew they were referring to a chocolate treat of some kind, but I wasn't sure exactly what a "gaufre" was.  I thought about researching it before I went, but since Allison was coming with me, and she knew exactly what they were talking about I decided to let it be a surprise.  For those more worldly people, you know that a gaufre au chocolat, is a waffle with chocolate.  In particular it is a Belgian style waffle with chocolate.  I also assume that those of you that are more worldly than I used to be would know how absolutely spectacular these waffles are.

What you start with seems like an average every day waffle... but that's not true at all.  In North America, Belgian waffles are only different because they are thicker than normal waffles.  The difference in Belgium however is in the cake, not just the size.  In Belgium waffles use a yeast dough instead of a batter.  Instead of being a crispy treat with a really light center, it's more of a cake dough with a crispy outside.  In some cases I found pockets of sugar inside these waffles as well.  I'm not sure if that's from the makers not mixing the dough well enough or if it was done on purpose.  Honestly, I really liked these pockets of sugar, so I'm hoping it's on purpose.

After cooking your waffle the next step is pretty much up to the person that's going to eat it.  First of all, since you're in Belgium I recommend getting chocolate on your "gaufre".  In fact, the first one you try, I recommend you just get chocolate and nothing else.  I can assure you that you'll be hooked very quickly and it won't be your last.  After your first I think it's safe to be a little experimental with your toppings.  I couldn't get over how good the melted chocolate was, so each of my gaufres had to have a chocolate element.  The gaufre above was pretty tasty, it was a nice whipped cream with chocolate.  The only problem with these tasty waffles is since it's a street food it's really hard to eat and messy, but that's what napkins are for.

CC

Belgian Candy Windows - Fruity Cones

The widows of the chocolate shops in Belgium are spectacular, almost as spectacular as the chocolates themselves.  The level of competition between the chocolate shops in this country is staggering, so you would imagine they put a lot of effort towards their windows to attract customers.  For the next two weeks I'm going to show you some of the great themes and ideas I came across while searching out my chocolate paradise.

I'm not sure what these little cones of fruity goodness are called, but boy are they tasty.  It seems that many chocolate stores offer these as a chocolate alternative.  I couldn't really figure out why they would need a chocolate alternative, but I guess there are some people that come to Belgium and they're not interested in chocolate...  If anybody has more information on these little cones I'd appreciate it, all I know is they did contribute some nice colour contrast to the often brown and white chocolate windows.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Moshi Monsters Gummies - Made by: Haribo - Why: Because internet trends are often tasty. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Tuesday's Candy Links

Kids love candy, and teachers like to take it away, so 10 year old girl attacked her teacher to keep her candy.

I'm no investment genius, but I suggest you invest in the candy industry, in tough times it always thrives.

If you're overeating sweets you might want to talk to your therapist rather than your nutritionist.

CC

Belgian Candy Windows - Flawless Fountain

The widows of the chocolate shops in Belgium are spectacular, almost as spectacular as the chocolates themselves.  The level of competition between the chocolate shops in this country is staggering, so you would imagine they put a lot of effort towards their windows to attract customers.  For the next two weeks I'm going to show you some of the great themes and ideas I came across while searching out my chocolate paradise.

The chocolate fountain really seems to be a popular thing in Belgium, with almost every single shop displaying one in the window.  Makes me kind of proud since many candy historians trace the chocolate fountain's origins to Canada.  The great thing about the fountains in Belgium is how perfectly they flow, you never see a gap in the flow at all, it's almost mesmerizing.  That probably means they're only for display in most cases, but that doesn't matter because they smell great and there's lots of other chocolate to sample at these stores.  Some stores do use them, and they cover fresh fruit in chocolate right in front of your eyes.  One day I think I may rent one of these and just spend the day eating chocolate covered... well everything.

CC

Cool Looking Gummy Lego Blocks

 Not only do the folks at Instructables have an awesome gallery of these really cool looking gummy Lego blocks...

But they also tell you how to make them at home yourself.

Click here to learn how to build your very own gummy Lego blocks.

CC

Monday's Candy Links

It appears that the honey industry is even less honest than I thought, illegal honey isn't the only problem.

78 percent of people don't eat meals, they just snack.  This is not a good thing, you're making the snack industry look bad.

If you find yourself in Salt Lake City, you might want to check out Amano Artisan Chocolate's factory tours, on till the end of December.

And the new flavour of Extra gum is.... Root beer float.

CC

Blue Gum Review

Well, after all of that chocolate from the Belgian Chocolate Review-A-Thon, I figured it would be a good idea to go a different direction with this week's review.  I decided that several feet of blue gum would be a nice break from the monotony of eating the best chocolate available on the planet.

Click here to read the latest blue gum review.

CC

Burning Gummy Bears Is Mean

Even if it's for science.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Bacon Candy Canes - Made by: ? - Why: There isn't enough "Bacon" representation over the holidays. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

No More Nutchos... Kinda.

