87 replies to this topic

[jhlurie]

I wonder if See's realizes the potential goldmine they have in marketing on the East coast...

[ambra]

I always wondered that.

Maybe they dont want to compete with the Chocolate stores in NYC that charge rediculous amounts of money for that same box of chocolate, that isnt even as good!

Nobody even mentioned how fantastic it is to walk out of See's with a pound of amazing chocolate for like 13 bucks...Talk about a bargain, try doing that in La Maison du Chocolat or Godiva for that matter.

I heard a rumor that during the holidays they set up those funny little carts in malls, but I've never seen them. I'm sure its all prepackaged boxes though. And I'm also sure they leave people fighting over the only 2 pieces of Bordeaux that come in them.....

[Joe Blowe]

I heard a rumor that during the holidays they set up those funny little carts in malls, but I've never seen them. I'm sure its all prepackaged boxes though.

It's true. When I lived in NYC, and used to make trips with the wife to NJ malls, I spotted a couple of them. You're right -- it's all pre-packaged stuff...

[hjshorter]

I heard a rumor that during the holidays they set up those funny little carts in malls, but I've never seen them. I'm sure its all prepackaged boxes though.

It's true. When I lived in NYC, and used to make trips with the wife to NJ malls, I spotted a couple of them. You're right -- it's all pre-packaged stuff...

Yes, they have the little kiosks here in the DC area during the holiday season. It's not the same as fresh, but I always buy some just because.

I would swear I've seen them at a non-california airport too - maybe in Denver?

[afoodnut]

I would swear I've seen them at a non-california airport too - maybe in Denver?

Yes, in the Denver Airport (and other locations in Colorado)

See'sWebsite reports shops in:

Alaska, Arizona, California - Northern, California - Southern, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah,
Washington

[Gary Soup]

I wonder if See's realizes the potential goldmine they have in marketing on the East coast...

Marketing? Isn't that what you and I are doing right now?

If you are talking about direct sales, note that See's does not franchise, which helps to insure quality control, and their limited prescence creates the added value of mystique. They do on-line and traditional mail order sales, and the typical See's buyer is probably pretty mobile, so they probably do a huge business at airports, and with out-of-town visitors at their bricks-and-mortar locations.

Anyway, who are you and I to second-guess Warren Buffet & Co.?

[jschyun]

My favorite right now are the Almond Royales. I go through a whole can by myself with some soy milk (I'm lactose intolerant, or else it would be some ice cold cow milk)

I like See's better than Godiva unless Godiva is having an online sale. If I have a craving for really high quality chocolate, I wait until I can get to Europe and go crazy.

I hope See's never goes out of business. Going there is like a a trip home, where mom has a full table ready and waiting for you to chow down.

[marie-louise]

I was curious just how many calories are in a piece of See's candy. It's not on their website, so I emailed them. They don't have a list to give out, but said if I told them some of my favorites, they'd look them up and get back to me. Here they are. Not as bad as I thought, and you all should be pleased to know that they consider 2 pieces of candy (or 3 Toffee-ettes, or 4 pieces ginger) a serving. One Bordeaux, under a hundred calories!

The Dark Bordeaux (based on 1 serving which is 2 pieces): serving weight
is 41 grams, has 170 CALORIES, 70 FAT CALORIES, 8 grams of FAT, 4.5
grams of SATURATED FAT, 10 mg CHOLESTEROL, 40 mg SODIUM, 27 grams TOTAL
CARBOHYDRATES, 1 gram DIETARY FIBER, 25 grams of SUGAR, <1 grams
PROTEIN.

The California Brittle (based on 1 serving which is 2 pieces): serving
weight is 38 grams, has 220 CALORIES, 140 FAT CALORIES, 16 grams of FAT,
8 grams of SATURATED FAT, 25 mg CHOLESTEROL, 115 mg SODIUM, 19 grams
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES, 0 grams DIETARY FIBER, 17 grams of SUGAR, 3 grams
PROTEIN.

The Toffee-ette (based on 1 serving which is 3 pieces): serving weight
is 45 grams, has 270 CALORIES, 180 FAT CALORIES, 21 grams of FAT, 7
grams of SATURATED FAT, 20 mg CHOLESTEROL, 115 mg SODIUM, 18 grams TOTAL
CARBOHYDRATES, 2 grams DIETARY FIBER, 14 grams of SUGAR, 5 grams
PROTEIN.

The Ginger (based on 1 serving which is 4 pieces): serving weight is 42
grams, has 120 CALORIES, 30 FAT CALORIES, 3.5 grams of FAT, 2 grams of
SATURATED FAT, 0 mg CHOLESTEROL, 5 mg SODIUM, 25 grams TOTAL
CARBOHYDRATES, 1 grams DIETARY FIBER, 10 grams of SUGAR, <1 grams
PROTEIN.

Edited by marie-louise, 17 September 2003 - 12:10 PM.

