well well well... looks like it's been a while since i've updated this thing. fact of the matter is, i haven't had a lot of new or interesting candy in the past few weeks. but the days after halloween are prime for a CHEAP CANDY EXTRAVAGANZA, so let's see if i can't put up at least a half-hearted effort...

the first of my post-halloween acquisitions is Brach's Caramel Apple Candy Corn. this is something i've honestly wanted to try for some time, but just never seemed to get around to it. i found a bag at Long's Drugs for just $.50, so i figured now was as good a time as any...



the candy corn is rather attractive in white, red and brown stripes, and smells quite strongly of caramel apples; much like Hershey's Caramel Apple Kisses, there's a nice tangy twinge of green apple to balance the expected overwhelming sweetness.

the texture is really quite nice: not too firm, not too soft, and NOT TOO MOIST. i hate wet, sticky candy corn and this stuff avoids that pitfall. the taste is surprisingly nuanced for a cheap ol' bag of candy corn. at first, you get the standard hit of sugar/honey that you'd expect from candy corn. this is followed almost immediately by a subtle hint of apples-- not nearly as strong as the Kisses or the Caramel Apple Lollipop, this is more of a faint background flavor. finally, as the candy corn melts away, you're struck by the mellow roundness of caramel. not too sweet (but not salty, either) it's a rather pleasant finish to a pretty good candy.

i don't know if this will fully satisfy my craving for standard candy corn, but it's a pleasant enough variation and i hope it sticks around.

BOSTON, part II

some time ago, i saw a brief story on Food Network (i think?) about the "lobster tail." not the crustacean, but a pastry item vaguely reminiscent of a lobster tail's shape, made of a sweet cream filling surrounded by crisp, concentric rounds of pastry. hopefully this picture helps clarify my half-assed description:

up until this week, i'd never seen one of these in the wild, and IIRC the point of the Food Network story was that hardly anyone makes 'em anymore, since the recipe is such a pain in the ass...

anyway, i was at Faneuil Hall when one of the bakeries in Quincy Market just put out a fresh tray of lobster tails. they were kinda pricey ($4.65) but i figured, when was i ever going to stumble across one of these babies in San Diego?

well, i'm glad i bought it because it was DELICIOUS. the pastry was exceptionally crisp and buttery, lightly sweetened from a dusting of powdered sugar, and provided brilliant textural contrast to the fluffy innards. recipes i've seen on the web seem to indicate that the filling can vary, from something ricotta-based, like a cannoli, to just whipped cream. this version of the lobster tail was filled with a light vanilla pastry cream (probably cut with whipped cream?) but still dense enough to be extremely satisfying. one of these is more than enough to fill you up for an afteroon, so $5 starts to seem pretty cheap...

if you ever get the chance to try one of these suckers, do yourself a favor... but you might want to share with a hungry (and not diet-conscious) friend!

BOSTON, part 1

ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: prepare yourself for an epic recounting of one of the premier dining events of my life. yes, yes, after years (well, months?) of whining, i finally had occasion to go to the chocolate bar at cafe fleuri in downtown boston.

i think i've mentioned it like a billion times on this blog, but basically the chocolate bar is a rather fancy sweets buffet. calling it a "chocolate" buffet is somewhat misleading, as there were plenty of other items available (even if many of them did prominently feature chocolate...)

before i dive into specifics, let me mention some of the cool stations at the chocolate bar:
* Chocolate Martini Bar
* Crepe Station, with all sorts of wacky fillings (M&Ms, marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, and, of course, chocolate)
* "Make Your Own Chocolate Bar" Station, where you could pick a bunch of things to toss into tempered chocolate, and then it set up into your own customized creation-- more of a chocolate puddle than a chocolate bar, though :)
* Cotton Candy Station, made to order (that is to say, made while you wait, even though cotton candy pretty much always ends up looking the same...)
* Chocolate fountain, perennial brunch favorite featuring pretzels, marshmallows, biscotti, etc
* Penny Candy Station, where visitors could fill up little bags of ice cubes, langham-branded chocolate squares, peppermint patties, charleston chews, chocolate covered pretzels, etc and take with them when they leave! cute!

so, besides all of this cool stuff, there were all sorts of fancy cakes, cookies and candies. i believe they say there are over 125 unique items, but i don't know how they arrive at that number... regardless, i made a concerted effort to try as many of the items as possible before i got too sick to continue (see the sacrifices i make for you, gentle reader??)

