I creep back in on little cat feet

Peonies are my peace offering.

Because --

Ye Gods!  It's been a while.  Y'all, I am truant.  TRUANT!

But fear not.  I've been eating in excess the whole time I've been away, like the prodigal daughter I am.  Get ready for a flurry (McFlurry?) of posts.

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Special Report: Galco's Old World Grocery and Rose Petal Soda

So, a while back, I saw this lovely documentary.  I fell hard for the store, its proprietor, and its stock.

I promptly sent the link to my friend Matthew, who is in film school in LA.  Not only did I think he'd get a kick out of the short film, I was hoping he might be able to visit the store someday and allow me to live through him by reporting back.

After a little time passed, he did indeed fulfill this wish of mine.  In fact, Matt eventually sent me the following photos and message:

We went location scouting for my first cycle film (we make three the first year) at a succulent nursery and I realized we were pretty close to Galco's. I sheepishly suggested we go and my crew didn't scoff at the suggestion and they ended up loving it!

Later still, there were two more emails from Matt, one with more photos. They said, simply:

OMG! did that you tube video mention his candy selection ? ! !

and

I'm conducting a informal taste test right now!

Let's gape at the candy selection through Matt's eyes.

 

Wow.

I had also shared the original documentary with a few other people.  To my delight, my coworker Paul bought several bottles of the rose petal soda and had them shipped to our office in New York.  He even gave a bottle to me.  How kind of him to share!

Once uncapped, the beverage was light and refreshing -- not too floral, by any means.  It smelled more like roses than it tasted, but the flavor was swell.  Here it is, moments before I drank (and savored) it:

I love a beverage story with a happy ending!  I only wish I could have been to the store myself.  Galco's is certainly on my list of LA landmarks to visit on a future trip.

p.s. Matt also responded to the above video with the following clip.  I offer it to you as a bonus, though it has little to do with the rest of my tale.

[p.s. I'm posting this non-poetic post on a Poetry Tuesday because I'm pretty behind in blogging, due to my vacation.  I hope you'll forgive me.]

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What is it with the violet flavoring, England?

Should things taste like they smell if what they smell like is flowers?

Does this chocolate taste like a little old lady might, if she were made of chocolate and perfume?

I'll never regret trying this Rococo violet chocolate (thanks, A!), and if you're in the mood for a floral novelty snack, or need to get a flowery friend a gift, you should definitely go for a bar, but I like Parma Violets just a bit better as an odd and edibly violet option.

Jet Blue; Snack Violet

On board a flight from San Diego to Seattle, I got out the second item from my British snack sampler. Parma Violets have a floral scent, so what better snack could there be when you're sitting just two rows from the bathrooms on a plane?

The scent reminded me, not unpleasantly, of a funeral home or artificial flower spray--but in a lighter and inoffensive way. They smell like a sweet-tempered Grandma. And they taste kind of like one, too, I imagine, without assuming all Grandmas are so dry and chalky (mine is not).

These seem like a novelty item to me. It was not really difficult to stop eating them after testing a couple. They stubbornly resist the moisture in one's mouth, so I found it more agreeable to suck on one for a while, rather than chewing it right away. Doing this also mellows the flavor, which can otherwise be a little soapy, in a positive way.