Wednesday, August 26, 2015

See you in September!

Hi all,

The Candy Quest is taking a summer break but will continue the search in September.  I'll be back after Labor Day with some fun, new posts.

Happy Questing!
Keenan 

Monday, August 24, 2015

The best thing to cover in chocolate

I have hinted at this wonderful mashup in a past post but I think it's time to give the chocolate covered potato chip it's own coverage.  It's that good.
I first discovered chocolate covered potato chips about 15 years ago at Daffin's Candies in PA.  I loved them so much that when I moved to NY and started missing home, I called the Daffin's store to see if I could special order a box for them to ship since I didn't see them offered on the website.  I still remember the very friendly (and somewhat amused) woman on the phone who went the extra mile to send me a box with a little hand written note inside :).  Since then, I've noticed that more and more specialty chocolate shops are offering these amazing chips which is great news for anyone with a mouth.  Currently, I'm obsessed with the ones made in Butler, PA at Barkus Chocolates.  For my bday, my only request to my mom was for her to send me Barkus' chips.  She sent 4 (!) boxes and I already ate them all, thanks mom!  
stopping to take this photo was torture
Ok, so why so obsessed?  If you haven't had these then you're probably thinking "hmm, they sound like they should be good, but they also sound weird."  They're not weird, you need to taste them.  Chocolate covered potato chips basically take the whole salty/sweet chocolate covered pretzel idea to the next level.  If you like the smaller, thinner, chocolate covered pretzels then you will LOVE chocolate covered potato chips.  They eliminate the dry, middle part of a pretzel and get right to the point of what we're all really after: a salty, crispy, carb covered in sweet milk chocolate.   Most chocolate shops are using plain rippled potato chips which in my research is the best since it can hold up to a thick coating of chocolate without crumbling and it's one of the more salty potato chip varieties out there.  That said, it would be interesting to try a hearty, salty, Kettle chip covered in chocolate.  (It's amazing how I can babble on and on about a chocolate covered potato chip and then totally zone out during a work meeting.)  
a salty, little chip wrapped in milk chocolate

Sold yet?  Want to know where you can buy them?  If your local chocolatier doesn't sell these, don't worry.  There are other ways to get your hands on some.  After reading my post about Sarris, one of my friends asked me if I've ever tried their chocolate covered potato chips.  I haven't (yet!) but Sarris makes a fantastic chocolate covered pretzel so I would trust them with potato chips too.  I've also seen these at Trader Joe's but be warned, I find the TJ's chips to be a LITTLE stale so these should only be considered when you can't find them at a neighborhood chocolatier.  That said, they do work in a pinch.  I do not however, recommend the Lay's version you can find in CVS or grocery stores.  Don't waste your time or calories on these.  They are very underwhelming and will give you the wrong idea.  There's not a thick enough coating of chocolate and the chocolate is kinda chalky, not quality.  I even think the chips don't taste as fresh.  Not worth it at all.

If you're into DIY chocolate covering, I've seen some food bloggers post recipes about this "new" craze (welcome to the club, bloggers) and how to make your own at home.  I would recommend you use the best quality chocolate you can get your hands on though, if you do decide to go this route (ooo, and try them with Kettle chips, I'm curious!)

Finally, you could just do what I once did and call Daffin's or my latest fav Mueller's, and very nicely beg ask them to send you a box.  Just try and remember to pace yourself after you rip open the package.



Friday, August 21, 2015

Wanna see America's oldest candy store?

As promised, I'm back to tell you about Shane Confectionary in Philadelphia, the (self-proclaimed?) oldest candy store in America.  If you read my prior post here you'll learn that last weekend I took a trip to Philadelphia with my boyfriend Shawn.  While we were in town I of course had to check out a few candy stores including the famous Shane Confectionary.  Here's my report:

First off, this place looks completely legit.  It's exactly like stepping back in time.  Here's the storefront which right from the start has an old time-y feel.  
I only did a little research on this place and all I told Shawn was that it's America's oldest candy store, neither of us realizing that Shane's takes this honor quite literally.  When we opened the door, I did a little surprised jump and heard Shawn go "Whoa".   We were NOT ready for this level of commitment:
Super realistic right?  I was kinda spooked at how 1900's this store looked and so I acted accordingly...walking around as if I were in a museum, whispering to Shawn and touching nothing. "Look at these...what's that?...they have ice cream in the back???  Shhhh."  Keep in mind that this store has ZERO rules about whispering or touching their items.  I was just so in shock at the authenticity of the place that it sent me right into best-behavior mode.   Here are pics of the cash register which made me ask if they accept credit cards (seriously):