here's what i had (i swear, i ate every last bit of this stuff! and even though most of them are small, appetizer-sized portions... i think this list is still pretty impressive/revolting)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cup - tiny chocolate shell filled with PB mousse, a thin lining of grape jelly, and a small grape on top. quite tasty!
Macaron - not the coconut cookie, but the delicate french cookie made of egg whites and almond flour. two varieties, dark chocolate and mint chocolate. the mint chocolate one was delish, but the dark choco macaron was kinda dry and not quite as impressive.
Chocolate Mint Toffee - rather than the crunchy butter toffee that i was expecting, this was more of a minty caramel. nice undertone of burnt sugar, the mint follows on the back end, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. this one's subtle-- perhaps too subtle for a guy like me. i would've preferred crunchy.
Chocolate Whoopee Pie - did not care for this at all, it was REALLY dry with not much filling (although i suppose that might be what a whoopee pie is like, i've never had one in the wild...)
Pink & White Cookie - like the fabled black & white of jewish deli fame, except the dark chocolate is replaced with pink, strawberry-flavored chocolate. lovely. i could see serving this with tea at the country club.
White Chocolate Carrot Cake - the cake was moist, very straightforward in its flavors; no weird abundance of pineapple or raisin or orange juice. just a pleasant, mildly spicy chunk o' cake... i'm not sure if the frosting contained cream cheese at all, since it was EXTREMELY sweet. personally, i prefer the classic frosting.
S'more Spoon - this was a dollop of chocolate pudding in a chinese soup spoon, topped with graham cracker crumbs and a torched bit of marshmallow cream. not bad, but mostly just tasted like decent homemade chocolate pudding.
Marshmallow Crunch Cup - thin dark chocolate shell, with a lump of chocolate'n'krispies mixed together, topped with marshmallow creme and drizzled with more chocolate. i liked this, although it was quite hearty and one was plenty.
Hazelnut Dacquoise - a dacquoise is made up of layers of delicate meringue and buttercream. this one was rich as hell-- i mean that in a good way
Cappuccino Cup - a cute little chocolate cup (with a lip!) filled with chocolate ganache and a beige, coffee-flavored whipped topping, dusted with cocoa powder. yum.
Chocolate Lavendar Torte - thin alternating layers of cake and chocolate ganache, with a hint of fragrant lavendar (and dried lavendar sprinkled on top!) i liked this, but it was rather floral and i can see how someone might not appreciate flowers in their chocolate. one piece was enough to get the idea.
White Chocolate Berry Cup - a thick white chocolate shell, with a medallion of white cake at the bottom, filled with whipped cream and berries. simple, but f'in tasty.
Mint Cookie Mousse - an oreo topped with a molded mint chocolate mousse, holding a tiny reservoir of chocolate sauce. i enjoyed the textural contrast, and i can't imagine the headache of making hundreds of these things...
Chocolate Risotto - very light and fluffy, i thought this would be like chocolate rice pudding but it was strangely not at all sweet.
Chocolate Banana Tart - a tiny cookie shell holding a dollop of chocolate mousse and a sliver of banana. good, if you like bananas.
White Chocolate Cremeaux - wtf is a cremeaux? i just looked it up, and i'm still not sure. it was like a slightly bouncy white chocolate mousse, sitting atop a chocolate wafer cookie. ultra creamy texture, i very much enjoyed the flavor (although i admit to really liking white chocolate, so i'm sure that helps...)
Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta - this was a fairly big portion of rubbery panna cotta on a shortbread leaf, with a puddle of caramel goo on top. i thought this was perhaps a little too stiff, and the flavor was a little watery.
American Opera Cake - the traditional opera cake is flavored with almonds, coffee and chocolate. this one had peanut butter mousse and... orange?? i don't think these flavors go together at all; maybe the only thing i tasted that kind of made me do a double take...
Chocolate Ginger Angel Food Cake - a lot denser and moister than you expect from something called angel food cake... the chocolate and crystallized ginger work well together.
Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Ball - just what it sounds like... perfect for halloween
White Chocolate Cheesecake - a really nicely-made cheesecake, very smooth and creamy without being too dense or heavy. topped with berries to balance the sweetness.
Chocolate Tres Leches - a round tumbler filled with chocolate sauce, tres leches cake and topped with chocolate mousse. REALLY wet for a tres leches (as if i'm an expert) and rather sweet, but enjoyable. of course, by the time i got to this i was pretty much sick of sweets. and they said it couldn't happen...

anyway, i am between working cameras at this point but i did snap some craptacular pics using my cellphone. EDIT: updated with pics!

all in all, a monumental chocolate experience... i'd encourage anyone who finds themselves in the area to give it a try, although i think most people will be overwhelmed by a meal comprised entirely of sugary confections... cafe fleuri's chocolate bar is open every Saturday between September and June and costs about $40 (including coffee, not including liquor or tip).

well, it's been a long time, and i still don't have anything good to write about. next week, i'll be visiting the Chocolate Bar at Cafe Fleuri in Boston, and that will undoubtedly result in a ginormous post, but until then...

