NEAROF

Bread is cheap. For a little more than a buck, I can buy a sale-priced loaf of basic white bread at my local grocery store. If I boost my budget to a couple of bucks, my choices increase. And for a bit more than $5 per loaf, I can get some pretty fantastic bread from [...]

Last month, I wrote about a type of chips that was sort of interesting, but didn’t blow me out of the water. So many chips – especially new flavours – are lacking something in the taste department, and are promptly replaced by another flavour once the chip-buying public tries a dud once then never buys [...]

In honour of the American election happening tomorrow, I thought I’d do my neighbourly best by marking the occasion with that most relevant of British treats, Romney’s Kendal Mint Cake. The Pitch: There’s a back story on the wrapper that puts all other “X-TREEM!” snack treat marketing to shame. “Romney’s Kendal Mint Cake was carried [...]

Remember when coffee shops sold coffee? If a bump on your noggin prompted the loss of all memory prior to May, you’d be forgiven for thinking that coffee shops sold only pastries, iced coffee, frozen hot chocolate and decaf grande mocha Frappuccinos (hold the whip). The hissing of summer lawns? Sorry, Joni, but these days [...]

Who in Canada doesn’t have childhood memories of chomping on Arrowroot cookies, possibly while sipping from a plastic tumbler of apple juice? For some reason, Arrowroot cookies have become the toddler snack of choice. How this connection between children and Arrowroots came to be is beyond me, but the sweet, simple flavour is tasty enough [...]

There’s something magical about the first Slurpee of the season, isn’t there? The sweet, frosty, icy, slushy soft drink is a staple of the summer season in this part of the world, and there is much to celebrate on the first day warm enough to enjoy one outside, on a walk through the neighbourhood. Nothing [...]

As one of the few sweet snacks considered nutritionally acceptable in my childhood home, I grew fond of Sezme sesame snaps. They made appearances in my lunch box, and were a frequent treat picked up at the supermarket checkout. That they’re still so easy to find today is a testament to the two things that [...]

My wonderful cousin sent me a text about a new series of chocolate bars from Dairy Milk that I had to check out. They had fanciful names like Honey Roasted Cashews and Hazelnuts, Pretzel and Peanut Butter, and Toasted Coconut and Cashews. Neat, right? The strangest part of this concept is that, in my mind, [...]