By the way they do, if you spend the minimum amount.  Slowly, we made our way to the back of the store and found some fun old time-y candy items like these chocolate (unfiltered?) cigarettes.  These cigarettes are some of the most hard core candy cigarette's I've ever seen:
I'm so bummed that I didn't buy a pack.  I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot they were made out of chocolate and didn't even consider buying them.  They seemed reeeeally bad for my health and just off-limits, the way I think of real cigarettes.  Again, I can't reiterate enough how creepily real this store was.  It almost made me forget why I was there...to buy candy!

When I asked a member of their very knowledgeable and friendly staff what Shane's is known for she told me their buttercreams, especially the vanilla ones.  Truthfully I was a little disappointed because I've never liked buttercreams.  They're always way too sweet and seem a little boring.  But then she told me that Shane's are made using their original recipe and original equipment.  Ok, when in Rome Philly!  They had several flavors to choose from including lemon, strawberry, coconut and vanilla:
the REAL DEAL
lemon and strawberry buttercreams
I chose vanilla since it's the most famous of their flavors and coconut, since it seemed like the next logical buttercream flavor of choice.  I couldn't remember ever liking any flavor of buttercream so I was going off of candy-instincts here.  I tried the coconut first which was impressive and PACKED with coconut flakes so it wasn't too syrupy or too sweet.  I was pleasantly surprised which was a nice warm up to what was coming next.
coconut buttercream
As soon as I bit into the vanilla buttercream my mind went blank and I only wanted more.  This vanilla buttercream was unlike any you've ever had.  It had a really creamy consistency, not drippy syrup or clotted sugar, and it wasn't overly sweet like buttercreams always seem to be.  You can really taste the butter AND the vanilla and the milk chocolate coating was perfect.
the (vanilla buttercream) money shot
Do you see how the inside is oozing out just a little?  It was like biting into a perfectly balanced butter/vanilla bomb with a little bit of velvety milk chocolate on the outside.  Perfection.  

Ok so if you are in Philly then you must check out Shane Confectionary.  Primarily because it is so authentic and if you're already in town checking out America's history then you might as well take it a step further and get some candy history.  Once inside, if you do nothing else PLEASE try a vanilla buttercream.  These are so good, there is just no comparison.  And if you're not planning a trip to Philly anytime soon, order their vanilla buttercreams online: http://shanecandies.com/

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Chocolate covered Philadelphia

Monday was my birthday and for it I asked my boyfriend Shawn to take me around Philadelphia for a little day-and-a-half trip.  I had never been to Philly before so I had to prepare.  Did that include checking opening/closing times for the museum?  Or googling the history of the city?  Or maybe calling some restaurants to book dinner reservations?  All good ideas and probably what most people instinctively do when planning out a little getaway, but no.  My first instinct was to google candy stores to check out while we were there (it's a gift).  This list included a store that covers almost everything in chocolate (Mueller Chocolate Co.) and a store that claims to be America's oldest candy store (Shane Confectionery).  I'll cover Mueller in this post and Shane in my next.

