[Photo Nick Vagnoni]
While shopping at Publix this week, I rounded a corner to be stopped in my tracks by a wall of yellow bricks--an enormous endcap of Mallomars. As you can see by the photo (sorry, no golden butterfly pattern this time; that is the last Mallomar that someone left, however) Mallomars no longer come wrapped in the much celebrated yellow cellophane. Now the logos are simply printed on the box. Even as a kid, I thought that the white cardboard box wrapped in plastic was sort of an anachronism, a hold out from another time where, I assumed, most things were packaged that way.
Apparently it's no surprise that I was blindsided by the Mallomar display at this time of year, as Nabisco puts the heavy marketing push on them in the fall. This supposedly springs from the delicate chocolate coating that doesn't hold up well to the heat of the summer months. Newsweek's Gersh Kuntzman does a little digging in hopes of exploding such Mallomar myths about regional and seasonal sales.
Salon's King Kaufman also wrote a great ode to the Mallomar a few years ago. Like me, they caught him by surprise in the grocery store one day. According to Kaufman, Mallomars are, mostly, a New York thing and a Jewish thing. This made sense to me, as I was introduced to them by my Jewish mother who was raised in Brooklyn. I never really loved Mallomars as a kid, but whenever my mother would bring them home in a fit of reminiscence, I'd always try one or two. I believe this is the first box I've bought and I think I like them more now than when I was little.
Finally, just for kicks, here's a java applet showing (loosely) how Mallomars are made.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-30-2005 @ 6:48PM
alexisgo go go said...
I can't believe you blogged about Mallomars without a "When Harry Met Sally" reference. Impossible!
Reply
12-01-2005 @ 6:47AM
Kelley Ritchey said...
My brother worships Mallomars and they aren't (or weren't) available in his neck of the woods?
Does anyone know the distribution strategy? I think Mallomars are OK, but worship other dieties.
Reply