February 12th, 2009
The Real Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin chocolates are definitely a Buffalo or regional “thing”. They are not an actual candy bar you can buy from a nameless and faceless dispensing machine. And you won’t find them at Wally-Mart or the neighborhood candy store. But you will find them at the Bella Mia Candy Store. This is a delicious mixture of selected nuts, coconut, marshmallows and Merckens chocolate. Think of what a Rocky Road confection might taste like if you laced them with coconut.
Charlie Chaplin Chocolates Are Delicious!
This is definitely a unique Buffalo Treat! This product is a much better kept secret compared to the recent national media (manic) focus on Buffalo Wings that occurs almost every year prior to Super Bowl weekend. Buffalo Wings may get a lot of hype – but Charlie Chaplins are the read deal!
And just where did the original idea for a Charlie Chaplin log come from? I looked around but can’t find a good answer – just consider this item to be almost as unique as our Buffalo Sponge Candy. If you ARE from Buffalo, NY (or have lived here for a while, but moved on..) – you already know how good candy and chocolates from this area came be. You might not miss the winter weather in Western New York – but you will almost certainly miss the chocolate.
Marshmallows are a critical part of our Charlie Chaplins and produce the light texture in your mouth while the Merckens chocolate melts. Your first reaction might be – whoa – that’s too much for me but you soon appreciate the light texture. Charlie Chaplins can be very sweet (and sticky and messy if you leave them in a warm room..) – but the combination of high quality ingredients is quickly appreciated by adults and kids alike.
If you think you are up to the challenge, Google around for a recipe and give it a try. Better yet – avoid thebig mess in your kitchen and all of the running around town to get the ingredients. Stop in at the Bella Mia Candy Store and buy it by the pound. Delicious!
And here is one last thing to consider: if you order a few pounds (or more) be sure to keep the exposed (or cut end) end covered to prevent any dryness. Marshmallows don’t survive long when exposed to dry indoor air or heat or sitting in the sunshine. Better yet – invite some friends and family over after dinner and pass them around your table. You can be sure that those Charlie Chaplin chocolates won’t last long.
Tags: Bella Mia, Buffalo, candy, charlie chaplin, chocolates, Hertel Avenue
Posted in Charlie Chaplin Chocolates | 2 Comments »
February 9th, 2009
Spring is definitely on the horizon in Buffalo, NY as our daytime temperatures rise into the 60’s by February 11th That may not be a big deal for those of you who live in Florida or California – but here in Buffalo, that’s an occasion to celebrate by driving around in a convertible with the top down with the heater on full blast wearing your heavy winter coat. Who says that we lack a sense of humor.
On days like this you can mosey on down to the lakefront and watch the ice move down stream into the Lake. Often the ice needs a little help along the way and that is when the Edward Cotter, a well known little fireboat is pressed into service. I stopped down at the slip where they keep the fireboat this morning on the way to work and it was gone! Pushing the ice around must have started earlier in the day but I salvaged the trip downtown by stopping at a local Irish bar in our “Cobblestone District” to have a brewski and a bowl of hot soup w/brown bread. The beer was pretty good but don’t get me going on the so-so potato & leek soup. A better way to warm up was to chew on a few Good & Fiery candy treats on the drive home. I don’t know what the magic ingredient is but I’m guessing that it is the cinnamon that must give these things their “kick”.
Probably should have tossed a few more into my pocket yesterday because I ran out before I got to Hertel Avenue on the way back to the Bella Mia Candy Store. In fact – the sunshine coming thru the front windows was so warm that I had to temporarily move the Sponge Candy out of the direct sunshine and further back into the shade on my side counter near the front door. Moving Sponge Candy OUT of the sunlight – definitely another sure sign of Spring in Buffalo, NY.
Valentine’s Day is almost here so that means I will likely be working later each day this week preparing more handmade chocolate specials. Our regular customers are now starting to show up in force – nothing like a little sunshine to melt the snow off the sidewalks and motivate people to drive down to the nearest Delta Sonic to get the salt off the car for a few days. The car may enjoy the car wash – but the drivers get to enjoy our handmade candies!
Need to cheer up? Ready for Spring? Perhaps thoughts of walking on the beach on your mind? No – not on any Lake Erie beaches – I’m talking the Sun Shine State (of mind)…
Chocolates and candy make great airline food. Anyway, it’s less than 4.5 hours from Buffalo to Tampa. Maybe this is the time to check those JetBlue and Southwest airfares. Call me a Boy Scout, but I like to move fast when I get some free days between chocolate Holidays…
Edward Cotter - Buffalo NY Fireboat
Tags: Buffalo NY, fireballs, fireboat, Hot Tamales
Posted in Fireboats & Fireballs | 1 Comment »
February 5th, 2009
Here we go again…more urban planning magic compliments of some R.I.T. students. Good Grief. What happened to the Planning Department at the University of Buffalo. They are located just down the street on the Downtown Campus. Been there for years – a ton of expertise and student horsepower just waiting to be unleashed. And it takes students from R.I.T. to get some effort (and newspaper coverage…) to publicize the potential of Hertel Avenue as “Little Italy” ???