[ambra]

But who could eat just one?

[Priscilla]

[...]One Bordeaux, under a hundred calories!

The Dark Bordeaux (based on 1 serving which is 2 pieces): serving weight
is 41 grams, has 170 CALORIES, 70 FAT CALORIES, 8 grams of FAT, 4.5
grams of SATURATED FAT, 10 mg CHOLESTEROL, 40 mg SODIUM, 27 grams TOTAL
CARBOHYDRATES, 1 gram DIETARY FIBER, 25 grams of SUGAR, <1 grams
PROTEIN.

Wow excellent work Marie-Louise.

85 calories! 85 calories who majorly earn their keep.

[monkeymay]

Anyone ever have to sell See's candy for school fundraisers? That was a major part of parochial school for me, my brother and sister. We brought home boxes of chocolate bars to be sold to friends, neighbors and of course family. My poor mother would end up writing one big check to the school to cover the losses incured from us consuming all the product. I think the bars were sold for 50 cents a piece; the school required a certain amount of boxes to be sold from each child. Most of my neighborhood's kids went to the same school, so there was a certain time each year when everyone you knew was trying to get rid of all this See's chocolate! It was so very "The Chocolate War".

When my daughter was in private school they sold See's candy as part of fundraisers for their class. She informed me the price of a chocolate bar is now $1. And I too, have written that check to cover her 'losses'.

Ah, See's and the circle of life.

[JFLinLA]

Hey, we sell 'em for public school fundraisers too.

[monkeymay]

In public school my kids always had to sell wrapping paper.
Not as tasty.

[hjshorter]

It's that holiday time of year, and that means See's has set up a kiosk at our local (East Coast) mall. Their chocolates are good, but this year I tried something new, and I am now utterly hooked on the Toffee-ettes. Holy cow, these things must be full of crack. I've had to hide the canister in the pantry and dole them out - one per day.

Edited by hjshorter, 11 December 2003 - 06:47 AM.

[porkpa]

As some of you have noted, their chocolate might not be the VERY BEST there is, but its pretty darn good. One of their products that IMO are the VERY BEST are their gourmet lolipops, especially the butterscotch flavor. I had not known that they even made them until tasting them in California while visiting my daughter and her family last month. They are positively addicting. I bought a bunch out there. They are all gone. I've since ordered more from their website.
Murray Brown.

[ludja]

Has anyone been to their store on Polk St (in SF)? I think it is the original store. It's right next to another SF institution, the Swan Oyster Depot. After a wonderful meal of Oysters and Crab Louis it's perfect to go next door and pick out a few pieces for dessert...

[cmvnapa]

I like the caramels with almonds in them. But a Sees addiction is their cinnamon hot hearts, available only in the month or so leading up to Valentine's Day. My office can go through a bag a day of those little morsels.

[bottomlesspit]

Thanks for inviting us to talk about chocolate!

Don't usually like marzipan, but LOVE See's marzipan, followed by just about anything in the Nuts and Chews assortment (pecan w/ dark choc being the fave).

And lowbrow though this may seem, I will take 2 See's marzipans over a box of Godiva truffles any day.

Edited by bottomlesspit, 12 December 2003 - 09:38 AM.

[jat]

The chocolate suckers and dark molasses chips. (I'm the one who
cuts a piece off of several of the chocolates in the office lounge..)

[tsquare]

Has anyone been to their store on Polk St (in SF)? I think it is the original store. 

Not.
See's started in Los Angeles. First store was on Western Avenue in 1921. They didn't expand to SF until 1936. History

[ludja]

Has anyone been to their store on Polk St (in SF)? I think it is the original store. 

Not.
See's started in Los Angeles. First store was on Western Avenue in 1921. They didn't expand to SF until 1936. History

Thanks for the correction! I'm not trying to steal thunder from the southland...

I guess what I must have seen was that the store on Polk St was the first in SF. (rather than the first ever). There was a big article on it once in the paper where they showed a horse-drawn contraption used for delivering chocolates.


spelling edit

Edited by ludja, 13 December 2003 - 03:35 PM.

[hjshorter]

Just got back from the mall with two more canisters of Toffee-ettes. Heaven help me.

edit: spelling

Edited by hjshorter, 13 December 2003 - 04:29 PM.

[marie-louise]

Did you know that See's makes Hanukkah gelt? The chocolate is much better than most I've tasted, even though the coins are American!

I, too, was at a See's today (downtown Berkeley.) A 1-lb. box of coins, a 1-lb. assortment of California brittle, marizpan, ginger, and dark chocolate cherries, and just for fun, a chocolate-covered marshmellow Christmas tree.

[Priscilla]

OK, the Consort the other day brought me some of the in-store-only dark-chocolate-covered crystalized ginger: Really really good. We're very lucky such a thing exists in the world.

I reiterate: I don't even like candy much. But there's something about See's, it's almost a savory experience. So much flavor, so many layers of flavor.

Also he brought something else really really really good, which a See's aficianado friend had suggested, I think it's called Chocolate Butterscotch but I could be wrong. It's like compressed golden brown sugar, all the way through, not as grainy as C&H out of the box but with a grainy element that is entirely wonderful.

And, something ELSE I'd not had before, not in all these years -- maybe I just wasn't ready -- and whose name I don't know, neither, but which was really really good: Marshmallow, all soft and home-made like, with soft caramel around it. This was wrapped in waxed paper twisted at each end, looking appealingly homely. What a flavor blast!

Of COURSE I've had the chocolate with the caramel and the marshmallow layer, and that is very very good too, but this is something else again in the world of See's Goodness.

Maybe I am adding "Try more See's" to my New Year's Resolutions, along with "Conquer choux paste".

Earlier on up there, I thank Ludja for the pointer to the See's store on Polk in SF, and the idea of pairing it with a visit to Swan Oyster Depot ... I usually combine my Swan visits with a stroll to Naomi's Antique to Go to test my Hall China resolve, but See's would not affect this exercise and indeed, would only add to it.

[Flocko]

Thanks for inviting us to talk about chocolate!

Don't usually like marzipan, but LOVE See's marzipan, followed by just about anything in the Nuts and Chews assortment (pecan w/ dark choc being the fave).

And lowbrow though this may seem, I will take 2 See's marzipans over a box of Godiva truffles any day. 

I saw in interestin phenomenon on the Monday before Christmas regarding Sees and Godiva. At a nearby mall, in the midafternoon, I went into the Sees store to pick up some of their wonderful candies: 1 lb mollasses chips, 1 lb dark bordeaux, and 1 lb chocolat marzipan. The line for the "special selections" was about 18 persons long.............out the door and into the mall. There was about a 12 person line for those purchasing pre-packaged boxes. My wait was about 30 minutes..................and worth every second!

With my booty in hand, I wandered about the mall for a short time just looking around. I passed the Godiva store, which is larger and in a better location than the Sees store....................It was absolutely empty!! There were 3 employees talking to one another, but not a single customer. When I swung back by about 10 minutes later I observed one customer.

[SiseFromm]

My grandfather cherished full boxes of mollasses chips when I was younger. Alas, smoking took him too early, but I imagine he's out there somewhere, thoroughly enjoying a fine box of mollasses chips to his heart's delight.

Even though it's "mall chocolate", I still have a soft spot for their bordeaux. Sure, I only use Guittard and Scharffen Berger when I make ganache or pots de creme, but I can enjoy that classic white box of Sees too.

R. Jason Coulston

[nessa]

WHOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO talk about a trip down memory lane! I was born in San Fransisco in '72. My mother used to make these things she called "Itzits" She would take two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and spread icecream in between. I have such happy memories of that, it was a treat indeed, when we had been good. Its interesting to see that it was not something she made up to amuse her kids!
And Sees!!! Our biggest delight was to get to go into the See's store and pick out which lollypop we wanted. Mother said that if we were going to have sweets, we would have the good stuff. I had all but thought they were figments of my overactive imagination, when I saw a store in Houston in the late 80's. Then a few years ago, a dear friend sent me a box of See's lolly's and my darling SO brought me another box of lollypops and an assortment of their candies. I didn't even realize they made candy other than the lollypops
So to this day, the butterscotch and chocolate lollypops are my favorite and always elicit a happy trip down memory lane as I lick every last bit of sitcky goodness off the stick!
I bought my darling a box this year for Christmas, and I'm afraid I stole the marzipan one. FANtabulous!!!!

[Priscilla]

Sure, I only use Guittard and Scharffen Berger when I make ganache or pots de creme, but I can enjoy that classic white box of Sees too. 

See's uses Guittard chocolate.

Decades before the very fine Sharffen Berger was even a nascent twinkle in Sharffen OR Berger's eye.

[ludja]

Earlier on up there, I thank Ludja for the pointer to the See's store on Polk in SF, and the idea of pairing it with a visit to Swan Oyster Depot ... I usually combine my Swan visits with a stroll to Naomi's Antique to Go to test my Hall China resolve, but See's would not affect this exercise and indeed, would only add to it.

Likewise, thanks for the tip on Naomi's Antiques... Sounds like a fun afternoon, especially since it's best to hit Swan's on off hours to minimize the wait..

thanks for all the other great See's treat descriptions on this post too; I have a lot of new things to try!

[marlena spieler]

oh my friends, my dark chocolate bordeaux-loving friends, i am not alone! I LOVE bordeaux, dark choc please.

with dark choc california brittle, or light milky choc california brittle, a second in line........

but now that i know about candied chocolate covered ginger...........

by the way, am i the only one who loves to sniff and smell the box after all the chocolate has been eaten? mmmmmmmmmm