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Hello!
Lately I have been working on a tv show where I help to find props and various set dress. An upcoming scene in the show calls for some fake candy, so I was dispatched to a very special place on the isle of Manhattan called Economy Candy to source out some ideas. I had heard people say around the office that this place was “crazy” and “oh you have to see it”, so when I was tapped to go, I had some expectations. Let’s say, they were met.
If you love candy, then this is your candy mecca. A place to go and see what man has accomplished both past and present in the world of confectionery delights.
One image can’t really convey the total experience, so here are some images to give you a sense of what they have going on there:
Awesome candy cigarette packages! People who have come over to my house lately have been all “what the fuck are these cigarettes you are smoking Peter?”
And lastly, giant Pez dispensers:
One thing I noticed right away was the amount of old fashioned and obscure candy they had in stock at this place. Me being me, I decided I had to try some of the more interesting products. I picked up a few choice selections and brought them home. When Lisa and Lauren were over, we decided to try them and see if there was a reason these particular candies were so obscure. It turns out because a few of them are truly awful!
Abba Zaba bar
The Abba Zaba bar as it appears in a delightful moment in the movie Half Baked.
The Abba Zaba bar might be Dave Chappelle’s favorite, but this thing is fucked. It’s a bar of white flavorless taffy, that is hard on yer teeth. That’s bad enough. But what lays inside the taffy you ask? PEANUT BUTTER! Folks, I said PEANUT BUTTER! The combination might not be unheard of, but the Abba Zaba sort of fails at it. : (
Next!
The Sky Bar and Joys:
Out of the two the Sky Bar was the best. It is four separate cubes of chocolate with four different centers, Caramel, Fudge, Peanut Butter, and “Vanilla”. The Sky Bar was enjoyed by all who tried it. The vanilla was just like the inside of a Cadbury egg. Good job Sky Bar!
The Joys bar was another story. Some might like thick, cough syrup flavored, jellied candy with chocolate, but I bet even those “some” aren’t gonna like this one. Kind of…sick. It reminded me of some “lavender” candy I once mistakenly ate. Maybe they like this kind of thing in the middle east or something but I say “Stick to the sesame products Joyva brand!”
Next were the Satellite Wafers:
These were apparently popular in the 1950s here in the US. They are flying saucer like discs made of rice with candy beads inside. The proper way to eat them is to simply stick the thing in your mouth. This, however, is where it gets kind of crazy. First you think “Did I just take communion?” The ricey pod starts to disintegrate in your mouth and suddenly the little beads begin to take on more of a roll. Then as you are chewing, the flavor finally kicks in and you are crunching and chewing on a mash that tastes exactly as if you had just eaten a spoonful of Fruity Pebbles. Satellite Wafers…you are strange but tasty!
Last was the Cherry Mash: 
This turned out to be the best tasting of all. Made by the Chase Candy Co. of St. Joseph MO. this seems to be an enduring classic amongst people of the middle west. Specifically the family of Claire Beaufort.
Cherry Mash is chocolate and peanuts covering a delicious chewy cherry flavored center with real cherries and everything. It’s something you can eat alone, or as they suggest on the package, add to vanilla ice cream and milk and make yourself a delicious cherry cordial milk shake! Just go to Economy Candy, or have Claire’s father send you a box of them – and try it yourself!
Fun Fact: The word “candy” comes from Arabic qandi, derived from Persian qand, meaning “sugar.”
This week Shawn the BF and I went to support my pal Melissa from Pastries Not Potatoes in the 4ourth installment of Iron Cupcake: Chicago!
sugar sculptures
first a bit of history: Iron cupcake is a fun time. It is headed up by Colleen of Beautiful Cakes who put the whole thing together. But there is a whole bunch of bakers and chefs who have been doing the “cupcake as a genre” thing for a while. The contest was actually started in Milwaukee by the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen and her pal when they decided to challenge each other to a bakers duel. The gauntlet was thrown by the pal then known as the Unknown Baker; as is covered here on the blog prehumously named No One Puts Cupcake In a Corner. Things started when said baker presented the Queen with a Marlboro Cowboy Coffee Cream Cupcake With Starbucks liquor chaser. So rowdy! This dude steeped tobacco and then made a batter with it. So then the heat was on, and iron Cupcake Milwaukee was born, then Iron Cupcake: Earth, then spin offs including Iron Cupcake :Chicago.
The challenges so far:
Iron cupcake Chicago has been ramping up. The first challenges were pretty tame, including citrus and something else. But the last two themes were actually interesting because of the open-end-ed-ness of them. Savory, which provided the obligatory bacon cupcakes. and most recently candy. This is the one i attended.
Ok! Let me start by saying all of the cupcakes were very tasty, but some were better than others, AND only two of the contestants were actual chefs, most of these ladies were just badass moms and grandmoms looking for kicks and bragging rights.
Entries included, M&M’s (which were sort of boring),
Mounds (which were definitely boring)
Candy corn which was good, but had a strange aftertaste not unlike eating actual candy corn.
there were two snickers entries… and like highlander their can be only one, and it was true!
snickers2
actually the lady with the superior snickers called them SINkers, and they involved a hollow cupcake, filled with snickers filling, and topped with a ring of caramel creme. these ROCKED US.
One of Melissa’s entries was cany dots cupcakes, which were flat pieces of fondant topped with piped candy dots. I really enjoyed this. However, similar to the actual candy dots of yore, this was fun to eat, but not terribly tasty to eat. Mostly because of the fondant,because fondant tastes gross.
