Village Candy
344 Beaver Street
Sewickley PA
412.741.1490
Tues - Sat 10-5
Wed til 8
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villagecandy.com 
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Greetings Fellow Candy Lover!
It's October, which is also National Caramel Month (see what our elected representatives can do when there's compromise), and contains the following dates of note: 28th - National Chocolate Day, 30th - National Candy Corn Day and 31st - National Caramel Apple Day. But the biggest day of all (besides someone's very special birthday) is that very last one, and its preceding night. That's the one celebration that is truly set aside for children, where they can dress up and act out their fantasies, and get rewarded for it. And Village Candy has a pumpkin patch full of scrumptiously worthy rewards: autumn-colored gummi bears and worms, gummi cockroaches, decorated chocolates, candy corn (a.k.a. dental prosthetics), mellocreme pumpkins, jelly pumpkins, candy skulls, wax lips/mustaches/fangs, white chocolate candy corn M&Ms, pumpkin patch orange Pop Rocks and more. And that's in addition to our already bountiful selection of treats. C'mon in - we'll leave out the tricks (they're for kids) and point you to the right treats! |
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Chiller Theater
A tale of spooky things sodarific: what's the new boo in the fridge, creepy crawly tastings and wretched tidbits from the world of bottled blood.
We thought this month that we'd focus on a few of our more "interesting" beverages which are just right for featuring on fright night, the eve of the day preceding Día de los Muertos, All Hallows' Eve, or more commonly known as, Halloween. Proceed to read at your own risk (ooh-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhh)! Brain Wash Formula No. 8 These beverages have been more or less a mainstay of Village   Candy since its inception in 2005. Brain Wash is similar to our next beverage on this list in that it comes in two colors (blue and/or red), although very different in taste and how it affects the human anatomy. Shortly after drinking you'll notice the surfacing of hairy warts, perpetual lip spittle, oozing sores and the desire to howl at the moon. Oh, and you'll also notice your tongue and teeth resemble the beverage's colors. If that doesn't put you in the mood to search out human flesh (after tiring of the dried up kind that flakes on your shoulders), we have:
Love Potion No. 69
"An Arousing Carbonated Drink"
Here's a beverage that will really put hair on your chest (and   knuckles and knees and everywhere else). Your eyes will go bloodshot, your nostrils will flare, your incisors will grow inches as will your nails. And that's just from drinking the purple version. Unfortunately Village Candy is out of the pink variety which, had you swallowed even a drop, would have made you crawl on all fours, lose your opposable thumbs, given you the ability to project flames from your mouth (handy at weenie roasts) and made your toenails (or talons) untrimmable. A real treat.
And last, but eerily not least, comes:
Jack Black Dead Red Root Beer
"Third Time Available in 420 years"
A tasty brew that harkens (yes harkens) to days of plunder and  pillaging, this delectable fluid is more than worthy of filling your frosty schooner. Your unpatched eye will be googly over this stuff, and if you down enough, you won't be able to stand on your nonpeg leg, and you'll be seeing visions of a parrot on your shoulder. You'll be 'argh-ing at everyone you meet, and will find yourself wanting to spend all your doubloons. Have we exhausted enough pirate cliches? C'mon, they're people too, and they can't be all bad - Disney named a ride after their Caribbean brethren. BTW, this Jack Black is no relation to Tenacious D. |
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New Bars from Vosges
Haut Two Three Four
By now you're probably aware of the Vosges chocolate renaissance. The Chicago chocolatier was started by Katrina Markoff, a Le Cordon Bleu, classically-trained chef who went on to work for several revered culinary experts. From the kitchen of her Chicago apartment, Katrina launched a chocolate revolution, creating chocolate artistry through combinations of cacao and exotically-sourced ingredients.
Village Candy has offered their entire bar lineup nearly from their beginning, and they've just introduced three new bars.
Hot burnt sugar syrup poured over dried ancho and chipotle chilies results in a caramel that carries the warmth and flavor of the chilies and Ceylon cinnamon, while maintaining the smooth texture of the new Red Fire Caramel Bar. The spiced, oozing caramel is then encased inside 62% dark chocolate. The result is a satiation of the palate, emanating from your taste buds and slowly warming belly. A satisfying feeling, to say the least.
