Author Archives: Monica

Candy Art: Jason Mecier Profile

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Christina Aguilera Candy Mosaic
I’m not a huge art lover. I mean, I can ponder the meaning of Mona Lisa’s smile with the best of a Communications major. And who couldn’t just stare at Whistler’s Mother for the rest of eternity? But if you had to place me on the art appreciation continuum, I’d definitely fall closer to the-gift-shop-is-the-highlight-of-the-museum. Things changed for me a few months back, though, when I reported on a genre of art with which I wasn’t previously familiar: the Jelly Belly portrait. This, for me, was mesmerizing, and made me wonder what other decadent masterpieces might be out there, just waiting for a keen eye such as mine. And my ravenous search quickly led me to the online gallery of one Jason Mecier.

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Candy Review: Baskin-Robbins Soft Candy

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Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Soft Candy Package
I have many a fond memory of Baskin-Robbins from childhood: the free birthday cones, the baseball helmet sundaes, the hard, hard scoops that could be shot clear off your sugar cone and onto the lawn with one overzealous lick. Not to mention the choices – oh, the choices! All 31-plus of them! And I reveled in my flavor selection: Rocky Road, Rainbow Sherbet, Cookies ‘N Cream… the world was my hot fudge-covered oyster (notably not one of the aforementioned 31-plus). But I have to admit, in all my ice cream eating moments, never (ever) did I think to myself, “Mmmm, this ice cream is good, but it would be really good if only I could chew it.” So it is with a bit of skepticism that I opened up my box of Baskin-Robbins Soft Candy.

These candies come in two flavors: Mint Chocolate Chip and Very Berry Strawberry, and in both regular and sugar free varieties. They’re quite small – smaller than a Tootsie Roll – and rectangular. And they’re individually wrapped in foil reminiscent of my Viactiv Multi-Vitamin Chew (highly recommended as a vitamin supplement, less so as a sugary treat).

And soft they are. If nothing else, these things deliver in that department. Softer than both a Tootsie Roll and a Starburst chew, it took me a number of squeezes before I finally landed on Play-Doh. That’s about how soft these are, if you can imagine. (The sugar free ones actually were not quite as soft, falling somewhere between Play-Doh and Starburst on the hard/soft continuum.) But this is where the uniformity ends, so here’s how the individual flavors played out for me:

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Gum Review: Trident Passionberry Twist

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Trident Passionberry Twist Gum

The purist in me always tended to shy away from fruit-flavored gums, preferring the breath-freshening qualities of mint and cinnamon. But with my previously-held flavorism so completely obliterated by Orbit Citrusmint and then Stride Mandarin, I have found myself in a much more open place regarding gum selection. And it is with this spirit that I agreed to sample and review Trident’s new Passionberry Twist (with Xylitol).

Passion fruit is not one of those flavors I’m all that familiar with: kids didn’t just whip passion fruits out of their lunch boxes when I was growing up (at least not at my grade school) and, if memory serves, it’s one of those heavily seeded, hard-skinned beasts in the produce section that doesn’t exactly seduce neophytes. I have, however, sampled it on a few occasions (in the rain forests of Brazil, or Costa Rica, or Vietnam – I can’t quite remember) and in none of those places have I vomited, so I figured it must have been benign enough. Plus, I love berries, so it seemed like a winning – if mysterious – combo worthy of nothing less than a minute-by-minute review.

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Candy Ramadan

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Candy Bar Cake

(Image Courtesy of Its Candy Bouquet)

Back in June, in my Top 10 NEW Candy Holidays list, I proposed bringing some additional sweetness to National Candy Month with the introduction of Candy Ramadan – a high holy month for Candy Addicts. Little did I expect that my words would become Gospel (how’s that for further religious bastardization?) for one reader (and self-described “depraved candy slut”), who embarked on a 30-day “religious candy pilgrimage” towards her 30th birthday, making “daily candy offerings” (read: eating candy every day) and humorously detailing it in her blog.

Her amusing posts are basically mini reviews covering candies that span 5 continents (from the regional American Big Cherry to a Japanese candy lacking an English translation) and more than a handful of decades (the classic Cow Tales to the brand spankin’ new Premium M&M’s). Her just-finished month-long journey, marked with delightfully keen descriptions and patented phrases like “violent pink,” “fruit-abetically,” and “like a kid in a porn store,” is a big FU to the dental industry and food pyramid alike and a definite must-read for Candy Addicts. So go check it out, wish her a “Happy Birthday,” make a donation to the Reese’s Piece Corps’ Operation: Af-Candy-Stan (for real!), then click below to read my interview with this disciple.

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Gum Review: Stride Always Mandarin

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Stride Mandarin Gum

All right, just finished lunch – a little Mexican (food, not person) – and I could use a little oral refreshing, if you know what I mean. I’m salivating for my all-time favorite and everyday afternoon go-to, Orbit Citrusmint gum. I’ll admit, I was skeptical of this flavor combo at first, fearing it might go the way of post-teeth-brushing orange juice, but how unfounded those fears were. Oh how I love its delicate balance, its burst of refreshing powers sans dental cleaning aftertaste. (I’m also a fan of orange-flavored toothpaste and Listerine, it should be noted, as means for washing away my sugary sins.) Yes, salsa be damned, I need some immediately! But wait… oh, that’s right, I have a box of Stride Always Mandarin waiting to be chewed and reviewed. Orbit will have to take a backseat for now… it’s Stride time. (And, as their somewhat perplexing name indicates, it’s always mandarin time.)

Okay, off the bat, the box flips down rather stealthily to expose two rows of gum and what appears to be some sort of word game, presumably to give you something to “do while you chew,” which could be a long time, apparently, as their tagline is “Ridiculously long lasting gum” and their website promises flavor that lasts “…for like… ever.” Really goin’ for that teen demo there, huh? Well time will tell, Stride, time will tell.

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