I Want Candy

By Erin in Food on Feb 9, 2005 5:43PM

Despite some of Chicagoist thinking that Valentine's Day does nothing more than unnecessarily torture people into coughing up cheesy expressions of love in forms of jewelry, overpriced flowers, and boxer shorts with hearts on them, there is one tradition of this "holiday" that we can get behind:

Candy. Everyone loves candy. While we think whomever over at Hershey's thought up the seasonal Reese's Peanut Butter Cups should get a big fatty check for all of the frickin' money in the world, save the drugstore candy for another occassion.

If you really want a confectionary orgasm, whether it be shared or by yourself, check out some of Chicago's candy speciality stores.

Dulcelandia Candy Stores specialize in "... bringing handfuls and mouthfuls of Mexico's sweet-spiciness to the Chicago region." This colorful chain of candy stores stocks more than 800 varieties of candy, including Chicagoist's favorite, Cocafda en barra, coconut bar candy. Plus, they carry piñatas, and really, nothing says "love" better than beating the shit out of a candy-filled, paper mache animal.

Chicagoist is really sweet on Sweet Occasions And More. While they do carry an assortment of specialty chocolates and bulk candy, and will order whatever you don't see, we're big fans of their hand-crafted gift baskets. They'll ship anywhere and offer delivery within Chicago. A basket full of chocolate trumps a basket full of flowers in Chicagoist's book.

Suckers Candy, Inc. carries a huge assortment of candies and chocolate -- most notably some fine old-school favorites like the original Pop Rocks, candy lipsticks, and GIANT SMARTIES, plus super-cool toys such as Sea Monkeys, Silly Putty and Whoopie Cushions. Why, oh WHY was this store not around when Chicagoist was eight? Ask them about their Valentine's Day specials.

It would be a crime against humanity to talk about chocolate and not mention Vosges Chocolates. Look, we know it's pricy, we know it's snooty, we know we should be suspicious of candy makers who also sell motorcycle jackets, but it's damn good chocolate and that's all that matters.

Speaking of good candy and crimes, we'd also be remiss if we didn't mention Margie's Candies and Fannie May, both institutions here in Chicago, and both places that Chicagoist just can't get enough of.

But we know you know the merits of these fine places, so we're not about to preach to the choir. These venerable stores will serve you up right.