Jan's Homemade Candies
Who loves Chocolate? Admittedly, I have a sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate; I love the word chocolate and the way it sounds when spoken. It even sounds delicious in other languages. It doesn’t even matter to me if it’s dark or milk chocolate, and even white chocolate is wonderful. The versatility and uses of chocolate, including medicinal, is amazing and limited only by one’s imagination and culinary expertise.
It’s great all by itself, and enhances just about anything it gets near, be it fruit, nuts, Ice Cream, Red Wine, other types of chocolate, or anything else you might consider. As yucky as it might sound to some, it is considered a delicacy in some cultures to cover certain varieties of insects with chocolate. Personally, I’ll pass on that.
However, before I digress too far and go off down a rabbit hole, let me explain the reason for today’s discussion of this delectable treat. Normally, I reserve this column to rate a restaurant that I’ve visited. However, we should never deny ourselves the simple pleasure of indulging in an expertly prepared dessert, especially when chocolate is involved.
We have recently had the pleasure of visiting our new friends, Chocolatiers Extraordinaire Jan and Bob Lendi at Jan’s Homemade Candies in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. It’s a little place on A1A just south of Commercial Blvd., but as they say. “good things come in small packages.” With very few exceptions, Jan lovingly makes everything in the store from scratch in the almost ER spotless kitchen.
I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve tried, and among my favorite things is probably one of the simplest in the store; she makes this caramel popcorn with peanuts which tastes like a combination of an insanely delicious peanut brittle mixed with lots of popcorn. Thankfully, she only offers it in small bags or else I’d be obliged to devour a huge bag every time I visit. Everything else in the store is enticing and outrageously good. I swear this woman could do something magical with chocolate to make even grits taste good; and as my regular readers know only too well by now, I can manage very nicely without grits.
Of course there’s more to the story; because in case offering the finest candies in Broward County wasn’t enough, Jan and Bob are also dyed in the wool Patriots that honor our men and women in uniform. Whenever a soldier comes home from a deployment, or they are made aware of an event honoring our military, there is always a special treat in store from Jan’s Candies. They are rightfully proud, if humbled, to have been honored by Congressman Allen West for their business and patriotic endeavors.
I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, in my humble opinion, you won’t find a better selection or finer quality chocolate anywhere in So. Florida. The Patriots Press not only gives Jan’s Candies 5 well deserved stars, we salute their patriotism and commitment to those that keep us safe by night and day.
You can find them at 4327 No. Ocean Drive in Ft. Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida. Their phone numbers are 800 795 5267 and 954 202 9495, and their website is www.janscandies.com.