this past weekend, i went to see Anita Baker in concert at Pala Casino. she is my all time favorite A-#1 singer, so you could say i was pretty excited. the concert was not bad; she sounded great, but the venue was pretty much crap. nonetheless, a good time was had by all...



but this blog is not about r&b artists, so let's talk about Pala's buffet. i gotta say, i was kind of impressed. so far Barona has been my standard for "good" buffets outside of Las Vegas, but i'd have to rank Pala a close second. turns out Saturday is "steak and shrimp night," which sucks because i do not enjoy either steak or shrimp, but there was plenty of other stuff for my grazing enjoyment.



but of course my real focus is on the desserts. i was impressed first and foremost by the cannoli-- i don't know if these were fresh out of the kitchen or what, but the shells were actually CRISP. usually the filling works quickly to soggify the shell, resulting in a gross semi-solid mass that bears almost no resemblance to a legit cannoli. i don't know that i've ever encountered a better buffet cannoli (tho still not in the same league as the REAL THING from an italian bakery).

their chocolate chip cookies were studded liberally with semisweet chocolate, but had an odd sour aftertaste, so i have to give those a pass. the tiramisu was exceptionally creamy, and although dusted with cocoa powder, remained somewhat bland. i preferred the white chocolate raspberry mousse cups, which maintained that luxurious texture along with, you know, some actual flavor.

i found it interesting that they served a variety of bar cookies, which are probably extremely cheap to produce but suitably tasty. one unidentified item tasted lightly of cinnamon, walnuts and white chocolate. the other was nothing more than a Magic Bar, but i happen to like these and they were executed well enough.

Pala also had an assortment of cream puffs, ice cream, warm desserts like cherry cobbler and bread pudding, fruit tarts, etc. all in all, there was lots to choose from, including plenty of sugar-free options. verdict: worth the $20. but especially because my friend paid :p

opinions vary, but i think "candy season" begins in middle september, as the back-to-school junk gets shoved off into a dirty corner and the halloween stuff gets pulled out. then, for the rest of the year, it's candycandycandycandycandy (admittedly a bit of a lull between halloween and christmas, but that seems to be getting shorter every year...)

last night i noticed that target had almost finished setting up this year's halloween offerings. say what you will about target (and i have plenty to say, believe me-- but that's a subject for a different blog), i think they have the cutest/most unique holiday stuff of any mass-market retailer.

anyway, i picked up a bag of "toasted s'mores" gourmet candy corn. i believe these are manufactured by Galerie (warning: annoying, uninformative flash site). i love s'mores and i love candy corn, so how could i go wrong??? well, here are a few things i've learned over the years:

(1) chocolate "flavored" items are usually a waste of time. if it doesn't actually contain chocolate, it's not going to come even close to approximating the chocolate experience. since chocolate is such an integral part of a s'more, you can imagine that the candy corn incarnation kind of misses the mark in this regard.

(2) sometimes you just can't improve on the classics. i happen to love the sweet simplicity of traditional candy corn, so most variants pale in comparison. this includes indian corn (meh) and mellowcreme pumpkins (bleh).

(3) printing the word "gourmet" on a label automatically disqualifies it from actually being a gourmet product.

so, first things first: rather than the standard white-yellow-orange color scheme, these are white-tan-brown. and they have an inconsistent appearance: some are blistered, some have bubbles or cracks or white spots throughout. gotta say, i'm not all about appearances when it comes to candy, but these kind of look like something you'd find on the bottom shelf at your local dollar store.

the smell is... uh... not like s'mores at all. actually, i'm not quite sure what these smell like. the first things that come to mind are: SUGARY. maple. coffee. you can detect a very faint whiff of artificial graham cracker in the background, but it's subtle and seems to magically come and go.

the texture is pretty good. one of the things i don't like about some brands of candy corn (BRACH'S) is the high moisture content. i prefer candy corn to be slightly dry and crumbly, followed by a quick melt.

so it's not that these are particularly bad, and the colors are an interesting counterpoint to the candy corn of your youth. i just don't think i'd ever guess they were supposed to taste like s'mores unless it was printed right there on the label, and at the relatively high price (as compared to regular old candy corn) i doubt i'd buy them again.

target also had a few other varieties, including cotton candy and green apple.

part of the joy of being a known junkfood junkie is that friends, neighbors and well-wishers often contribute to your stockpile of goodies. the downside is, those of us with very little willpower have a tough time keeping myself from blowing through 18 lbs of chocolate in the course of a weekend.

at any rate, none other than Caramel Apple Hershey's Kisses showed up on my desk this morning. what a thrill! regular caramel hershey's kisses were one of the first variants to debut a few years ago, and remain one of my favorites. i vastly prefer rich, buttery, flowy caramel to the sticky/chewy variety, so these are right up my alley.

