Life Is Good, Candy Is Fun

Whimsical Candy

It’s not often a humble sweet gets coverage in O, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit magazines, but then again, Whimsical Candy’s signature La-Dee-Dah treat is no ordinary palate-pleaser. So luscious and in-demand have the dark chocolate-dipped, white chocolate nougat and salted caramel swirls proved, that after 5 years of being stocked in artisan markets, gourmet delis and myriad sweet shops across the country, owner Chris Kadow-Dougherty’s divine little temptations have finally got a standalone home of their own in Chicago’s The Loop district.

The Franklin Street basement décor doesn’t comprise the usual sweet-shop overload of neons, stripes and patterns. Instead the neat and tidy space (that was designed by New York sweet historian Beth Kimmerle and incidentally once home to DeMets Candy) lets the brand’s red, white and brown packaging and cute toy suitcases donated by children’s retailer Land of Nod provide the colour. In addition to the more than 600 La-Dee-Dahs handmade daily (including milk chocolate and limited edition almond and coconut variations of the original), the store also retails the Whimsey Pie, a chewy salted caramel and buttercream filled version of the Whoopie Pie, plus plain caramels, two kinds of nougat and various other treats. Whimsical it may be, but will it be funny when you step on the scales tomorrow...?