Saturday, April 26, 2008
Thursday Candy Trippin’I’m in Oakland, CA right now, just back at the apartment I’m staying at for a little rest. Mostly I wanted to take a moment to begin documenting what I’ve been doing. Usually when I come up for a weekend, I pay for my lodging (as well as the gas). This time I’m fortunate enough to have a friend putting me up for two days (thanks Chris!) so with the money I’ve “saved” I’m throwing it all into candy. (I have to wonder if I can actually spend $150 a day on candy ... hmm.) On Thursday morning I headed up to San Francisco for a long weekend. Usually when I go to the Bay Area from Los Angeles I take the 5, which is very fast and efficient but rather boring (as there’s very little of interest to candy-minded people besides what can be found at a gas station). So I decided to take the slightly longer & slower 101 N route. Along the way I had three stops planned (I would have stopped in Santa Barbara, but I passed through town at about 9:30 AM, before some of their promising shops open, so that’ll be later this summer when I go up for one of my whale watching adventures). San Luis Obispo is about three and a half hours north of Los Angeles, so it’s a pretty quick drive and a logical place to stop for a cup of coffee anyway. Sweet Earth Chocolates is an organic & fair trade confectioner based right there, they also sell their sweets right from the Splash Cafe, so it was perfect rest/candy stop. Sweet Earth Chocolates @ Spash Cafe Here’s what I picked up (some for later review): (plus a vegan turtle sample) Total: $36.42 This is also the point where I stopped for gas. That was $33.57 (I have a Prius ... which doesn’t hold a lot of gas, so even at $4.09 a gallon, I only needed 8.2 gallons). The other high priority stop for me along the way was in San Jose, which is another three hours north of San Luis Obispo. Holland Pastry & Gift Shop sells a huge selection of licorice, and in all sorts of different sizes of packages from the original manufacturer. Now that I’ve sampled quite a bit from my other candy trips, I was ready for some bigger bags of the tried & true favorites and some more experimentation. The best part about the shop is that everything is a fraction of the price I’m paying at the upscale shops. Of course without all the fancy packaging, ambiance and prime location in choice neighborhoods, too. Holland’s Best (aka Holland Pastry & Gift Shop)
(plus a trollendrop sample) Total: $39.88 The last stop was mostly because I was there, literally, it was just an exit off the freeway. So I stopped at the See’s Factory, which has a little store attached. Now, as far as I know, See’s rarely has “outlet” sales. I know that some folks pick up after-holiday merchandise there on sale, but that’s pretty rare. I didn’t find any grand deals there, but I was happy to see the homeland of happy-habit chocolates. See’s Factory & Store
(plus a Mocha Truffle sample) Total: $11.40 So that total for Thursday: $122.66 (includes departure cup of coffee at Winchell’s in Silverlake). POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:28 am Behind the Scenes • Candy • Shopping • |
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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I am so envious. The entire state of Texas does not have a See’s candy store. My sister, soon to be visiting from Oregon has to bring me a big box.
hi cybele! if i recall my huell howser episodes correctly, i believe see’s actually began in los angeles in the 1920s, but is now headquartered in san francisco.
From the See’s website: (http://www.sees.com/history.cfm)
[Charles] See along with his mother and his wife, Florence, opened the first See’s Candies shop and kitchen on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in November of 1921.
Hey LCM, I’m pretty sure that either DFW or the Houston (Bush) airport has a See’s outlet. Of course that only helps if you are flying through the city, since the shops are behind security - so maybe you are better off waiting for your sister to visit!
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