Sugary Shops to Sate a Sweet Tooth

A Grand Marnier truffle lightly dusted in Dutch cocoa that magically melts down the throat, leaving a warm, orangy tingle. A frozen Snicker’s bar so rock solid it could chip your two front teeth.

There is definitely a high end and a low end to chocolate and candy in general, but by whose definition which is which can get a bit sticky. One person can covet green M&Ms; with the same fervor that another pines for a fresh chocolate-pecan cluster.

Day in and day out, the industry biggies such as Sees, Godiva and Ethel M Chocolates satisfy candy cravings. But there are also a number of independent candy makers working to sate North County’s sweet tooth.

Local confectioneries create all manner of sweets, from toffee to taffy. Some carry imported chocolates and hard candies not readily available.

Although economic hard times have forced several North County confectioneries out of business, a number have survived and seem to be thriving.

Nearly all confectioneries sell by weight, and a customer can purchase as little--some people can stop at one piece--or as much as they want.

Most will ship candies for you when the weather is not too hot.

Here’s a quick dip into North County’s candy country. Self-exploration is definitely encouraged.

SARAH-DIPPITY CHOCOLATES

Lumberyard Shopping Center 947 1st St., Encinitas Calls: 436-3899 “It’s disgusting stuff,” candy shop owner Carolyn Zucker said unabashedly. She’s not talking about 99.9% of what’s in her shop. She’s talking about the salt licorice made with ammonium chloride she imports from Europe.

It’s just one of the 30 licorice flavors that can be found at Sarah-Dippity and the ultra-salty version has ardent supporters no matter how hard shop owner Zucker tries to discontinue the line.

“People in Germany and the Netherlands eat it and people who like it really love it, and people who don’t, don’t. I’ve tried to get rid of it several times, but somebody always begs me to keep it,” she said.

Despite Zucker’s animosity on this point, she loves everything else in her shop and crafts it with pride. About 85% of her candies are made on the premises with chocolate from the Guittard Chocolate Co., based in Burlingame, Calif.; the rest are brought in through various distributors from around the world.

Zucker and her family members make chocolates in the shop window, where customers can watch the action.

“Sometimes it’s like being a performer,” Zucker says of her on-site, out-in-the-open candy making. “It’s important not to get stage fright having customers watching you do what you do.

“It would be easier to do this (make chocolate) outside the shop, but there really aren’t a whole lot of chocolate makers around,” Zucker said. “It’s part of our charm and it makes the store smell good too.”

Easter bunnies abound here, and range from a 49-cent lollipop to $22.50 for a three-pound, one-foot-high solid milk chocolate rabbit. If you want the large bunny in another medium, such as white chocolate or semi-sweet, Zucker needs a day or two notice.

Another holiday item is Zucker’s decorated fudge eggs--in peanut butter, plain chocolate, chocolate walnut and vanilla walnut. A half-pound egg, with name inscribed, sells for $6 and a 3/4-pound egg sells for $8.

Although Sarah-Dippity has a few corporate clients and does special order work (like the white chocolate bells tied together with peach-colored candy bows as party favors for a bridal shower), the retail side makes up the majority of the business. Zucker has an extensive line of chocolate molds she uses to fill custom orders.

Salt water taffy, while not made on the premises, is a popular East Coast import. Zucker carries 16 flavors including watermelon, peppermint, peanut butter and molasses.

Tapping into the childhoods of transplanted Midwesterners and Easterners, Zucker sells nostalgic items like scented gums, violet-flavored squares, rock candy and some non-chocolate items from Pennsylvania Dutch, a confectionery in Pennsylvania that Zucker says she grew up with.

What Zucker calls her “everyday stuff” are what dreams are made of. One of Zucker’s creations is the “Raspberry Cloud,” a cluster of fresh raspberries dipped in white chocolate. The clouds are available only during raspberry season, usually between June 1 and Nov. 1, and sell for $9.95 a pound.

