268864 Thu Jul 27 08:46:13 -0700 2000 31 17 What's My Craving? 0 1416555 There used to be a chain of candy stores called Lofts and they sold a great chocolate/nougat/nut bar called a Parlay. does anyone remember this and are these bars still sold anywhere? Thu Jul 27 08:46:13 -0700 2000 0 Gene 1 1416561 Oh, yes, I do remember them....along with Bartons and Barricini's and all those lovely, sweet, sickly delights of childhood and slightly beyond! I haven't see Parlays in years. The good news is that you can still buy Almond Kisses (Bartons?)in those lovely black tins with 50's French poodles, etc. Remember Almond Kisses? I've bought them at Zabars on Broadway at 80th Street. The company used to advertise them as "The Best Kiss you Ever Had." And, when I was a kid, my sister and I stood and watched my Dad put it to the test. He held up the tin---and planted a big kiss on it. Then, he paused, thought it over--and came to the conclusion: "Well.....not a BAD kiss...but not the BEST one I've ever had, either!" So--your post about Parlays helped bring back a very funny childhood memory for me! Tue Aug 01 08:53:24 -0700 2000 1416555 0 Lynn 2 1420013 You can buy them at www.gifts-on-line.com,and in January at their website www.bartonscandy.com Tue Dec 04 13:04:10 -0800 2001 1416561 0 Kim 1 1418501 I remember the Loft's Parlay Bars all too well as my father used to run the manufacturing plant. The company went out of business, but I am trying to convince my father to make the candy and sell it over the net. Thu May 17 03:53:19 -0700 2001 1416555 0 Russell Nomer 2 1418502 Put me down for a steady supply!!!!! What will it take to convince him that we are out here waiting? Good Luck! Thu May 17 07:28:33 -0700 2001 1418501 0 Gene 3 1418503 Those were also my mom's favorite candy. I totally forgot about them til today. Thanks for the memory! Thu May 17 08:40:41 -0700 2001 1418502 0 Michele Cindy 4 1420636 Valentine's Day is almost here, my wife loves parlay bars any chance someone out there on the great white web makes a candy like the loft's parlay bar Mon Feb 04 17:19:11 -0800 2002 1418503 0 Anthony 5 1420645 We talked about this before on this site and found that Parlays are no more. Too bad. Try a search for Parlays and you can see what came up. One of the posters was the son of the Lofts plant manager! Tue Feb 05 07:40:34 -0800 2002 1420636 0 Gene 6 1426880 If Parlays are not made anymore and no one is making anything really close, why don't we try to get the recipe? I know some chocolateers who might be interested in making them if they knew the demand was there. To the person who posted here whose relative worked in the Loft's factory, see if the recipe was recorded somewhere and is retrievable. Sincerely, Howard Tue Nov 11 13:07:55 -0800 2003 1420645 0 Howard 7 1432919 I found a shop that makes a pretty good Parlay bar . Its ' Chocolate Alley ' 515 Avenel St , Avenel , N.J. phone 732 634 8456 . Tried to post it yesterday but the post got deleted / lost ? Mon Dec 12 11:42:08 -0800 2005 1426880 0 Gene 5 1423244 If you find out please let me know. Loft's went out of business but somewhere on the web someone said there was a candy out there that tastes just like Parlays. Fri Oct 18 21:14:26 -0700 2002 1420636 0 Debbie 4 1421161 Is Loft's candy still available. My 80 year old aunt in CA wants to know of its availability. Sun Mar 24 21:30:51 -0800 2002 1418503 0 B. Goehringer 5 1421164 Unfortunately not available. Search this site for a discussion last year on this. Mon Mar 25 07:17:58 -0800 2002 1421161 0 Gene 2 1423243 There are a lot of people out there who would love to sink their teeth into a Parlay again. Look at the different search engines and you'll find them. Your father would do well to make them available again. I alone could probably keep him in business! Fri Oct 18 21:12:34 -0700 2002 1418501 0 Debbie 2 1425163 My mother loved parlay chocolate candy bars! I used to buy them at the local drugstore for her for every special occasion! But today, I had a craving for one myself! I would definitely buy them if they were made again. Tue May 06 16:44:16 -0700 2003 1418501 0 Janet Cucharo 3 1426557 if parlays are available to order on line please let me know thankyou Mon Oct 06 15:44:42 -0700 2003 1425163 0 deirdre 3 1426792 I'm hoping the man who's father used to work in Loft's factory will read this and email me again. Thu Oct 30 21:51:33 -0800 2003 1425163 0 Debbie 2 5122188 Russell, my