Now that the age of the old-timey candy shop has passed, young men in straw boaters have few places to take their best girl for a rhubarb phosphate after a velocipede ride. Today's deal gives the DC area a sweet taste of that bygone era. For $7, you get $15 worth of chocolates and sweets at The Sugar Cube in Old Town Alexandria.
Owners and sisters Kim and Alyssa Theodore have turned their mutual love of sweets into a shop that mingles retro perennials (salted caramels for $0.65 each, dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups for $2.75) with globally flavored seasonal specialties (truffle fudge bites with caramel and Hawaiian sea salt, $2.50 each or $16.95 for a set)—all made by independent local and national artisans. Their blog will keep you up on the current confections, including classics such as the signature sampler ($12.95/ half pound) of buttercreams, caramels, nuts, turtles, barks, and marshmallows, as well as gourmet goodies like bars of Vosges ($7.50) and Lillie Belle ($3.75) bars (you can even get them bacon-flavored). As moms stock up on Parisienne hot chocolate ($16.95/pound) for future unwinding, their rugrats can delight in more than 40 flavors of Jelly Belly jellybeans ($9.96/pound). Brides-to-be and party hosts can get chocolate milkies (M&Ms, essentially) in 25 custom colors. And if it can be covered in chocolate (raisins, toffees, gummi bears, or liquid shells filled with liquor), you'll find a heavy glass jar filled with it on one of The Sugar Cube's shelves. If it all sounds so good, stop by for Kim and Alyssa's free weekly tastings and figure out what you want.
Whether you go with a new-fangled box of Mo's bacon–chocolate chip pancake mix ($12.95) or an old-fashioned box of six chocolate-covered strawberries ($12.95), The Sugar Cube will give you a sweet-smelling, candy-colored oasis from reality. The sisters' passionate yet unpretentious approach to sweets will make you feel right at home, unlike that snobby sweets shop where the clerks roll their eyes if you ask for something with chocolate and peanut butter. The Sugar Cube is open Tuesday¬–Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Reviews
Yelpers give The Sugar Cube 4.5 stars, and the Baltimore Examiner's Chocolate Examiner featured it along with the Washington Post:
- The Sugar Cube offers all of these childhood favorites with not the slightest hint of hipster snark. They just want their customers to be HAPPY. Their polite and helpful staff told us about the store's effort to support local small businesses and candy artisans in their offerings. Admirable, but what will keep us coming back is the candy: dark chocolate-dipped pretzels; chocolate-covered peanut butter Oreos; every kind of handmade truffle imaginable! – Sean D., Yelp
- Exceptional variety, premium selections, and staff who can explain the chemical reaction that takes place as chocolate ages. I've probably been here like 20 times - both when I lived in the area and on recent visits. The quality had always been superb and the service excellent. – Adam M., Yelp
- Quality is evident throughout the shop which offers several collections of confections including Classic Chocolates, Panned Chocolates, Truffles and a collection of Sugar Free Chocolates sweetened with Maltitol, a naturally derived sugar. – Terri Farris, Baltimore Examiner
Groupon Says
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Run-of-the-mill drugstore chocolates are waxy and come in unappetizing, heart-shaped boxes that conjure images of coronary bypass surgery. Worst of all, every box of cheapo chocolates is guaranteed to hold a few gross surprise fillings that you end up putting back after one bite. What are the flavors most commonly discarded?
- coconut
- Barbasol
- tortoise gelatin
- live jumper cable
- mashed bee
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