Cup candies are another Zucker concoction. Poured into a cupcake-sized mold, these confections come in peanut butter and chocolate, cookies and cream (white chocolate blended with crushed Oreo cookies), soft caramel, and milk chocolate with macadamia nuts.

And, with the chocolate vat in constant use, there isn’t much Zucker won’t dunk, be it Oreos, Nutter Butters or pretzels. Her caramello crisps are marshmallows dipped in caramel, rolled in Rice Krispies, then dipped in chocolate.

“There’s not a lot here that isn’t decadent,” Zucker said. “You are only limited by your imagination. You could go berserk.”

Offering customers what they can’t find elsewhere is Sarah-Dippity’s forte, Zucker said.

Among the unconventional offerings are adult-themed molded chocolates. The candies are shown only on request and are not made while children are in the store.

Although 85% of the chocolates at Sarah-Dippity are made in the shop, Zucker is always on the lookout for new confections.

She recently added to her inventory a chocolate reproduction of Claude Monet’s “Bridge at Giverny” after she saw it at a trade show. “I felt that it was so unique there was a place for it here,” she said.

Hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m . -9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

A CHOCOLATIER

Flower Hill Mall, Lower Level 2710 Via De La Valle, Del Mar Calls: 755-1600 Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate one chocolate bunny from another, but, at A Chocolatier in Del Mar, there is no ignoring the four-pound solid milk chocolate rabbits that stand almost 2-feet tall.

Besides the larger-than-life hares, the chocolate shop is decorated to the teeth for Easter with truffles nestled in paper-thin chocolate eggs, cream-filled eggs, be-ribboned and wrapped gift baskets and canister candies.

“I really believe I am the Easter Bunny,” said owner Hildy Mignone, amid an array of long-eared milk, white and dark chocolate characters. “We get a lot of kids coming in here saying, ‘The Easter Bunny must come here.’ Well, the Easter Bunny really does come here. In my heart, I am the bunny.”

Customers can also come in with their own Easter basket and fill up on an assortment of goodies, or they can purchase an empty basket and Easter grass at the shop and go from there. As in years past, customers can choose from, among other things, chocolate eggs filled with creams like peanut butter, vanilla butter, coconut and fudge.

The 4-ounce version costs $3.95; the 8-ounce egg is $6.95. A special 6-ounce pecan caramel egg sells for $5.95. Staff will personalize eggs with any name a customer chooses.

If you’re hankering for a hare and the 4-pound solid bunny at $45 is a bit out of your financial bracket, there are more modestly priced bunnies, ranging from 20 cents for tiny foil-wrapped effigies to $7.80 for a solid 12-ouncer.

When it’s business as usual, with nary a holiday in sight, soft-poured caramel turtles studded with pecans, macadamia nuts, cashews or almonds are one of the biggest sellers at A Chocolatier. Truffle lovers also are given a mind-boggling array of choices.

With few exceptions, all the chocolates and confections at A Chocolatier are made by Mignone and family members in an off-site kitchen. Canister candies, such as gummies, sours, Jordan almonds, sugarless candies, Dutch mints and licorice are imported from Europe and elsewhere.

The Continental-style marzipan that Mignone sells is brought in from a tiny candy store in New York that Mignone frequented as a child. She says that particular marzipan evokes not only memories for her, but for many of her customers transplanted to California from the East Coast.

A large part of A Chocolatier’s clientele is contract orders for corporate customers. Molded chocolates presented creatively, in particular, are Mignone’s special pride.

“I find that people in general are really comfortable about giving a food gift and chocolate, a good chocolate, is like a luxury,” she said. “It’s nice to give and nice to receive.”

Mignone will honor almost any customer order, from company slogans spelled out in huge chocolate letters to little truffle boxes for intimate dinner parties.

Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. THE CHOCOLATE SWAN

Lake Village Center 1145 San Marino Drive, Suite 128, Lake San Marcos Calls: 471-7772 A newcomer to the North County candy scene, the Chocolate Swan opened its doors last November and is entering its third major holiday season. From its 1,600-square-foot facility, the family operates a retail business as well as a fully functioning chocolate factory.