Our first stop when we arrived in Philly were the "Rocky Steps" of the Philadelphia Museum where I declined to go in and instead green lit Shawn's other suggestion to head over to Reading Terminal Market where Mueller Chocolate Co. has a store.  I wish I cared more about art and had the patience for sight seeing, I really do.  It's just that anything with the word market in it is always way more exciting to me.  So on to Reading Terminal Market we went and this place was AWESOME.  Any kind of food or drink you could ever want was in there.  They had so many food stands, looking around the market made me wish I could eat everything all at once and never get full.  I passed a popular cookie stand which was really crowded and looked sooooo good in order to save up and forge ahead to Mueller Chocolate Co. Muellers' stand (store?) specializes in chocolate covered everything.  They had pretzels, nuts, fruit, marshmallows, potato chips, even chocolate covered onions...
Gross right?  I think it was mostly for effect (I hope!)  They also had fun chocolate shaped organs (for the doctor in your life?) and a chocolate Philly "cheesesteak" made up of white, dark and milk chocolate:
chocolate "hearts"
chocolate "cheesesteak" with the works
Shawn pulled the trigger right away on a dark chocolate covered sea salt caramel pretzel which looked good but was kind of a rookie mistake because there were so many other choices to consider.  But hey, he wastes no time.  I had a bite of his pretzel and while it was good, it was reeeeeally drenched in caramel.  Just look at the shape compared to the double dipped pretzels: 
These are good if you really like caramel and just a bit of pretzel with it.  I was glad I didn't commit to it and had Shawn to use as a guinea pig love. There were so many options in the case that I initially wondered if we could cancel our dinner plans and just pull up a stool to the chocolate case.  After starring down these marshmallows for awhile...
I finally asked the sales person what Mueller's is known for.  She mentioned their famous "chocolate tower" which is made up of a marshmallow, a peanut butter cup, a cookie, and a few other fun things...
but I didn't want to blow my wad all at once on one item.  I have a major weakness for chocolate and peanut butter so when she mentioned that they're also known for their chocolate covered pretzels and I spotted these, I knew we had a winner.

I mean just look at these things!  I've written about chocolate covered pretzels before but these were different.  These peanut butter/chocolate pretzels were so good because they were a very crunchy pretzel covered in a soft coating of peanut butter and then fresh milk chocolate.   Mueller's kept the pretzels fresh (not stale!) and their peanut butter was creamy and soft instead of the dry, powdery consistency that peanut butter can get.  And the milk chocolate at Mueller's is outstanding.  Sometimes chocolate covered things can have a waxy, almost tasteless flavor but Mueller's did not.  Their chocolate had a nice milky flavor and it almost melts on your fingers when you touch it.  Mueller's had the consistency of these three ingredients down in a single bite!  At this point I was all revved up and ready to taste more.  Shawn disappeared so I plowed on without him.  Next up: chocolate covered potato chips.

There is a little chocolate shop in my hometown that makes AMAZING chocolate covered potato chips.  They are the best and my hometown shop has been making these chips for years (long before everyone else caught on that chocolate covered potato chips are the best invention ever).  I had to see if Mueller's could compete with the chips from my hometown shop and I'm happy to say that they did.  In fact, they are the only ones to date who can.  Mueller's uses really fresh, crispy, salty, rippled potato chips with a nice THICK coating of real milk chocolate.  These chips were actually a thing of beauty:
See the thick coating of chocolate on these chips?  It really encased the potato chip inside and made for a sweet, crunchy, salty bite.   If you have never had chocolate covered potato chips, these are definitely the ones to try.  I tried to take a bite and then get a photo for you but this guy in a motorized scooter was like beeping behind me to get past and ruining the moment.  I thought ok really?  there are other aisles you can cruise down, clearly this one is crowded I'm sorry you're in a chair.  So I stuffed the other half of the chip back into the bag for Shawn to try (I like to get his opinion too).

Finally, I tried a milk chocolate covered pineapple slice.   I don't normally like chocolate covered fruit (weird, I know) but I wanted to try these because the pineapple slices were nice thick chunks and not the dried up shrively things you usually see in a chocolate case.  Although I found these to be a little too sweet, I think if you ordered the dark chocolate version they would be a better balance of sweetness.  It was a nice thick bite but since the fruit is so sweet and such a large chunk, the milk chocolate was a little too much.
Yeah, get it girl
Ok so at this point I hadn't tasted nearly enough but Shawn was back with a lemonade that I had completely forgotten I said I was "dying for" about 10 minutes earlier (I get totally side tracked by good chocolate) and we had to get going.  
In sum, if you are in Philadelphia, you have to go to Reading Terminal Market.  They have every food imaginable so unless you hate eating, you're going to enjoy it.  And second, if you are in the market and you like chocolate, ANY kind of chocolate, then you must go to Mueller Chocolate Co. and taste some of their amazing chocolate covered items (and see the onions) for yourself.  You won't be disappointed!  http://www.muellerschocolate.com/home.html

Friday, August 14, 2015

Ocean City, NJ: Part Two

Welcome back!  Thanks for returning to read my final post on Ocean City, NJ's boardwalk.  And if this is your first time here, you jerk!  Where have you been?  Get caught up here.  So after checking out George's we walked down to Shriver's Salt Water Taffy and Fudge.
This is where having a "handler" is a good idea (aka my boyfriend Shawn who knows Ocean City).  Shriver's makes both fudge and taffy but the front of the store was so busy, with so many beautiful bricks of fudge to choose from, that it rendered me dazed and a little speechless.  