Next up - smoked bananas are blended into soft caramel with a touch of Alderwood smoked salt, and tucked into the pockets of a 72% cacao dark chocolate bar. When tasting the Smoked Banana Caramel bar, the flavor is distinct with the smoky notes found primarily in the Mesquite smoked banana. In the olden days, if you mentioned "smoked bananas," you were most likely talking to some hippie who actually did that in a pipe!
Also new from Vosge is a bar that, at first glance, looks (or sounds?) really strange, but is actually quite  homey and comforting. As Katrina puts it, "In the early days of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, I experimented with carrot in our Gianduja (hazelnut praline) bar. The recipe never quite came together. This year, I revisited the orange carrot duo. I've always wanted to add a crackly crunch to one of our chocolate bars and felt it would be fun for the carrots to add a crispy note. I decided to confit the carrots in orange juice and then crisp them in the oven. To add an additional punch of citrus, I also include house made Valencia orange powder." Mix in 45% cacao deep milk chocolate and you have the uniquely inviting Crispy Carrot Bar.
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Pez Collector Sets
Limited (to anyone who buys them) Editions
The introduction of new Pez Collector Sets is an exciting time in the candy biz AND the collector's community. And these three latest sets are sure to make a big splash. The perfect gift for the  girl (or collector guy) who has everything is this Barbie Pez Gift Set. Each contains 4 Barbie Pez dispensers in different poses, as well as 6 packs of Pez candy. And the coolest thing is that it comes in a jewel-handled, purse-shaped metal carrying case, which would make a perfect lunch box once you've trashed, er, carefully placed your unused Barbie candy dispensers on your museum shelf.
Also having their likenesses memorialized as candy-spitting icons  is the band Kiss. Each Kiss Limited Edition Set features dispensers representing Catman drummer Peter Criss, Spaceman/Space Ace lead guitarist Ace Frehley, Starchild vocalist and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley and Demon vocalist and bass guitarist Gene Simmons. And they're all getting along (hah!) in a nice black metallic storage box. And finally comes the 8 piece voyages of the Star Trek: The Next Generation 25th Anniversary Gift Set (and a mouthful).  This edition of the TV show premiered the week of September 28, 1987, 21 years after the original Star Trek. And this set contains the likenesses of main crew homies (from left to right) Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher, Operations Officer Data, Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge, First Officer William T. Riker, a replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), Commander Jean-Luc Picard, Security Chief Warf and Counselor Deanna Troi. |
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And One More Thing...
Son of Candy Alphabet
 -gads! NO correct guesses last month. We actually changed the rules a little for that pesky "D" - "name the candy that contains the letter as you'd find it on the package." No one seems to have caught that "adjustment." But let me tell you, this is a tough job. You try coming up with a candy that begins with the letter "E" (or, in this case, "e").
So, again, guess at the name of the candy that begins with the letter pictured here as you'd find it on the package. And NO Googling (or Binging or Yahooing or Baiduing or Dogpiling or Asking or, you get the idea). And BTW, where did Jeeves go?
Put your guess in an email, and submit that guess to candyalphabet@villagecandy.com. We'll throw the names of those with the correct answers in a bowl. No, we won't flush that bowl, but we will pick a winner. We'll announce that winner in next month's Candy-Gram, and you'll be invited down to Village Candy to pick up a prize.
 Last month's correct answer was Fun Dip, a candy made by Wonka, a brand owned by Nestlé. It's been in the market in the U.S. and Canada since 1942, when it was called Lik-M-Aid (that name still appears on the package). It consists of 3 flavor packets of Pixy Stix-like powder, along with two edible marshmallow-flavored candy sticks called "Lik-A-Stix." The Stix, resembling sidewalk chalk, were added in the '70s and, believe it or not, they can actually be used to chalk sidewalks! |
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Village Candy is an old-time, new-fangled retail shop specializing in a unique selection of retro and current bulk and novelty candy, artisan chocolates, glass-bottled pop and candy-themed gifts. Oh, and remember customer service? It's back!
We are here Tuesday thru Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, but on Wednesday we stay late until 8! We are closed Sunday and Monday.
Sincerely,
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Doug Alpern, Proprietor
Village Candy
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