Owner Darlene Crouse is currently up to her elbows in rabbits when it seems like just yesterday she was grappling with hearts.

Although her creations are all flavorful--she uses only Guittard chocolate in creating her candies--Crouse admits to recently creating a less than attractive holiday hare.

“It was absolutely the ugliest bunny. He looked like he had the mange,” Crouse said, referring to the grayish “bloom” that sometimes occurs in chocolate when the weather is damp. The change in color does not harm the taste of the chocolate.

Besides rabbits, Crouse makes ducks and flowers and hollow eggs which she fills with creams or marzipan flowers. All are decorated for the holiday.

Small bunnies sell for $3.50 apiece and the larger bunnies are $5.95.

Despite being in business a relatively short time, the Chocolate Swan has also built a repertoire of confections including nine different creams, peppermint patties, clusters and bark. Bark is similar to a cluster in content (chocolate and nuts or whatever), but looks more like a bar or a slab.

Haystacks--small mounds of coconut and chocolate--are popular sellers as are the glazed orange peels that have been cooked four times to take out the bitterness, then dipped in chocolate. Everything made at the Chocolate Swan, from the peanut butter cups to the truffles, comes coated in a choice of milk, white or dark chocolate.

Milk chocolate candies are still the dominant sellers, Crouse said.

Truffles, about an inch and a quarter in diameter, sell for 60 cents each. Turtles and bark sell for $10.25 a pound.

Crouse says some chocolate lovers shop only mainstream candy shops like Sees and Godiva because it is what they know best. She would naturally like to see them change their habits.

“People are programmed after all these years to what they know,” Crouse said. “It’s not necessarily what is better, but what’s been there for so long. We feel that our chocolate tastes better and for the money it’s a better value.”

Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sundays. CANDY SUITE OF MIRA MESA

8170 Mira Mesa Blvd., Suite G, San Diego Calls: 695-9559 Taffy, English toffee, turtles, cookies, caramel corn, peanut brittle. Are these forbidden sweets for people who can’t eat sugar?

Piffle. For people with dietary restrictions because of diabetes, hypoglycemia or weight control, Candy Suite of Mira Mesa is like a slice of Disneyland.

You can be a kid in this candy store. Almost everything in this unique sweet shop is sugar-free or low-calorie.

Upon entering Candy Suite, a customer will see about 30 bins of sugar-free hard candies and 20 bins of sugar-free taffy, among the other confections. Another 30 bins are dedicated to candies that are made with scant amounts of sugar, but are low-calorie.

Owner Tina Schwartz got the idea for Candy Suite when she worked as a pharmacist in a hospital. She got to know the nutritionists and knew diabetics and saw the need for sugar-free products.

Schwartz said one of the greatest things about her business is seeing a child who has never been able to have candy or sweets because of dietary restrictions come into the store. They push their nose against the display case and get excited because for the first time they can have a cream or a marshmallow candy.

“It’s a nice feeling to make someone happy. It’s opening a whole new world to them.”

Sugar-free does not necessarily mean calorie-free, Schwartz is quick to point out, but people watching their weight need not feel deprived.

A section of the shop is devoted to low-calorie candies and Schwartz says she has a substantial following of weight-watching clients from all over the county. She has developed an extensive mailing list for out-of-towners as well.

One of the biggest sellers for all of her customers is Yogolo, an imported French candy made with yogurt and made exclusively for Candy Suite. They are only four calories per piece and sugar-free to boot.

A special feature of the shop is that Schwartz tries to have calorie counts posted on all the candies, sugar-free or otherwise.

Candy Suite sells sugared candies too, including seasonal candies such as Easter bunnies. The sugar-free candies start at $6 for half a pound and the sugary candies sell for $3.99 for half a pound.

Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

ARCHER’S CONFECTIONERY

355 Carlsbad Village Drive,

Carlsbad Calls: 434-1105 From its modest retail shop on Carlsbad Village Drive, adorned with lace curtains and country-rose wallpaper, Archer’s belies the fact that just behind the scene is a full-fledged chocolate factory.

It not only has a steady retail business, but also supplies North County supermarkets and commissaries with its almond brittle and toffee.

The confectionery opened in December, 1988, and at the time was the newest venture of the North County Chapter of the Assn. for Retarded Citizens, an agency that provides vocational service programs for people with developmental disabilities.

In the beginning, Archer’s was staffed with six ARC clients and two training members. Now, the shop-factory is staffed by three training members and 10 ARC clients.

“The ARC clients do about 90% of the work,” said Carol Bowen, North County’s area director for ARC. “Nothing goes on that the clients are not involved. They are involved in every aspect of the work.” Seasonal candy, such as Santa lollipops at Christmas, hearts on Valentine’s and bunnies at Easter, are among Archer’s most popular items.

Customers can also select from a wide range of white, dark or milk chocolate-covered truffles, creams and clusters, and from trays of toffee and fresh almond brittle.

A one-pound box of candy costs about $10; a nine-piece truffle gift box is $5.75; and an 18-piece truffle gift box is $10.25.

Archer’s also frequently makes to order two-piece truffle boxes that are popular as party favors for weddings or dinner parties, Bowen said. These small decorated boxes sell for $1.50 apiece.

About 100 pounds of chocolate candies and about 300 pounds of almond brittle and toffee are made each week.

Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sundays. ROCKY MOUNTAIN

CHOCOLATE FACTORY

North County Fair 200 E. Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido Calls: 747-7991 Mall wanderers give the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory a brisk business--they come to buy candy and to watch as a candy maker dips apples and other fruits and cookies into vats of melted chocolate and home made caramel. The chocolate-coated items are then rolled in a number of toppings including M&Ms; and crushed nuts.

Other offerings include sea foam, haystacks and bark, each crafted in an edible form.

Rocky Mountain has a variety of sources for its chocolates and candies. Some, such as truffles and creams, come from the parent company in Durango, Colorado.

A 1/2-pound slice of fudge (plain, chocolate pecan, chocolate walnut or peanut butter) is made on the premises and sells for $3.95. Customers can have a box made up of assorted chocolates in one, two or three-pound sizes.

Bulk chocolates currently sell for $10.90 a pound. A piece of bark begins at $1 apiece and the caramel or chocolate-dunked apples sell for $2.

There are 15 choices in the sugar-free chocolate line. Cherry cordials, mint truffles and a caramel pecan patty are among the sugarless items.

Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. PINCH OR POUND

North County Fair 200 E. Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido Calls: 489-6041 Pinch or Pound is a 1,200-square-foot store crammed with clear acrylic bins filled to bursting with every imaginable hard and chewy candy. Plastic bags, like the produce bags found in grocery stores, are placed at the end of each aisle and from there, it’s every man, woman and child for themselves.

The shop carries 300 varieties of jellies, gummies, taffies and other candies, says owner Norma Thompson. All the candy is brought in from distributors throughout the country. While some shops go for a refined palate, this shop goes straight to the heart of a kid.

Gummy Bears in all shapes, sizes and colors are the hands-down favorites and sell for about $2.50 a half pound, Thompson said. Besides the traditional cherry, lemon and lime flavors, there is a jalapeno Gummy Bear that looks and tastes like a hot pepper.

Among some of the confections from yesteryear are candy necklaces and buttons, gum drops, the brightly colored sugar dots that are stuck on adding machine-like paper tape, and Mary Janes, a candy bar with a peanut butter center coated with taffy.

Chocolate does not play a big part at Pinch or Pound, although seasonal bunny lollipops can be purchased as well as giant chocolate kisses and chocolate shaped records with inscriptions like, “Just for the Record, I Love You.”

Whether the economy is good or bad, “Everyone has a dollar for candy,” says Thompson. The crowded store, packed with children and parents trying to keep track of children, is a testimony to that.

Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.