To stand out in a crowd is never easy, but these snacks and sweets makers did so for me! First, as you know from prior blogging, popcorn is my favorite snack. This was a big item this year, as everyone is trying new corn, exotic seasoning, and even mixing up different types together (which by the way is never a bad thing to combine cheesy and caramel popcorn – I love the sweet and salty combos!).
I honestly loved all the popcorn I tried, so it’s hard to pick a fave. However, my ever trusty Truffle Salt by Live Love Pop was still one of my faves. And its packaging makes it my favorite car snack. It is very light and perfectly flavored with a truffle salt (and I love all things truffle!). I think I could eat the whole bag. No, I KNOW I could eat the whole bag.
I actually waited til I got home from the show to snap a pic of the bag in my car to prove that this is honestly my car snack. The ziplock top keeps it fresh and spill-proof and it keeps me alive when I think I’m going to starve to death while in the car. I love Live Love Pop!! I also tried their Lime Fresco which was yummy! http://www.livelovepop.com. Too bad I didn’t get some samples at the show, but they did have the biggest display bag of popcorn I’ve ever seen! I’m also looking forward to popping my own, which I do whenever I have the time at home, and will be trying out the goods from Tiny but Mighty and Petite Maize soon!
One of my other favorite snacks at the show was Annie Chun’s Seaweed Crisps.
I’ve had their plain seaweed before, but layering it on top of a brown rice crisp added the perfect amount of oomph to make it a more fulfilling, but still very low cal, snack. I really enjoyed this crunchy delight! My favorite was the Korean BBQ, but I also liked the plain. Hopefully this new variety of their seaweed snacks will be widely available soon because I think they’ll really be a hit for the healthy snacker. http://www.anniechun.com.
And now for the sweets… There was probably about a million pounds of chocolate at the show. I’m not a sweet freak, I generally gravitate toward the salty and savory, but there were a few show stoppers that made my mouth sing. One of the first things I tried at the whole show was a liquid filled chocolate. I wanted to pace myself since it was early and decided to try the only one I had never seen before – the dark chocolate filled with Cabernet Sauvignon. It was divine. Like heaven bursting in my mouth and it truly tasted like a rich red wine.
The dark chocolate was smooth, the wine inside was pure, and it was the perfect combination of utter decadence. I could only try one and glad I picked this one. Would love to try their others sometime, there were many to choose from. http://www.liquidchocolates.com
In the same category, but a different take on the filled chocolates was the chocolate bombs made by Olive & Sinclair.
My favorite was the salted bourbon, but the cherry bomb sure was good too!! Both were a delicious explosion of sweetness in your mouth as soon as you cracked the chocolate and dusted shell. Yum! http://www.oliveandsinclair.com.
A stellar confectionary that stood out in the crowd was Toffee to Go. I like a softer yet crystalline toffee that’s not too sweet and this was it! Perfect toffee!
Definitely the best toffee I tried at the show and possibly the best I’ve ever had. It didn’t hurt that the couple who makes this delight is absolutely precious and so nice to chat with! Would love to try more of their varieties because if they all start with this perfect toffee base, I know they’ll all be excellent! Thanks Lisa and Jim for sharing your goodness with us at the show!! http://www.toffeetogo.com
And those were my hits in the snacks and sweets categories! Stay tuned for part 3, which I think will be along the lines of “Oils and Syrups and Cheese, Oh My!!”
Eat, Drink, and Go! 