If you want fudge, this place is your JAM.  They had every flavor imaginable.  It was overwhelming/exciting to read them all.  I was in awe, like a wide-eyed, befuddled toddler.  Shawn had to guide me around and point things out.  "Look, this is where they make the taffy. Ok, get your camera out."  And then me: "Oooooo." (pic snapping) I didn't even realize what I was looking at until I uploaded the photos a day later.  We had made our way to the back of the store and Shawn was showing me where they make the taffy.  And look!  They had little taffy trees framing the windows:

Cute, right?  It was cool to watch them make the taffy right there in the store.  All that said, if you go to Shriver's you have to get some fudge.  They have SO many unique flavors that are hard to find elsewhere, it would be a shame to pass them up (even if you do feel a little overwhelmed while in the store).  Just know that you'll have to shove the crowd wait patiently to order.  

Ok so the last stop on the boardwalk tour was Fralinger's who had me right away because their store front looked like a castle:
Technically all of these boardwalk candy shops have fudge and taffy (salt water taffy was invented in Atlantic City, NJ) but the fudge selection at Shriver's was the best and the taffy flavors/presentation at Fralingers was the best.  A lot of eating has to do with presentation and flavor options.  Shriver's had that down for fudge and Fralinger's for taffy.  Fralinger's had long, prominently displayed, neatly organized rows of metal baskets filled with different flavors of taffy which makes you want to dive right in:



They also had a table full of chocolate covered taffy in flavors like banana, raspberry, vanilla and a few other flavors that go well with a coating of chocolate: 
All in all it was an awesome day of candy questing on the Ocean City boardwalk.  Shriver's, Fralinger's, and George's (in my last post) really give you that I'm-enjoying-my-summer-on-the-boardwalk beachy feeling.  If you make it to Ocean City this summer, be sure to hit up all three and taste my picks for yourself.  Post them on instagram and tag me @thecandyquestblog and if you can't make it to the boardwalk, order some for yourself here:

Monday, August 10, 2015

It's summer! Have you hit a boardwalk yet?

Do you get as excited as I do for boardwalk candy stores?  Or fine, your favorite food on the boardwalk?  You know you do, everyone does.  Someone says "hey, let's go to such-and-such beach tomorrow" and you say "sure, that sounds like fun" but what you're really thinking is "yes! And I'm going to eat that stuff I love from that place I know!"  And then they keep talking but you're not listening because you're still thinking about eating that food you love.  This is good, you can relate to my day of tasting fudge, chocolate candy, salt water taffy, and a chocolate covered twinkie in Ocean City, NJ last Saturday.
This past weekend, my patient and amused boyfriend guided me along the Ocean City boardwalk where he spent many summers as a kid.  We hit up George's Candies, Shriver's Salt Water Taffy and Fudge and Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy.  It was quite an afternoon so I did what any girl who shops at Whole Foods, eats organic, and calls herself a runner would do: skipped breakfast and lunch to save up for it.  This was the perfect strategy because the only way to approach an afternoon full of candy tasting is hungry and excited! Ungh!
We started at George's Candies where the helpful girls behind the counter told me that they're famous for their coconut macaroons.  I ordered a plain one, split it with Shawn, and devoured it immediately.  I didn't even get an interior shot for you (sorry, I hadn't eaten all day).  It was one of the best coconut macaroon's I've ever tried.  It had a caramelized, crisp, exterior with a soft, chewy, coconutty, interior.  So good.
Next it was on to trying some of their chocolate covered animal crackers.  Have you ever had these?  They were delicious!
They're good when you want a carb covered in chocolate but a pretzel sounds too salty and a graham cracker sounds too dry.  These animal crackers were NOT stale which makes all the difference.  Chocolate covered foods cannot be stale, that ruins it!  No point!  George's had the freshness factor figured out because nothing in that store was stale.  Then, hey, I ran into my old friends...chocolate covered swedish fish!
Technically I had tasted these before so didn't NEED to buy them but they looked so perfectly covered in chocolate and neatly piled in rows, I had to buy some.  I'm a sucker for pretty packaging!  They were totally worth it.  Nice and evenly coated in chocolate, fresh and chewy.  I could have eaten a thousand of them...kind of wish I did.  Finally, I spotted these:
Whaaaaaaaat?!  How perfect do these look?  Truthfully I passed them up at first and then came to my senses, returned to George's, and bought one.  We've all seen deep fried twinkies but perfectly coated chocolate covered twinkies?  This was a first.  Full disclosure, it had been about 10 years since I had a twinkie so I kind of forgot what they tasted like/had a mental idea that they SHOULD taste like vanilla cake and vanilla icing.  This really confused my brain when I bit into one because I was expecting to taste vanilla and smell that familiar twinkie-cake smell but that never happened.  Instead, I tasted chocolate, then some sponge cake and a little vanilla cream, but never really got that vanilla-twinkie smell, taste, and texture I remembered which was a bit of a letdown.  This was no fault of George's, the twinkie was fresh and the chocolate was perfect, it was more that the chocolate/twinkie taste combination didn't live up to my expectations.   Shawn had a bite (yes despite this review I only gave him one bite) and summed it up: "it's chocolate and it's a twinkie, what did you expect?"  Umm, I don't know, magic?!  It's two of my childhood favorites in one portable package.  This SHOULD be the answer to all my dreams.  Somehow it wasn't quite there so the quest continues!  My final recommendation for George's Candies is that if you want to try a chocolate covered twinkie for yourself then by all means go for it, but my picks would be the coconut macaroons, the chocolate covered animal crackers, and the chocolate covered swedish fish.  They are also renowned for their fudge (which is excellent) but I didn't review in this post.  www.georgescandies.com.  Check back on Friday for my post on Shriver's and Fralinger's. 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Do you like peaches? Or raspberries? Or heavily veiled insults?