My friend Raph asked "Oh sweet wizard of all things candy, please tell me WHERE I CAN FIND NUTCHOS. Or maybe you have some inside scoop as to why they don't make em anymore?"  I had completely forgotten about Nutchos, but the minute he suggested them my mouth started watering and I craved them like crazy.  I did a little investigating and I discovered that they were only recently discontinued by Nestle. I asked the folks at Nestle and they said "Nutchos were launched November 1, 2007 and discontinued in 2010 as a marketing decision"

Sorry Raph, it appears buying a box of Nutchos is not in the cards.  Unless you want to start a campaign to bring them back. I did however find a few recipes for them online from other people that felt the same way you did.


CC

Belgian Candy Windows - Nice Boxes

The widows of the chocolate shops in Belgium are spectacular, almost as spectacular as the chocolates themselves.  The level of competition between the chocolate shops in this country is staggering, so you would imagine they put a lot of effort towards their windows to attract customers.  For the next two weeks I'm going to show you some of the great themes and ideas I came across while searching out my chocolate paradise.

Chocolates in Belgium are not always just about the fine quality chocolate and great fillings, in many ways it's also about the look of the chocolate itself.  Really, this is the goal of every chocolatier, to create a beautiful chocolate that tastes as good as it looks.  It's also important, if you're going to take so much time in making these works of art, to make sure they look great when you get them home.  Many stores put a great deal of effort into their packages making sure they look so good you're almost tempted not to eat them.  The folks at Pierre Ledent are so keen on their packages that they take center stage of their windows.

CC

How You Know You're In Chocolate Heaven

If you ever needed proof that Belgium really is the chocolate capital of the world, I have it for you here.  Above is a photograph of a Cote D'Or Dessert 58 bar (that's a high quality treat) and a can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale.  Both purchased from the same store, and both tasted fantastic.  Now here's the amazing part:

The Canada Dry cost 85 cents, a slightly more expensive price for a drink, but not extreme.  The Cote D'or cost 69 cents, a very low price for such a high quality bar.  I have never in my life seen a fine, high quality, chocolate bar go for less than a can of Ginger Ale.  Belgium has their priorities in order I tell you.

CC

The Last of The Belgian Chocolate Review-A-Thon

As much as this is the last of the Belgian chocolate review-a-thon, I do have to admit that this is not the last of the Belgian chocolate for me. I did buy a few other treats, some I'll review, others I'll just scarf down with a great deal of joy.

Click here to read the last review in the Belgian chocolate review-a-thon.

CC

Friday's Candy Links

One of the best treats to come out of Chicago is the Tootsie Roll, you can learn all about it.

I normally don't like to post cake decorating sites, but these Muppet cake pops are fantastic.

TCHO is having a great event this weekend in San Francisco, it's called TCHOcolate Sandwiches.

To celebrate the new Lindt Bear, Lindt is giving away a whole bunch of them, both to you and your friends.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertising - The Waffle

You can't go to Belgium and not eat a waffle... I'll have more on the subject later.

Ad found on Vintage Ad Browser

CC

Cards For Your Friends

Fields of Chocolate Strawberries by candycritic
Shop for greeting cards at zazzle.com

Nice friends send nice cards to nice people... are you nice?

Click here to check out our store and be a nice person by helping out the folks at Candy Critic.

CC

Belgian Fast Food

This trip to Belgium wasn't all about chocolate and candy, although that was the focus.  I did have to eat meals as well, and although I tried, Allison insisted that chocolate cake is not a meal.  When I travel I tend to visit fast food locations for lunches and quick dinners.  I find I'm on the run a lot and I rarely want to sit down, except for a few dinners here and there.  I also get a kick trying out many of the different fast food choices all over the world.

Belgium has one obvious fast food choice, the french fry.  After all french fries are said to have been invented in Belgium, and boy do they do them right.  First of all you get a huge selection of sauces to choose from.  Mayonnaise is the popular choice, but the tastiest choice is the pickle sauce that I think they call Americana.  I'm not sure why they call it that since I've never actually seen this sauce in the United States.

The popular way to do the fries seems to be a double fry method that makes them super crispy.  They also like to dish them out in waxed paper cones that can be tricky to eat, just make sure you carry plenty of napkins.  You can always tell a good french fry place by how deranged their french fry statue mascot is.  The fries from the place pictured above were fantastic.

I also made a stop at a McDonald's on the road.  Every country I visit the McDonald's always has some kind of unique hamburger that I'm fairly certain the locals believe can be found in the United States.  For the most  part they're amazed if I tell them I've never heard of it.

The name of this burger confuses me a little.  You'd assume that 1955 was the date that McDonald's was founded, but according to my research it was founded in 1940.  1955 is the year Ray Crock bought the chain and turned it into the monolith that it is today.  Seems a little strange to celebrate the day your fast food chain went corporate.  On a side note the burger patty was huge and it was pretty tasty.

McDonald's in Belgium also makes sure you're not without your french fry sauces either.  They offer ketchup, mayonnaise and "Frites".

The "Frites" is actually the pickle sauce I mentioned earlier.  It's pretty good and I encourage other branches to try offering this stuff too, particularly the ones near my house.  However I would like it more if they didn't charge 50 cents for each sauce, that's a bit of a bummer.  They also don't serve breakfasts at McDonald's in Belgium, they just open at 9 and start selling burgers.

One of our last stops was to pick up a Quick Burger.  I fell in love with these guys when Allison and I did a cross France road trip a few years back.  In some European countries they're more prolific than McDonald's.

CC