Part of summer fun here in Jenworld involves going to the movies. It’s not that we don’t go the rest of the year — although I do admit that we don’t go often in general — but summer tends to be when the best kids/family movies come out. The girls and I usually see a couple of movies during the summer, including “Up” yesterday. (Great!)
I always let the girls pick out something from the concession stand, which Pete doesn’t like because it’s a rip-off, but I think it adds to the fun of the outing. I remember LOVING getting candy at the movie theater and — no surprise here — my favorites were chocolate.
My all-time favorite is Sno-Caps — semi-sweet chocolate covered with white non-pareils. Yum. I’ve tried other, fancier brands, but I keep coming back to Sno-Caps. The chocolate is just right — not too sweet and not too bitter — and the non-pareils aren’t too sweet or too fake. (Word to the wise: Don’t ever buy the rainbow colored non-pareils at World Market; they taste like ass.)
I also like Raisinets. I know, I know, most of y’all hate chocolate + raisins. I don’t know why, because they’re yummy, plus they have good digestive qualities. The chocolate is pretty mild and doesn’t have much flavor, but at least they’re not too sweet.
[By the way, I recently discovered Dark Chocolate Raisinets, which thrilled me. Alas, when I tasted them, I was disappointed. I can't pinpoint the problem, except to say that I get a strong chemical aftertaste with them. Pete tasted both regular and dark Raisinets and and did not agree with me on either of my assessments. So don't trust my opinion alone on this one.]
I’m also a fan of Junior Mints and have found a kindred spirit in my younger daughter who thinks that dark chocolate + mint = Heaven. While I’m sure that I don’t want to know what’s in the creamy minty filling, I do know that it’s quite tasty. And the chocolate that the Tootsie Roll Company (YES!) uses is absolutely perfect.
The older girl likes Milk Duds, as I did when I was her age, as we both agree that chocolate + caramel = MOST EXCELLENT. However, Milk Duds are not the best example of this combination and now I don’t bother eating Milk Duds anymore. The caramel is just too chewy and my jaw hurts if I eat one.
[We'll just overlook the fact that Milk Duds is owned by Hershey's. Graceful got Milk Duds at the movie theater yesterday and her experience would have been ruined if she'd noticed the Hershey's label on the box -- I recently told her about how Hershey's gets their chocolate from the Ivory Coast (home of child labor/slavery) and she's sworn off Hershey's in protest.]
Finally, I used to also get Nestle Crunch at the movie theater when I was a kid. I haven’t had it in a while, but I did have one of Elegant’s Nestle Crunch Bits (or some name like that) yesterday and almost gagged on the chocolate. Like the Dark Chocolate Raisinets, there was a repulsive aftertaste that was just awful.
As a kid, I happily ate all of the above, but now that I’m older, only Sno-Caps and Junior Mints win my love and the other ones are no longer part of my choco-repertoire. Life is just too short to waste it on crappy chocolate, so I don’t.
What are some of your favorite old school chocolates?
I’m definately a Junior Mints girl. My local dollar store carries that movie-theater-sized box for…you guessed it…a DOLLAR.
Old school loves: Junior Mints, Tootsie Pops, Hershey Hugs, Rollos, and…wait for it…sour gummy worms. I don’t admit that last one in mixed company.
Junior Mints, for sure. My kids loved sour gummi worms but for me, it was Junior Mints or nothing. But now we’re all grown up and just get popcorn.
Sno-caps + popcorn? Now that’s heaven. I like raisinets, sno-caps, sour patch kids and tootsie pops. I’ll eat a junior mint or three but they’re not my favorite…
I know you’re not the biggest fan of American chocolate, but I had to let you know that you can get free chocolate from Mars right now - https://secure.realchocolate.com/
You bet I signed up for some freebies!
Ahh, Junior Mints and Crunch Bars…two of my favorites
Milk Duds are always hard and get stuck in your teeth but I still love them.
Baby Ruth, all the way. They usually don’t have them in concessions so I have to hit the drugstore and smuggle it in. Yes, I am a baby smuggler.
Junior Mints are my all-time favorite movie snack. Alas, I no longer eat chocolate and must settle for caramel popcorn instead. But this post brought back some fond memories. And I completely agree with Kirstin about the Milk Duds.
Yum! I’m all about the Junior Mints, Raisinettes, and Milk Duds! My other favorite as a kid was the mammoth sized Charleston Chew. Even better if it was frozen. Mmmmmmmm. Thanks for the walk down confectionary memory lane!
Peanut, Peanut Butter and Krispy M&Ms - that’s awesome! Snow caps sound like a great ice cream topping. Thanks for the tip on World Market’s selection (ass doesn’t taste good).
I was thinking of a way to introduce the little one to chocolate and I remembered: Nutella! On some warm bread, nice cold days in Germany with my siblings and moma. Good times.
I also remember the German chocolate with a creamy filling - like hazelnut.
all of those are awesome choices.
Twizzlers, however, rule the movie candy universe.
“We’ll just overlook the fact that Milk Duds is owned by Hershey’s. Graceful got Milk Duds at the movie theater yesterday and her experience would have been ruined if she’d noticed the Hershey’s label on the box — I recently told her about how Hershey’s gets their chocolate from the Ivory Coast (home of child labor/slavery) and she’s sworn off Hershey’s in protest.”
But what about all the stuff Nestle do with breast milk?!? http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html
I don’t remember any American chocolate from when I was last year (dear God, almost 10 years ago…) but I do remember Mountain Dew…
Clare,
That’s an excellent point. In general, I don’t buy Nestle products for that very reason. However, I don’t ban the girls from their products or Hershey’s. They’re kids and I want them to be kids, which includes eating kiddie junk food. But, if Graceful wants to boycott Hershey’s, then I’m all for it. I haven’t told her about the Nestle thing, but perhaps I should.
- Jen
You know what I totally LOVE? That the movie review was summed up in one word and the candy review was the rest of the post. That’s what I love.
Also? M&Ms. At the movies I love plain M&Ms. Here is how to eat them: Placed one M&M in mouth, allow to melt, add one piece of popcorn, chew, swallow, repeat.
That is all.
Mmmm….I love Junior mints. And I love Smarties - don’t all kids love Smarties? And I used to love sour patch kids, those gummies covered in sour sugar….but the kids got some in their Hallowe’en loot this year and I have to admit that I’ve lost that lovin’ feeling.
And Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups will always have devotion.
Goobers and Raisinettes…Goobers and Raisinettes!
(Mr. Hot wanted me to mention Goobers.)
hello, milk duds? i love you, baby.
Junior Mints - after they’ve been in the freezer for a few hours. Love them!
Ohhh, Milk Duds! I loved them until I realized about age 18-20 or so that the outside chocolate of them is so waxy. Good memories of them as a kid though!