Though Dulcelandia has six Chicago-area locations, it does not make its own chocolate. But the store sure shouts candy, with its linoleum tiles in lemon, grape and cherry shades. And the chocolate imports (mostly from Mexico) and novelty items will please anyone who wants to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a festive, different spin.
Speaking of spin, the true eye-grabber at the Dulcelandia we visited (5123 S. Kedzie Ave., 773-737-6585) was a large, heart-shaped pinata ($10). The fat, red cardboard heart, bearing the words “I LOVE YOU” in gold foil, looks irresistible and innocent, like a junior high play prop.
Elsewhere, the chocolate imports testify to the creativity and playfulness of their manufacturers. Why, we wondered, doesn’t Nestle make a stately King Carlos V bar ($2 for a six pack) for Anglo palates? It even has a snazzy portrait of the ruler beaming from the package. Ditto for Abuelita, Nestle’s Mexican chocolate drink mix ($2). The octagonal box boasts a sly, smiling granny who, we’d like to think, would make a great foxy lady for the Quaker Oats guy.
Dulcelandia also carries chocolate items (conveniently stashed in a rear store corner) ranging from “Huevitos” (or “little eggs,” $2) to “Monedas del Zodiaco” (“zodiac coins,” $3). But the item that crooned Valentine’s Day, albeit in a sticky-sweet way, was the box of Pantelon Coronas ($7). It contains two dozen chocolate-coated marshmallow pops, wrapped in festive foils of purple, pink and yellow. Remember: Flowers fade, but marshmallow has a shelf life measured in months and years.