See's Candy

[ferdlisky]

California Brittle.... mmmmmmmm..... (drooling)

[megc]

Their lollipops are good too.

When I worked at UC Berkeley, I had a boss that absoutely loved the See's lollipops. She would often offer one to me in the afternoons, and take one for herself. How cool is that?

I'm also a Bordeaux fan! Plus I always enjoyed the dark chocolate caramels and the dark chocolate coconut bon bons.

[Toliver]

Bordeaux, yes!

But I also like their Key Lime Truffles, especially in the middle of Winter. They're like a refreshing bite of Summer.

[lamb]

I'm lucky enough, as an east-coaster, to have brothers that live on the West Coast.

Brother #1 in Eugene, OR, regularly sends me See's candies whenever I am feeling down. I tell him I am feeling down alot. The whole box is a favorite!

Brother #2 is on Vashon Island in Puget Sound. I receive copius amounts of seafood dry iced from Pike's.

Life is good in good ole' NJ.

[mixmaster b]

Also I would like to say that I am undecided, though leaning toward the reactionary, as to the legitimacy of those overgrown Bordeaux candy bars in the individual packages.  Conceptually stone brilliant, but ...

A big strike against them is they just don't taste as fresh as those from the See's case ... a plus on their side is they are nice to cut  in pieces to share with other See'sophiles.

Another drawback is the wholesale ruination of the perfection in texture/filling balance which the original has in spades.

Another plus, sometimes you can find 'em in supermarkets right at the checkstand.  But then there's the question whether one ought be eating gigantic Bourdeaux in the first place.

I remain torn.

I suffer the same dilemma!

Yesterday I was in the Beverly Center running an errand, and I spotted the little See's Candy store that I have had the fortitude to avoid for years. Thanks to this thread, I went right in and got a lovely little baggie of bordeaux (milk, for me), CA Brittle, and chocolate covered ginger. The sample was a Toffee-ette (sp?), another winner.

My day was brightened immesurably!!

[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 September 17, 2003 by marie-louise (log)

[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 December 11, 2003 by hjshorter (log)

[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 December 12, 2003 by bottomlesspit (log)

[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