reports are that these are now available in the seasonal dept of your local Wal*Mart. but enough free advertising-- how do these taste?

caramel hershey's kisses were one of the first variants to debut a few years ago, and remain one of my favorites. i vastly prefer rich, buttery, flowy caramel to the sticky/chewy variety, so these are right up my alley.

the caramel apple edition kicks it up a notch (#$(#$ you, emeril) by adding a healthy dose of artificial apple flavor. i gotta say, fake or not, i think these are pretty damn good. the caramel is rather liquidy and tastes like a big ol' granny smith, with some floral notes and a juicy tartness that is fairly convincing. maybe a little too strong for the average consumer, but it reminds me of Charm's Caramel Apple Pops, which i also adore.

so, hershey's is apparently on a roll with their limited editions right now, as i've enjoyed both these and the Pumpkin Spice. well, except for the vile candy corn variety, which are ridiculously cute but taste like you've been huffing a can of Pam non-stick artificially flavored butter spray. bleh.

well, not much going on in junkfoodland these days. i've been out of town a lot, so maybe i should just talk about the food (junky- and non-) that i had recently in Las Vegas.

personally, i am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, especially in late August-- it's way too hot to do anything except busy yourself inside the hotel. i don't really gamble, i don't drink, i don't like corny standup or cher, so what do i do in Vegas? eat, of course! and since this trip was on the company, i made sure to make the most of it.

(1) Bellagio Buffet -- this is a "fancy" Vegas buffet, with food that's a couple notches above what you'll find at your friendly neighborhood Hometown Buffet (and substantially more expensive). seems to me that the quality has declined somewhat over the past couple of years...

the food was "ok" but a lot of it tasted strange, not sure if it's by design or they're just cheaping out on ingredients. for example, their carrot cake looks ultra fancy, but is overwhelmingly pineapple-y. personally i don't like any pineapple in my carrot cake at all, and this tasted more like a pineapple upside-down cake than a carrot cake. scandalous! similarly, their sweet potatoes were drowned out by too much orange juice, so barely tasted like sweet potatoes at all. my favorite item on the buffet was their soft serve ice cream, and that's kind of sad.

(2) Fleur de Lys -- here was my opportunity to see how the other half lives! to be fair, i am really not a gourmet kind of guy. after all, i had no problem eating at Chipotle every week for several years. here's what i had, as best as i can remember:
- Trout-Something-Or-Other Amuse Bouche
i thought this was absolutely disgusting, but you know, it's trout. bleh.
- Lobster Medallions with Microgreens and Mango Confit
i am admittedly not a huge fan of lobster, so that part didn't bowl me over. the microgreens were bitter. mango confit? i guess that's supposed to be preserved in sugar, but it just tasted like plain ol' mango to me.
- Organic Guinea Hen with Asparagus Risotto
this was fine, but not exactly thrilling. the hen was exceptionally moist and the risotto was cooked well. thankfully i did not seem to have a problem with asparagus-scented pee after this meal :p
- Chocolate Tasting
well, it's chocolate, how can you go wrong!? chocolate banana cake, mocha gelato with chocolate crumbs, chocolate ganache tart... all pretty good, although you start to get tired of all that chocolate after a short while (believe it or not)
- Petits Fours
not really petits fours, but more of a random assortment of tiny post-dessert desserts. everyone else was beyond full by this point, so i ate most of them :) included a delightful raspberry macaron and a fresh, soft, buttery salted caramel.
my favorite part of this meal was the bread. that also seems kind of sad.

(3) Bayside Buffet (Mandalay Bay) -- i'd never been here before, and i gotta say, this place is pretty nice. for a buffet, the decor is rather sophisticated and there's lots of windows/natural light which i found refreshing. sadly, i did not get to spend a lot of time here because of work issues, but i would definitely come back. the pizza was great (fresh, crisp crust. lots of cheese!) and the desserts were top notch (so much better than Bellagio... these actually looked cute and tasted good, like the fruit tart in a delicate dark chocolate shell or the banana creme cake)

(4) Smith & Wollensky -- it's a steakhouse, so you know i won't be too impressed. later i heard that pretty much everyone was disappointed with the quality of the steaks here. i ordered the lemon pepper chicken, which again was "fine" but nothing spectacular (except for the portion size, which was ridiculously massive...) for dessert, chocolate cake. i can do better.

(4) Le Village Buffet (Paris) -- disappointing. the food here is not bad, but either they've stopped making my favorite item (the pistachio + lemon macaron) or they only serve it with the dinner buffet. i did enjoy the pork loin with rhubarb chutney, and their chocolate chip cookies, while bearing no apparent relation to the Paris theme, are pretty damn good.

wow, that was a long post about nothing, and even though it seems like a lot of whining, i actually had a pretty good time :) i'll try to conjure up some new candy to write about next time.