In the end, Melissa and the SINkers tied for best presentation, and the SINkers rightly won for best taste. It was really no contest on that front.
here is melissa right before the crowning.
mel and mom
BYE until next time!!
My first post. I’m long overdue. You guys have no idea how many cooking/restaurant adventures haven’t made it to this point. Like Ms. Neola I have pictures and unwritten posts galore. Today I’m going with this mini-DC/NewYork trip I went on while my girlfriend was off in Ghana. First I went on a quick little road trip to our nation’s capital with my good friend Ben (fellow arteest and a co-founder of our semi-fictional high school establishment known as the Fat Boy Club). We only had about two days, and spent much of it walking around the monuments. Then my friend Chris and I went on a trip to NY to visit Thu and Danny B and provide marginal assistance with a Food Party set. Food were had. Good food.
Washington DC.
The White House.
My boss’s daughter lives in DC, so I went with two suggestions of his. The first was Ben’s Chili Bowl. The second was Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
Ben’s Chili Bowl
After a little research, I learned that Ben’s Chili Bowl is a DC institution, surviving riots, economic blight and gentrification. Visited by presidents, Bill Cosby, and many other celebrities, Ben’s still has much of the same furniture from the 60′s.
So there is definitely a cool vibe as soon as you walk in. Its crowded, the music is going from 70′s funk to Bob Marley to Motown and the smell makes your stomach implode with hungry juice. There’s a long line that at times will start to poke out of the door, and even though tables are being snatched up as soon as they are vacated, there is a homeless guy dozing off taking up a whole booth by himself, no one kicking him out. This, I guess, is reminiscent of a time from the mid 70′s to mid 80′s when that area was so bad they had one employee and people really just came to hang out. There’s a really interesting history, read more here. Now that whole area is lined with trendy bars and restaurants, and Ben’s is the lone survivor, making it a very hip place for the youths to frequent. Scanning the place you can see homeless (looking) guy, arty girl, churchy black dude, fancy lady, college kid etc. all there for some good food.
Between the two of us we ordered chili dogs, regular dogs, chili cheese fries, and milkshakes. I love how they split the hot dog and put toppings in there.
Their chili is more of a meaty sauce. Dark with a hint of smoke, it has just the right amount of spice and only a trace amount of beans (I have a tenuous relationship with beans). They put it on everything. Their hot dogs were great and the milkshake was thick and tasty. The shake actually reminded me of one I must have had as a kid because I was having a milkshake flashback (tastes like nostalgia).
I enjoy food. I’m earnest with it. Ben is goofy. I’m very full.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
This is actually a chain that exists along most of the East Coast. At that time (months ago), there were no Five Guys in my area, and I am always intrigued by food I can’t get in New England. I also happen to be a burger addict/connoisseur.
So here’s the thing I took away from this one. It’s pretty simple and obvious. With burgers, the only things you need to almost guarantee success are fresh ingredients. After that, you can’t really fudge it up unless you are incompetent or hate the person you’re cooking for. So, although I can say that the bacon cheeseburger was absolutely excellent, I came away understanding that any of us can create a burger this good with the proper things to work with, most specifically fresh beef. This is how one attains that flavor most of us associate with a good burger. I highly recommend Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Another cardinal rule: When there’s only one thing on the menu, you know it has to be good.
They have a great system and if it weren’t for the line you¹d get your food in less than 10 minutes.
A messy appearance that belies a purity of taste. A burger is two patties. You have to get a small for one patty. My type of place. Their fries are fried in 100% peanut oil and come seasoned and regular. Get the seasoned – delicious perfection.
I’ve got to give them some style points. Their whole vibe seems centered around a theme of simplicity. Simple red and white décor, simple menu. The menu is burgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes, and soda. Cheese and bacon extra, toppings free. They’ve got all the free peanuts you can eat while waiting for your food, and that’s it. Makes life just seem easy.
Mowing. Not like a lawn. Rhymes with plowing, so like a field, I guess. Note the sweat on my brow. This is serious.
A NY Spot
The studio in Manhattan. I put that depression in the milk crate.
In NY we helped (or would like to believe we helped) on some preparation for the Cave Duck episode. Then on our way back to Greenpoint we stopped at a Middle Eastern place right by the train station. I’m sorry, I honestly can’t remember the name of the place, as I was blinded by hunger, but most of you New Yorkers may already have a vague idea of where I’m talking about. This place was great. Most people were getting falafel pitas. I got lamb. And was it ever good. There was red cabbage and that delightful yogurty mayonnaise, but the most special thing was the pickles. I can honestly say I’ve never had pickles quite like that before. They were perfect with the grilled flavor of the meat. Next time I’m in NY I absolutely must revisit.
Here’s a photo of some more mowing. Chris, Thu, and I. Aerial shot by Danny B.
What a delicious taste combination! Chris’ plate looks great. I can’t remember what he had, but I want to go back in time and steal the pickles off his plate every time I see this. And yes, I am aware of the size discrepancy in these photos.
As far as prices go, I really don’t remember that either, but since I’m poor you can rest assured it was all reasonable.
Until next time! -Vinnie
So a few months ago my roommate Emily came home with these weird things called OREO STIX. Perhaps you have seen the commercial:
Anyways these things are weird. They do stay crunchy but I would imagine it’s because they are really made of cardboard or something. The best part of the oreo cookie/milk union is the fact that your oreo gets mushy and dissolves into your milk, making it into a blizzard of sorts.
I am giving these things a thumbs down. Regular oreos can keep a thumbs up.
Oreo blizzards are always welcome, especially if they are mint:
or this guy:
