Monday, November 5, 2012

Clark Bites

Clark BitesThe Clark Bar is one of the oldest still existing combination candy bars in the United States. It was introduced in 1917 and is now made by Necco. (You can read lots more here.) The bar is a simple layered peanut butter crunch center similar to Butterfinger & 5th Avenue (head to head review) or Reese’s Crispy Crunchy and the Chick-o-Stick.

To expand the line, Necco recently introduced Clark Bites, which as the name would imply, are bite sized, unwrapped pieces instead of a full bar. There’s a strange campaign going on to promote them, called Where’s Zipper, which uses a cartoon character called Zipper the Squirrel based on the Squirrel Nut Zippers candy also made by Necco. There’s a website and a poorly attended Facebook page for it. But there’s lots of info there about the new Clark Bites, the fact that they come in stand up snack bags, individual bags plus these theater boxes.

A while back I reviewed the re-introduced Butterfinger Bites, which I thought were terrible. The coating was greasy and waxy and overly sweet with no chocolate notes whatsoever. The center was too stiff or dense and lacked an easy crunch. Since I prefer the new Real Chocolate Clark Bars already, I had high hopes for these.

Clark Bites

The box is interesting, it feels masculine and utilitarian. All the info is there. They’re made with real chocolate, the image on the front shows what the candy looks like and they’re made in the United Sates. The box is a bit big for the contents, there are only 3.5 ounces in there, but I’d say it’s a good value for a buck for an all natural product. Inside the box, the candy is inside an unmarked cellophane pouch.

There are no preservatives in the candy, so it’s all natural. It’s a milk chocolate coating and there’s a confectioners glaze on it, so it’s not appropriate for vegans or even strict vegetarians. (There’s also soy, peanuts and milk in it for those with allergies and processed in a plant that also has tree nuts, egg and wheat.)

Clark Bites

The nuggets are well proportioned. They vary in size, some are sort of square shapes, other are more rectangular versions. They’re between three quarters to almost an inch long.

The center is light and crispy with lots of layers. The flavor isn’t strongly peanutty and the chocolate coating is rather thick. So the whole thing is pretty sweet though there is a small touch of salt in the center. The flaky crunch has a little bit of rustic peanut butter in it, but mostly notes of molasses.

One the whole, they’re quite poppable. They’re a lot lighter and crunchier than the Butterfinger version and of course the chocolate is real. There’s no partially or fully hydrogenated oils in here, but plenty of real chocolate, milk products, sugar and peanuts. A serving is a half of the package (1.75 ounces) which comes in at 240 calories but does have 4 grams of protein and even 4% of your calcium and 2% of your iron.

I really hope these become more widely available. I was so optimistic after reading the label when I bought them that I picked up three boxes and I’m glad I did.

Related Candies

  1. Nestle Butterfinger Bites
  2. Treat Trip: Bevan’s Own Make Candy - Peanut Butter Sticks & Molasses Chips
  3. Clark Bar Wicked Mix
  4. Nestle Butterfinger Snackerz
  5. Head to Head: Clark, Butterfinger & 5th Avenue
  6. Clark Bar (Get Real - Milk & Dark)
  7. Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses
  8. Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews


Name: Clark Bites
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Necco
Place Purchased: Dollar Tree (Echo Park)
Price: $1.00
Size: 3.5 ounces
Calories per ounce: 137
Categories: All Natural, Candy, Necco, Chocolate, Peanuts, 8-Tasty, United States, Dollar Tree

POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:30 am Tracker Pixel for Entry     All NaturalCandyMorselizationReviewNeccoChocolatePeanuts8-TastyUnited StatesDollar Tree

Comments
  1. they sound good, but that has to be THE cheapest looking marketing campaign I’ve seen from a national candy company.

    Comment by Rodzilla on 11/06/12 at 4:53 am #
  2. just bought a clark bar at dollar general   excited to find one, not very many places carry them. took a bite thought I had broken my tooth   the center is hard hard not the good stuff. date on bar iexpdate aug 20 2014..  this is not good.  quality is not there..will try again if I find a different date code.. you all will have to correct it or you will loose customers..i will be the first..that was a very good product and have enjoyed it sence my youth.  hope it gets fixed….esther young

    Comment by esther young on 7/10/13 at 11:15 am #
  3. I loved the thick chocolate coating and the light, crispy center. I’m going to buy them again.

    Comment by G. Howlett on 8/11/13 at 1:51 pm #
  4. ive been hunting these CLARK® BITES downocal DOLLAR GENERAL stores since i discovered them about 2wks ago. i, too, hope they catch on & become more widely available. i would rate them as YUMMY tho grin my 10yo son absolutely LOVES ‘em!! gotta keep him from crushing the whole box b4 i can get some for myself *smh* (LOL!)—alw, thu100914 @ 6:00pm

    Comment by a wright on 10/09/14 at 3:02 pm #
  5. I’ve got them at a Big Lots! store.Very good.

    Comment by SJCarras on 1/20/16 at 11:23 pm #
  6. Today I did the unthinkable:
    had a Butterfinger in my local liquor shop;
    had a 5th Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles by Pershing Square at Rite-Aid;
    had a Clark Bar at Universal Studio (my destination for the day.)

    Comment by SJCarras on 2/28/16 at 8:03 pm #
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