The Clark Bar has been the Big Foot of my candy life. For years and years I have scoured gas station after convenience store in hopes of spotting this elusive bar. My obsession with it began several years ago when I read glowing reviews of it and its brother Zagnut, a product that was easier to track down.
But my search had always ended in frustration… until now. This past week at Walgreens, in a bag of Old-Fashioned candy packaged by Necco, amidst Banana Splits and Necco Wafers, these Lost Cities of Atlantis appeared as if they were weren’t one of the most difficult candies I’ve ever tried to find.
I had always intended to try the full-sized bar, but this package only sold the miniature version, a small concession for being able to finally sample this product.
The story of the Clark Bar is that D. L. Clark, an Irish immigrant, founded his own candy company that became wildly successful in the early twentieth century. At one point, the company churned out over 150 different pieces of candy, but the Clark Bar always remained its most promising confection.
The bar itself is comprised of honeycomb peanut butter coated in mockolate. From its description, my thoughts immediately go to Butterfinger, but because of all the praise I had heard about this candy beforehand, I didn’t quite believe it would taste the same.
From its aroma, it does smell like a Butterfinger, but in a good way – the way that you appreciate the peanut butter flavor minus the pieces that stick in your teeth. Taking a bite, the subtle yet apparent overtone of honey pervades the bar and adds a woodsy sweetness to the piece. The crunch is firm and easy to bite through. As for the mockolate coat, it’s the best kind: obvious only in a slight aftertaste, but overshadowed by the bold flavor of the peanut butter. You get the semblance of chocolate without the waxy aftertaste.
And for the best part, these don’t stick in your teeth! I do enjoy a Butterfinger Crisp and a 5th Avenue every now and then, but I have to say that these are now my new favorite crispy peanut butter bars on the market.
It almost feels that an era has come to an end now that I have tried them, but I now move on to another quest: the search for my fountain of youth – the full size Clark Bar.
Buy Clark Bar Online:
- at Candy Crate
- at Candy Direct
- at Old Time Candy
- at Amazon.com
Okay, I thought I had had a Clark bar before, but the way you describe it, now I’m not so sure! Hm. Guess I better go hunt one down and find out!
October 14th, 2008 at 5:42 amHaving access to Clark bars all the time they are part of my rotation. The thing I don’t like is biting down on one of the hard bits that show up from time to time. But they are very tasty.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:04 amTry Hershey’s directly. I visited candyland about 15 years ago, and remember that I had a blast that was made with a clark bar. boy was that tasty!
October 14th, 2008 at 10:43 ami’ll send you a clark bar if you send me a white chocolate covered pay day. i never found that one and it’s killing me.
October 14th, 2008 at 3:04 pmI’ve always preferred the Clark over the Butterfinger. Fortunately I’ve managed to live in areas that have it, it’s definitely one of those bars that you find in out of the way places though.
October 14th, 2008 at 5:06 pmYou never had a Clark bar? You poor deprived person. A Butterfinger is just a sad and very poor substitute for a Clark bar–if, and only if–you can’t get a Clark bar. And where did you get this bag you found one in? I also have VERY great fondness for Banana Splits and especially Necco Wafers! Almighty! That bag sounds like a sack full of heaven! Next you’ll be telling me it had Zagnuts and Mallomars in it, too! I NEED one of those bags! Please, I beg you, where can I get one of those bags!!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 8:02 pmSpooky, I purchased mine at Walgreens. I found it in the candy aisle where they have the bags dangling from hooks.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:19 pmI love Clark bars! I just discovered them a few years ago. Some people I was house-sitting for had a bowl of mini Clark bars for me to give to trick-or-treaters. Um, I’m so sorry to confess that not all the bars went out the kids because they were so yummy I couldn’t help myself. I’m with you – I love that they don’t stick to my teeth the way Butterfingers do.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:57 pmI TOO LOOK FOR CLARK BARS AND GENERALLY CANNOT FIND THEM EXCEPT AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. HALLOWEEN. LOCATED AT MY WAL-MART IN THE HALLOWEEN CANDY AREA. $2.OO A BAG GET YOUR FILL BECAUSE AFTER HALLOWEEN, THEY’RE GONE. MIKE
October 15th, 2008 at 7:02 pmThank God my area has 2 local grocery store chains with “retro” candy sections. I was able to find full size Clark bars there. They are way better than Butterfingers. I’ll have to check out Walgreen’s too next time I’m out that way.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:46 pmTry 5th Avenue bars. They are the same as Clark bars only with alomonds on top.
Had a Zagnut just the other week. They are are to find here. Clark bars were my childhood favorite.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:18 pmClark bars and Sky bars are probably my top two favorite candy bars of all time (though I go back and forth on which one takes the No. 1 spot). I can always get Sky bars at Cracker Barrel, but Clark bars are so hard to find in my area! They had them at Big Lots for a while, but I bought all of them and they haven’t got any more back in. I have found one gas station that carries them, but they’re pretty old. In fact, they’re so old that they’re chewy rather than crunchy. Nonetheless, I still pick one up every now and then. (Yes, Clark bars are that good!)
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:15 amMy local Wal-Mart sells the full-size Clark Bars in packs of four.
Maybe yours does, too? I only started seeing them there in the past month or so, but I noticed them right away because I always pay very close attention to new additions to the chocolate/candy aisle. I am in Canada, so maybe US Wal-Marts won’t carry them. But at least there’s hope?
November 5th, 2008 at 6:42 pm