I love good popcorn. I'm just old enough to remember when movie theaters had real butter, not 'buttery topping' as the man at the theater described it to me recently. (And the popcorn came in tubs, not paper bags.) When I worked at The Comedy Stop there was a popcorn machine and while it didn't have butter we would sneak in sticks of butter for the corn ourselves. (Shhh, don't tell the management, I may want to work the club again one day.) Microwave popcorn, while edible, isn't quite as good as the popper kind (and don't get me started on air popped, that's just wrong.)
I like the flavored popcorn too. Cheddar, herb, Parmesan, caramel, kettle, chocolate, it's all good. (For the best white chocolate popcorn, go to Danielle's which is also the only place in Las Vegas where I can get caffeine free Dr. Pepper.) A few years ago Will and Val got some popcorn from her folks for Christmas from The Popcorn Factory which is how I discovered the delightful combining of cheese popcorn with caramel popcorn.
Anyone from the Chicago area is familiar with Garrett's Popcorn and their 'mix' which is half cheese popcorn and half caramel popcorn mixed together. I'm into salty and sweet together so this mix is extraordinary. But Garrett's is pricey and has to be shipped. Ditto for Popcorn Factory. I tried a cheap kind from the discount store last holiday ($2.50 for a three gallon drum should have tipped me off, but no) and was sorely disappointed. So imagine my delight when we went to lunch last Sunday (to Cafe Deia for tapas, future post on that later) and I spotted Dyer's Gourmet Popcorn. We had to stop and try some (okay, I had to stop and everyone got dragged along) and boy is it good.
They have several 'everyday' flavors like butter, white cheddar, caramel, caramel pecan (whole pecans, delicious) and they had the "mix". He also has some specials like pina colada, jalapeno and chocolate (which is more like a cocoa kettle corn that a chocolate covered). It's fresh (never more than a few hours old) They offer samples and we had fun trying it. And I got my mix. Oh so good, the caramel is a great but not overpowering caramel corn and the cheese is such a fun orange with great cheesy flavor. Yum.
Now, I wish I could be the business advisor there. He has a lot of things I would improve upon, first of which is a functional website. I swear, I could increase his business by 30% if he's let me make a few suggestions. But instead I'll just keep my mouth shut (mostly to chew the delicious corn!) But if you are ever hankering for some Chicago style popcorn while you are in Vegas and you are out by Durango and Flamingo, head to Dyer's. Get the mix. While you're at it, get me some too!
2 comments:
I love popcorn and I sorely miss the days when they used real butter at the theaters!
I'm going to have to look around here for some of those flavors you mentioned, especially the caramel pecan. That's sounds sooooo good. Of course, I'm trying to lose some weight (in vain mostly, but still...) so caramel covered popcorn should probably stay off my radar. On the other hand, the holidays are approaching so dieting is probably a futile exercise anyway.
How goes NaNo for you? I did nothing yesterday but am working on it today.
I usually despise popcorn because I spend more time getting the kernels out of my gums and teeth than I do enjoying the taste... but every once in a while I need some kettle corn, or caramel, or cheese...whatever's available. I'll look into Dyers. Popcorn bags make great gifts, but then so do sweet treats. :-) How's business looking for the holidays?
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