Who doesn’t know about (or appreciate) the Italian Festival each summer. Good for business and good for the neighborhood and good for getting out and meeting your neighbors during a week of fun & food. That is a busy week at the Bella Mia Candy Store. We sell a ton of ice cream, T-shirt, candy and chocolates. You can stop in early or stop in late. We are always happy to see you!
Bella Mia strongly supports any new initiative that will increase the interest and appeal of Hertel Avenue. As they say around here: it ain’t Elmwood – it’s Hertel Avenue! Things are just a little different around here. Parking is easy and more available. Hertel Avenue is definitely wider and the NFTA bus going down the street doesn’t cause the traffic jams that it might on Elmwood during the winter when those nasty snow banks make Elmwood even narrower. Easy to get around and easy to shop! Who knows – maybe some of local Councilmen will wake up to the fact that there is only one Hertel Avenue. Let’s get behind this effort to get some money from the City of Buffalo to spruce things up in our version of Little Italy. We don’t need to shoot for recreating the Leaning Tower of Pisa in North Buffalo – just make a sustained effort to make something good even better…
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Let’s end this rant this way: the last quote in the Buffalo News article says it all: ‘…Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto said he thinks he can help snare city funds to further…” Did he say snare? I thought that was a way to catch a rabbit. Oh well – if we can’t snare a rabbit, perhaps we should settle for some funding.
Now is not the time to just sit back and see what happens. I wonder what the North Buffalo Merchants Association has to say about this initiative…
Tags: Bella Mia Candy Store, Hertel Avenue, Little Italy, North Buffalo
Posted in Little Italy | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2009
I know the Super Bowl is over and that a lot of people watched Danicka Patrick take a shower with another women (unfortunately the view was from the shoulders UP…) – just like the Buffalo Bills – hope springs eternal. Football is a “manly” sport and few people want to eat chocolate compared to a cold Brewski and chips & dip. Old habits are hard to break! For those Danica fans who want an automotive setting – we found a decent picture of a 1957 Chevy and a somewhat indecent picture of Ms. Patrick.
Hot Car Hotter Girl
Anyway, where I am going with this weeks rant is Man Candy – Manly Chocolate and other confections that appeal to the hairy back set. Bella Mia Candy has brewed up a new concoction that has a strong appeal to the guys. Based on a sample size of 2 – that would be Tom (person #1 – the owner) and his youngest daughter (that would be person #2) – this new item has the potential to be a big hit! Mix Bacon Bits with some Merckens milk chocolate and voila – you just created Bella Bacon-N-Chocolate. Salt from the bacon – plus the bacon flavor go quite nicely with chocolate. Sold by the pound – these can be ordered as smaller bite size pieces or the more Manly “cluster” style. Clusters are definitely for the Big Boys. Stop by the candy store and try them out – better yet, if you can’t find the time to drive to North Buffalo – drop by the web store and order a pound or two. Who knows – maybe the Little Woman might like them. In which case, you should adjourn directly to the Master Bedroom for a more extensive taste test. Either way – drop us a line at info@bellamiacandy.com if you like this new item. We always like to hear from our Manly customers!
Tags: Bella Mia Bacon-N-Chocolate
Posted in New Items from Bella Mia | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2009
And what do we have here…
Clark Gum Company
1100 Military Road
Buffalo, NY
14217-2514
A privately owned company that is still in Buffalo, NY that is flying UNDER the radar? Better known to the locals in Western New York as Tetzo Brothers – just a plain vanilla brick warehouse style building that might have more history than you think!
If you wanted Teaberry Gum – then these are the folks to talk to. Teaberry is one of those classic gums with a unique flavor.
Don’t know what teaberry is – possibly where it is grown – perhaps you don’t even think teaberry is a real word? Wind up your Google machine and start surfing the web. You may go in a variety of different directions…but all roads point back to good olde Buffalo, NY Think our city is just known for the Buffalo Bills? Think again!
But try and buy a pack (or box) of Teaberry Gum and see how far you get. This product is hard to find and few young people (that’s anyone who doesn’t need glasses to read the prescriptuion label on your pill bottle…) have ever tasted or appreciated. You can find Teaberry Gum locally at the Bella Mia Candy Store. In fact, for a limited time – you can get it on sale at this link:
http://www.bellamiacandy.com/index.php?productID=3403
Check the back of the label. This product is actually made in Mexico. I guess that working in a chewing gum factory
might be a good career move for a young Mexican worker – but I think that someone has to do it. If not – then you would not find ANY Teaberry Gum. Anyway, enough of this rant…and if you can find any other niche business factoids – I would love to hear them.
Still available after all these years...
Tags: teaberry gum
Posted in Chewing Gum Trivia | No Comments »