Ye Olde Chocolate Covered Potato Chippe

Between Kingsbury Chocolates and the more recent arrival of HazelSnooks, Old Town, Alexandria finally enjoys a full range of confectionary stylings- from old fashioned candy shoppe to haute chocolatier. Kingsbury Chocolates has received no shortage of attention, and deservedly so, but HazelSnooks deserves more attention than just an obligatory blurb in the Alexandria Gazette Packet.

Like Kingsbury Chocolates, HazelSnooks is family owned and operated, and many of its wares are made on the premises. In addition to its homemade items, it also offers a number of vintage candy favorites, such as Sugar Daddies, Pixie Stix, Mary Janes, and, best of all, Wax Lips.

And though they initially intended their Sno-Cones as a seasonal offering, a flurry of wintertime demand means that HazelSnooks now offers this syrup and ice delicacy year-round. In fact, the proprietor told us that one gentleman stops by after lunch every day for a double Sno-Cone digestif. They have an impressive array of Sno-Cone syrups from mystery flavors like Skylite to questionable flavors like Egg Custard to old standards such as cherry, lime, and lemon, among others. And the friendly proprietor will gladly offer a sample taste of the syrup in case you’re feeling adventurous, but don’t want to commit to something that turns out to be heinous.

HazelSnooks' cinammon glazed almonds and pecans have the potential for dangerous snacking. And they periodically offer sour cream pecans, which may sound peculiar, but the sugary sour cream glaze will have you wondering what other sweets sour cream might enliven.

The peppermint bark is more like a slab, its chocolate half and creamy peppermint candy half merge so succesfully that it makes a mockery of the York Peppermint Patty. And the non-chocolate side of the butter pecan bark is still slick with buttery baked essence, reminding you that it’s probably a good idea to share the gloriousness of fat calories with others.

Their fluffy, homemade marshmallows are skewered, coated in chocolate, and sprinkled with all manner of toppings from graham cracker crumbles for a S’mores effect to sprinkles to peanut butter chips. I found that while these can be enjoyed at room temperature, ten or so seconds in the microwave and the resulting gooey, chocolatey mass is heavenly. I tried the S’mores, which was irresistable after a brief nuking, although the graham cracker crumbles’ insubstantial presence could not stand up to the chocolate and marshmellow overload.

HazelSnooks' devotion to exploring the intersection of salty and sweet is what differentiates it from your typical “Ye Olde Candy Shoppe.” At first, the milk chocolate covered potato chips seem to be an unsuccessful experiment. Sure, the salt and chocolate commingle in a friendly manner, but the starchy potato flavor is an offputting pairing for the chocolate. But then you have a second chocolate covered chip to confirm your feelings about the first, and then another until you finally realize that they are downright addictive.

Pretzel sticks are deployed two at a time, covered in chocolate and then coated in everything from chunks of Heath Bar to M&Ms. The chocolate and Heath Bar coated pretzel sticks are especially decadent.

Check out HazelSnooks at:

111 South Alfred St.
Alexandria, VA
(703) 683-8343

—AC

Comments

[Barbara (Biscuit Girl)]

Yum! I may have to go investigate this place myself.

[HSA]

While I love the idea of HazelSnooks, I've been lessed than impressed with the results. The fudge is bland, bland, bland -- even the tantalizing mix called "Jalapeno fudge". The sno-cones are pretty tasty, but during the summer months, they were frequently out of the best syrups.

Frankly, I don't get the business model here: They're not easily seen from King Street, and seem to do no advertising or tradeouts with the myriad of nearby restaurants. I'm intrigued to see how they stay in business.