When was the last time you had peach melba?  That peach/raspberry dessert combo popular with the over 70 set.  Has it been awhile?  Did you forget it even exists?  I did too.  While I was in Chicago, I happened to wander into a Fannie May store (I promise this is my last Chicago post) and saw a unique take on the classic peach melba.  They made a peach/white chocolate bark and added bits of raspberry and "white stringing" (which I guess is FM speak for white chocolate taste) to it.  Kind of a new candy-take on a classic combination.  I bought some to try and will get to that in a second because the real story here is the woman who happened to be working in the store that day.
Coming from New York, a visit to the midwest always involves several I-can't-believe-how-nice-they-are-here moments.  Kind of like that episode of the Simpson's when Homer abuses the Amish because "I can be a jerk and no one stops me".   So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the store and encountered a somewhat gruff, matter-of-fact employee.  She was very much "hello, welcome to Fannie May, how may I help you?" but I could read her face and feel her judging me when I turned down a free sample and then looked around the store for awhile before trying or buying anything.  She went about her work and answered my questions very factually but with heavily veiled insults to my intelligence.  An example:  "Do you have these in a smaller bag?"  "No we're sold out." "So there are none in the back?"  "We are sold out meaning that there are none left, if we had any left they would be out on display."  When this exchange went down I kind of thought "Wait, am I picking up what I think I'm picking up here?  In Chicago?  Noooooo, she's just being matter-of-fact."  Then a few other exchanges took place and a few more "can I help you's?" which really meant "have-you-freaking-decided-what-you-want-yet?" when I realized that she was definitely insulting my intelligence and I was IMPRESSED.  I was impressed with her style and way of insulting me without actually ever insulting me.  It was her tone and her way of answering my questions with extremely factual statements, kind patronizing but without the patronizing delivery.  If anyone called her out on it, she could have easily defended herself by saying that she was just answering my questions.  Which was totally true.  But it was the WAY she answered them, her tone and delivery, that were truly the work of a master.  I had to admire her.  As a former waitress, I know it can be maddening to work with the general public.  You cannot believe the stupid questions people ask.  And yes, there are stupid questions.  So rather than being insulted or put off by this woman, I marveled.  What a rare gem to find in Chicago!  The icing on the cake (white stringing on top??) was when I finally paid for the peach melba bark with my credit card and had to dash out the door.  I waived off the receipt as it was printing saying "oh I don't need the receipt, it's fine" forgetting that whether or not you need to sign for a credit card purchase is up to the store and their particular minimum.  So as I'm dashing and assuming she says loudly (for the entire line to hear) "yes you do need your receipt, because you need to sign it, because you paid by credit card".  Ah yes, bravo gruff woman, bravo.

