dining out

Mary Furr

Christmas is the sweetest holiday with candy canes and “sugar plums.”

Finding the real homemade stuff becomes a treasure hunt throughout the

candy stores in Huntington Beach -- a Christmas chore that’s its own

reward.

There’s Surf City Candy on the southeast corner of Walnut Avenue and

Main Street. The store boasts 36 varieties of salt-water taffy with many

unusual flavors like rum, Key lime, passion fruit and mango. Here is

where the cashew and peanut brittle is made by owner Rick Vasilik,

brother Ken and their mother Millie -- crisp as glass and sweet as honey

filled with nuts. The store is crowded with barrels of candy. Don’t

overlook the 40 varieties of jelly beans -- tiny beads of flavor -- black

is my favorite. When wrapped in small saran bundles they make great

stocking stuffers. The sugar-free candies are recommended by Hoag

Hospital.

Farther afield on Oceanus Drive off Graham Street is Tomfoolery Candy

Store and Kitchen where you’ll see owner Alan O’Hern’s mother Millie

Sweesy covering wine and champagne bottles with chocolate ($35-$150) --

really! It’s a patented process and only one of the unusual things they

create. Millie, as sweet as her products, has doggie bones ($2.75) for

poochie’s Christmas, solid chocolate golf balls ($5) and Catalina Buffalo

Chips ($4.75) crated for Catalina Cruises. It’s a small place deep in an

industrial park, but one filled with unusual sweet rewards for “hard to

buy for” friends and family this Christmas.

The Gourmet Lollipop Company off Heil in another rather hidden area,

is family owned by Frances and Michael Trujillo along with their son and

daughter. Not only does it have all kinds of lollipops ($1.50-$2.95) in

all kinds of shapes, but it sells the molds to create them as well as

teaching candy making classes (1 1/2 for $25 a person). There are also

children’s classes (5 and older) for 10 or more at $5 each -- an unusual

and long-lasting Christmas gift.

At Gourmet Lollipop you’ll find some sugar-free selections rarely

found elsewhere, which Frances and daughter Trich make. They are

wonderful, chunky honey comb, peanut butter cups, rum fudge balls and

caramels. Michael makes a most unusual brittle special with jalapeno

peppers -- a taste you won’t forget. The white chocolate bark with

Christmas red peppermint chips is a tasty seasonal addition.

It’s as much fun shopping to fill another’s stocking as it is to find

your own. Wishing you a cherry Christmas and a taffy New Year.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail o7 hbindy@latimes.com.f7

FYI

Surf City Candy

WHERE: 126 Main St. at Walnut Avenue

PHONE: (714) 374-1946; fax: (714) 969-4310

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; open until 10:30

p.m. Friday and Saturday

Tomfoolery

WHERE: 5362 Oceanus Drive, Suite C

PHONE: (714) 903-6800; fax: (714) 892-4345

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Gourmet Lollipop

WHERE: 7351 Heil Ave.

PHONE: (714) 841-2000; fax: (714) 841-2545

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday