Tom's Holly Original

I sure hope the nougat won't be too hard

The Attraction

It was from Denmark and I wasn't planning on going there anytime soon.

The Review:
One of the many amazing things about summer besides outdoor fun and shedding our jackets all together is free snacks from co-workers that go on vacation! In this case, I had a coworker that went to Denmark and brought back a snack pack of these Holly Original candy bars.

I have never heard of this chocolate bar previously, but upon looking at the picture on the wrapper, it looks like this "Holly Original" resembles something between a Milky Way and a Snickers. Both candy bars that I respect. When I say respect, I mean candy bars that I have consumed many times over in my life. One deviation I can already see is that in lieu of the peanuts that are found in a Snickers, Holly Original uses hazelnuts. What is it with Europe and hazelnuts?

Suddenly, I feel hungry.

I peel back the wrapper to reveal a smooth, milk chocolate coating. In my hand, it felt light, so I had a feeling that the nougat would be on the airy side versus a denser filling. I take a bite and as I suspected, the nougat yielded without much effort, however to my surprise, I taste hazelnut, but my bites have yet to encounter the crunch of any. As I look closer at the bar after my initial bite, I can see a layer of hazelnut between the nougat filling and the top layer of milk chocolate. Aside from the hazelnut flavor, it is very similiar to a Milky Way. Perhaps a shade lighter nougat is used in this bar.

"OK, I get this is a snack-size, the hazelnut could be at the end of the bar", I think to myself. I take my final bite and brace for a hazelnut crunch that never comes. What I do get is the slightest chip of hazelnut that might be the equivalent of what small piece of nut that gets lost in your mouth after eating an actual hazelnut. You know, that piece that hides between your teeth and gums? Or better yet, that piece that makes an appearance when you are brushing your teeth at night. Yes, people, that wimpy piece.

There is a hazelnut top layer,

but where are the actual hazelnuts?

The Sweet:
If you like a Milky Way, you are in luck.

The Bitter:
Where are the hazelnuts?

Conclusion:
The big hook for me with these "Holly Originals" were supposed to be the hazelnut variation, however, there were very little actual hazelnuts to be found in this bar. The picture on the wrapper was outright deceptive! However, I did enjoy the hazelnut flavor with the nougat filling.

Here's the thing; it's all about managing expectations. I really had no idea what to expect with this snack, but by simply looking at the picture on the wrapper, it set my expectations for something this snack could not deliver, ergo it essentially shot itself in the foot.

Don't promise a woman you will bring her roses and show up with flowers that only SMELL like roses. Those are two very different things. You should try it sometime and see the reaction you get. It'll probably look a lot like my reaction to this candy bar.

Video of the Week

This is only the beginning

Jenna Marbles, of Youtube fame, decided to film a video of her putting on 100 layers of makeup. At first it was passable, then it turns slightly club kid-ish, then eventually downright scary. I don't know why, but I watched every minute of this video. Then I went to go watch the paint dry.

Marie Ange Di Costa Morbidi Torroncini Al Pistacchio

Ahh, just like being in Italy again

The Attraction:

Pistachios seem to be one of several popular nuts in Italy (hazelnut, almond and cashews are a few others), so it was only natural when I saw this bag of pistachio nougats begging me to take it home in the airport in Rome, that I take the bait. Well, I think we know how that turned out, don't we?

The Review:
While I was in Italy, I found a few gelato stands that served some amazing pistachio gelato. I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here, but the last time I had pistachio ice cream, it was in a form of a milk shake probably back in 1996 up around Oyster Bay, Long Island New York. I remember well because it was so tasty and bright green when I was drinking it....and not so tasty and bright green when it left me. I won't go into all the gory details, but that was a big part as to why I shied away from the pistachio flavored anything for awhile. This was as good as an excuse as any other to try pistachio flavored anything again.

I take a nougat out and tear open the wrapper it was sealed in. As I open it, there is a very subtle hint of pistachio flavor. I take a bite into the piece and I am pleasantly surprised how easily the nougat yielded to my bite. The texture of the nougat itself is more of a dense paste than a nougat I've been used to. The pistachio flavor greets me at the door, then shortly after the sugar wave starts to hit, except it keeps rising and rising, and rising...when will this sugar wave crest and finally crash?! Damn this thing is sweet!

Let me out!

The Sweet:

These nougats have a nice texture that isn't overly chewy 

The Bitter:
The sweetness doesn't stop...it's really sweet, no seriously...really sweet

Umm..pistachio..yay?

Conclusion:
Marie Ange Di Costa seems to make some pretty fancy treats in Italy. These nougats are no exception. Although they are seemingly well made, they are just too sweet for my taste. I was so distracted by the sugar level that I barely noticed the pistachio part of the description. I don't even know if I can even finish the rest of the bag. Which reminds me, the next time I'm in Italy and I got a hankering for pistachios, I'll just stick to the ice cream variety.

Video of the Week
The good people over at Motherboard have released an interesting video of one of their correspondents staying at a hotel exclusively staffed by robots. I don't know about you, but have you seen some of the people that work at the front desk of a hotel? We might not be able to tell the difference.

This is ridiculous, I demand a real dinosaur as my concierge!