More Sweets and Snacks Expo 2010

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday!  It was hot as Hades in South Carolina - I bought some chocolate (shocker!) and keeping it from melting was a struggle.  But always worth it, my friends, always worth it!

I spoke with the Chicago Transit Authority today about my run in with their bus.  I'll let you know what happens.  They had an accident specialist call and interview me.  A claims specialist will call me next.  My arm still has a weird lump and some very festive bruises.  I told the accident specialist about my macaroons.  She was unmoved.

Back to Candy Expo!!!  I hunted down and tried the Chocolate Pop Rocks.  This was their booth display:

And here are the Pop Rocks:

Now the first thing I have to tell you - is that they were WAY better than I thought they would be.  They are actually covered in a pretty decent chocolate.  I thought they would just be "chocolate flavored."  But they truth is, I don't really want things popping in my mouth.  Yes, it's festive, yes it's interactive.  But I don't want my food to interact with me. 

This was another offering I simply had to try - Elmer's Tabasco Chocolate Truffles:

No picture because they only gave me one to try at the show.  And again, all I can say is - it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Not exactly a rousing endorsement.  Only a hint of Tabasco.  This is a great novelty item - Elmer Chocolate is based in Louisiana - but I don't need to eat another one.  But creative!  And less interactive than the Pop Rocks!

I didn't get to sample these, but check out the new Tootsie Pop flavors!

Wild Mango Berry?  Didn't know the mango was a berry, but Rock on!  I'd like to try it!  I'd like to try all these flavors.  I did get a sample of this one:

Hmmmm........the green apple is strong as heck and I guess the center was caramel.  It looked lighter than the standard Tootsie Roll center, but didn't taste really caramelly.  But my taste buds were pretty overwhelmed by green apple.  I wonder if this would have been better with a red apple Tootsie Pop?

No samples of these, but I really want to try them - Andes toffee crunch and cherries jubilee (also by the makers of Tootsie Roll):

I'd never seen these before (also by Tootsie Roll) and I wheedled my way into a whole box of them on the last day:

See the bloom?  I'm telling you - it was HOT!  I like the JM monogram on the top:

Wow - look at all that creamy Junior Mint mint!

These are WAYYYY  too minty for me - I'd like more chocolate.  But mint is not my fav, so you mint lovers will probably adore these.  Well worth trying if you're a mint fan.

Ritter Sport was showing a Limited Edition Dark Chocolate with peppermint bar:

This one also has a strong mint flavor (too much for me) but the dark chocolate here is absolutely fabulous.  Mint and dark chocolate lovers - look for these around Christmas time:

This was a giant display for their new milk chocolate with strawberry creme bar:

A portion of the profits (Ritter is donating $100,000) go to help fight breast cancer and the sample was amazing!!  I can't wait till this one comes out.  Look for it in the fall.  And let me know when you find it!!  Delish!

Speaking of strawberry - look at this from Guylian!  Strawberry filled seashells!  Didn't get to sample any - but want to!

The bad next to the strawberry box is their new Temptation - an assortment of individually wrapped seashells.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Guylians seashells.  They were also debuting dark chocolate ones!

Here's my whopping sample from Guylian (cheapskates!):

I am so crazy about he standard seashell - this one is filled with original praline - so creamy, so sweet and delicious - if you haven't had these - you have to - they are sooooo good!  The Extra Dark was pretty damn amazing as well - you dark chocolate fans are in for a serious treat.  They are a little too dark for me at 74% cocoa, but they are very, very good.

Whoohoo!  What a great assortment of new and exciting candy and more to come!  It was so worth getting hit by that bus!  ; )

The Valentine's Day Conversation Continues

I seem to be on a nostalgia roll (pun intended). While better than the "chocolate" Necco Wafer, no one would say a Tootsie Roll is the best chocolate they have ever tasted. But the company has been around a long time (1896) and is another great American candy company. They produce lots of other popular candies - Sugar Babies, Junior Mints, Andes Mints - to name a few.

And I like the Tootsie Roll - low in fat and with a good taste, I'm a fan and I don't care who knows it! Here's this year's Valentine offering:

I would like to see the Tootsie Roll people get crazy and make Tootsie hearts. I think that would be cool! Hey - a girl can dream, right?

But Tootsie is trying to get in on the Valentine's Day conversation and Necco better watch it's back!

See these? They read Puppy Love, Kiss Me, Call Me, I Love You, Sweetie Pie, and Be Mine! Sound familiar? Hmmmm....... at least I can read these. But I do think Necco was robbed.

Now here's something I did not like:

All the Tootsie Rolls are vanilla. And it's not a very good vanilla. At first they have kind of a chemical taste, but as you keep chewing (what can I say - I'm no quitter!) they have a better vanilla taste. But these are inferior to the chocolate Tootsie Roll and I hope the Limited Edition stays limited.

If you want a REALLY good chocolate Valentine treat, try these:

I really like Guylian - especially their chocolate seashells. (So creamy!) And these are completely delicious - the Guylian website describes them as "individually wrapped, delightfully sculptured Belgian chocolate hearts filled with exquisite roasted hazelnut praliné." They will melt in your mouth. A Tootsie Roll may NEVER melt in your mouth.

The Guylian hearts have been my favorite Valentine's Day treat so far. Oh - and on the back, the hearts say "I love you." What could be better? This is chocolate that tells you it loves you. I'd say Guylian has taken the Valentine's Day conversation to a whole new level.