If you are someone who douses just about any food item with fiery red Sriracha sauce, you may be interested in this confection: Sriracha lollipops. more ›

For some, Easter serves as more of an excuse to shamelessly overindulge in one of life's most guilty and delicious pleasures -- SWEETS -- than a religious holiday. There's the standard yellow Marshmallow Peep, the Cadbury Creme Egg (for those who like surprises), the jelly bean and the ever-addictive Reese's Peanut Butter Egg. But wouldn't you rather tickle your tongue, expand your waistline and spend more money with something a little different, a little more local this year? more ›

It's Halloween, and even though you've been nibbling on candy corn and slurping back pumpkin ales for days, there's still some party left in you. Fine, maybe you've limited your Halloween eats to the half-off candy bins at Target on November 1. Here are a few terrifyingly tasty morsels to chew on when it comes to Halloween food and drink. more ›

Oh noes! This Halloween could find your treats laced with tricks! And in this case, tricks are not for kids. Yes, we're talking about drugs. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Narcotics Bureau is cautioning unsuspecting Angelenos to be on the lookout for candies, soda, freezer pops and other snack foods "containing untested amounts of concentrated marijuana." Zoinks! more ›

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has issued a warning about the perils of (unknowingly) ingesting drug-laced Halloween treats. Basically it's a caveat emptor--or a trick-or-treat-caveat--for anyone who might get handed a packaged goodie that's filled with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and not be the best recipient. more ›

Gentlemen (and ladies) you've got less than a week now to shop for something sweet for your sweetheart. Perhaps your beloved is all about cupcakes; in that case, hie thee to Crumbs to get their Valentine's Day flavors. But if you're thinking chocolate, for crying out loud, skip the drugstore aisles (we've warned you!) and consider some of these local confections to help you pour some sugar on this Hallmark holiday. more ›

California health officials today are warning of high levels of lead in Chen PiMei Candy imported from China by a Rosemead-base company. "Recent analysis of this candy by CDPH determined that Chen PiMei Candy contained as much as 0.14 parts per million (ppm) of lead," explained the state's public health department in an e-mail notice. "California considers candies with lead levels in excess of 0.10 ppm to be contaminated." They say lead is especially harmful to infants, young children and developing fetuses. "Anyone in possession of the candy should discard it immediately." more ›

The location of the first See's Candy shop located at Western and 1st Street (see it in Street View), was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by City Council today. The 1921-built structure has character-defining features of Italian Renaissance Revival architecture, according to city documents, which continue to say "the See family developed their distinctive store design and aesthetic: white colored storefronts and interiors, black-on-white lettering and font, black and white tiled foor, as well as their advertising slogans." The shop isn't there any more, but since it was used as the prototype for all future shops and has surviving character-defining features, it was eligible for the local designation. more ›

Although her weight gain and amazing loss has been grabbing tabloid headlines as of late, the real news about Melissa Joan Hart is her new sweets shop that just celebrated its grand opening on Saturday in Sherman Oaks. Meet Sweetharts, a whimsically decorated frozen yogurt, gelato, cake, cupcake, hard and soft candy store. more ›

They may be only a fourth mile apart, but both family friendly yogurt chain Menchies and newcomer Sweet Rarts just recently opened in Sherman Oaks' restaurant row. First came the addicting and popular Menchies of Valley Village fame, which opened at Ventura and Dixie Canyon, most appropriately next to an elementary school. more ›

Next month's issue of Food & Wine magazine takes a look at chocolate, and just in time for Valentine's Day. Their pick of the ten best bites of chocolate in the country represents a wide variety of tastes and kinds, from the more low-rent, like Nestlé's 100 Grand Bar at #9, to the more refined and artisanal. Coming in at #4 is Los Angeles-based chocolatier Compartes with their Plantain Truffles. We think Food & Wine did well in picking Compartes, having nibbled on them back in the summer of 2007 at the Dessert Decadence event. If you plan on picking up some sweets for your sweet to celebrate V-Day next month, you might want to skip See's (or the supermarket) and head to a local chocolatier like Compartes or some of those LAist sampled not too long ago at the Luxury Chocolate Salon, and support local small businesses while indulging a sweet tooth. more ›

Leave it to our friends to the north of us in San Francisco to come up with a confection that might leave some of you gobsmacked, and the rest of you drooling. If your life revolves around all things bacon, you might have to put your order in for Lollyphile's Maple-Bacon lollipop. They say:

While we admit that it's pretty far from the norm (it's definitely not kosher!), once you make that initial leap of faith and try it out, we're positive that you'll love it. The salty chunks of bacon make a delicious and unique counterpoint to the subtle sweetness of the maple, and oh, yeah- you'll be eating an oh-my-god bacon lollipop!

Next week's election presents a tough choice for some, although others have known for sometime which option is more suited to their taste. Here the dilemma gets a sweeter treatment, in the form of McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden chocolates for your choosing, as caught by LAist Featured Photos contributor C-Monster. These confection candidates were found in Laguna Niguel at Downey's Chocolates--we don't know which one is more delicious, but we did get to sample their nonpartisan--but artisan--chocolates a few weeks ago at the Luxury Chocolate Salon. more ›

Last Friday, singer/actress Mandy Moore (MySpace) headlined a sold-out show at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood that included actor Thomas Ian Nicholas (MySpace) as well as singer-songwriters Curtis Peoples (MySpace), Brett Young (MySpace), and Canadian Serena Ryder (MySpace). more ›

Got a sweetheart with a sweet tooth? Valentine's Day is just around the corner and candy is everywhere. I'm not into those heart-shaped boxes full of chocolates nor do I think my boyfriend would want to receive one of those from me - but everyone likes candy, right? It's a fun gift and can be surprisingly meaningful if you put some thought into it. more ›

I ask you, ladies and gentleman, is there anything better than trick or treating? Is there anything more sublime than getting into costume, grabbing a pillowcase and taking to the streets in a search for free candy? I’m going to be bold enough to say that Trick Or Treating is the most joy-inducing, yet wholesome, activity on Earth and one of the great pleasures of being an American. But this pleasure, this delight, this euphoria,... more ›

Have a food-fanatic on your shopping list? May we suggest some local sources for fabulous gifts, both big and small. LAist will help you Eat It, Use It, Learn It, and Read It with our food-focused installment of the Holiday Gift Guide. Some of these items will last for just a few precious bites, and some will let your lucky recipient get their own hands dirty. Since the clock is ticking, you'd best high-tail... more ›