So back to the peach melba bark.   I wanted to try it for you because it's new and I'm a sucker for peach flavored anything.  In truth, it doesn't have that juicy peach flavor that you would expect.  It's more of a white chocolate flavored peach candy with bits of raspberry in it.  Not super peachy but still good.  I will warn you though, it's on the sweet side so one of these little squares at a time are all you need.
And yes I styled the candy for these shots because why not?  Food gets styled all the time, why can't candy?  My recommendation for this candy if you buy it, would be to put it out on a night when you're just doing fruit for dessert.  It's perfect for summer when people tend to have fruit or berries with whipped cream for dessert and maybe want a little something to go with it.
If you are lucky enough to visit the Fannie May store on N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago then you can pick up some of this peach melba candy and HOPEFULLY encounter my hero.  If not, you can buy it from their website along with a whole bunch of other really good chocolate options.  And Fannie May execs's, if you're reading this, please don't reprimand this employee, she is one of the reasons I will return to your store.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

DCB Chicago is on FLEEK

When I planned out my Chicago trip, I didn't think that a stop at Dylan's Candy Bar was necessary.  I live in NYC and I've seen the flagship store multiple times so I figured the Chicago location would just be a smaller version of New York.  So I didn't go.  Instead, I took an hour long cab ride to the airport, ran to my gate to SWITCH to an earlier flight, boarded the plane, got on the runway, was delayed on the runway, taken back to the airport to deplane, delayed at the gate some more, and then my flight was canceled.  Naturally all of the remaining evening flights back to NYC were fully booked, so I was looking at a flight home the next day.  The candy gods had spoken, I was meant to spend another night in Chicago to check out Dylan's Candy Bar.
When I finally got back into the city and walked into the store, I got a nice slap in the face to shake me out of my bad airport-mood: a colorful, large, organized, fun, candyland filled with everything imaginable.  Listen, (read?) I love Dylan's New York flagship store and will continue to love it, but the Chicago location was an appropriately midwestern version.  The store was slightly calmer, slightly easier to navigate, my fellow patrons were slightly politer, and the staff was super cheerful.  Man, sometimes I really miss living in the midwest...but don't let this description fool you, this store was on FLEEK.  First, in case there is any confusion upon entrance that you're about to have a good time, they put a very inviting bar immediately to the right of the entrance.  This bar looked so inviting that it almost lured me away from my research...
...but like a trained pro, I avoided the distraction and stuck to my mission.  There was too much glorious, colorful candy to be discovered.  And this store had everything.  A chocolate section, a retro section, a healthy section, an international section, a fudge counter, an entire stand of different flavored lollipops, an entire wall of licorice, another entire wall of sour gummies (that I had to wait patiently to photograph for you because who doesn't love a WALL of sour gummies???) and on and on...

licorice!

sour gummies!
For those of you who have seen the NYC store, you might be thinking "ok so what? New York has that too" but the layout of the Chicago store made it very easy to navigate so I never felt overwhelmed by the huge choice of candy or flustered by the massive crowd (the polite patrons made a big difference too).  Here's a shot from upstairs:

The feeling around the store was one of fun and excitement and that vibe was from the adults.  How can you not get excited when you see as much of your favorite candy as you can buy?  And c'mon, don't act like you're too cool for candy, everyone has a favorite.  I'm sure you've been in a situation where someone was like "oh no, I don't eat candy" and then 10 minutes later they're reaching for a handful of whatever everyone else has been eating.  Candy fomo.  So anyway, as I was admiring their wall of color and thinking of moments in my life that could really call for color coordinated candy (a party...a sit down dinner...work...brunch...watching TV...) I noticed a candy that I hadn't seen before, mango Mike and Ike's!  Like WHERE did they find these?  Were they created just for Dylan's?  Who taste tests all of these candies?  Do they need help???  As I was contemplating, this girl walked up next to me and said to her friend "mango Mike and Ike's?!  Is this a thing??"  Ummm girl it is now...

So I guess my extra night in Chicago paid off after all.  Don't be like me and try to blow off Dylan's Candy Bar the next time you're in Chicago.  Instead, head to their N. Michigan Ave. location and taste the mango Mike and Ike's.  Otherwise, the candy gods might cancel your flight and teach you a lesson.  www.dylanscandybar.com