dad , was vice peresident and then the president of Loft Candy Company for many years, and I worked in one of the stores. Boxes of Parlays were one of the biggest sellers. The company did not really go out of business, but was bought by a big corporation. I remember the factory in Long Island City , well,and may have met your dad., in the mid 40"s. I do know that the man who made the candy boxes, right there in the building , had sons who now own Russell Stover Candies. Thu Oct 22 06:07:45 -0700 2009 1418501 1118260 chocolatenut 1 1423686 I grew up in Brooklyn and my entire family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins loved Parlays. It seemed that on holidays they were rationed because the demand was so great. I know of at least 20 people that would give their right arms for a box of Parlays. If anyone has found a reasonably close knock-off, please let me know. Sun Dec 15 12:39:37 -0800 2002 1416555 0 Larry 1 3498216 Wow! I thought my sister and I were the only people left who remembered Parlays...what a treat they were...they came in a long red box and each was wrapped in gold foil. It had to be a holiday or other special event to see them in our home and as fast as they showed up, they were gone...I have been searching for "nostalgic candy" and just thought of the Parlays...I found the Almond Kisses on line but Parlays were the best. I was also search for chocolate Melody(ies) cookies and sadly those too have been lost to childhood memories..I'd love to taste a Parlay again... Sun Mar 16 11:44:52 -0700 2008 1416555 175219 phyjos 2 3511211 I don't understand why this chocholate is not being made anymore. Is it too difficult...is it a hard receipe to duplicate. I mean with all the candy stores out there, making caramels, marshmellows, nuts and nougot, why is it so hard to make a parlay bar? I'm confused and hungry! We used to have Lofts and Baracini within stores of each other on 86th street in Brooklyn and to think Ebinger's was like the next block over. What a neighborhood! Thu Mar 20 10:30:21 -0700 2008 3498216 135375 shesallthat 3 3512944 Don't forget Barton's. Thu Mar 20 18:26:00 -0700 2008 3511211 15954 meatme 3 4227681 I too remember trips to the Loft's candy store in the Brooklyn neighborhood I lived in. Like Pignoli cookies, it is an expensive confection, but very difficult to make. I have never found anything exactly like them, though I remember coming close with a pecan honey nougat covered with chocolate. There is one such recipe on cooks.com, but it stops short of coating the logs with milk chocolate. It looks like a major undertaking to try to make these, but I will probably try some day, only thwarted by my complete lack of candy making ability. I remember too that lofts had chocolate-covered cookies (crackers), and I have managed to find those occasionally in my travels. The candy kiosk at the South Street Seaport Mall was the last time I've seen these, and that was in 2005. Sun Dec 07 15:13:37 -0800 2008 3511211 244429 rafar 1 4278610 The Loft family had their estate in Baldwin, NY overlooking Silver Lake near Merrick Road. When the family, I guess, gave up the business and sold the property. I never heard what happened afterwards. The stores disappeared and I am curious as to whether there are any relatives left of that family. I don't think the company was sold to anyone and it seems weird that there is no evidence of it. Does anyone know if there are any relatives that may have the recipe for their candy? They also made a very distinctive cherry cordial candy that was different from any other. What happened to the Loft's? Sun Dec 28 18:24:50 -0800 2008 1416555 252146 Gloriacan 1 4868155 The last time i ever saw/bought Parlay bars was in a shop on Wall St in 1987. There was a case of Loft's candy way in the back of this food store. That was That.. Never saw them again. We had one on Steinway St. in Astoria, Queens, NY, right by the Astoria Theatre near 31st Ave. Still remember the gold foil wrapper. Never found anything close to the delicious taste of the Parlay bar. Can't believe some company didnt reproduce it. Fri Jul 17 13:56:38 -0700 2009 1416555 1094530 ken in california 2 4885149 I wasn't as huge a fan of Parlays as I was of their "truffles", not the current kind but little squares of milk chocolate central layers with dark chocolate making up the top and bottom layers. Also their jordan crackers, though they didn't call them that: torpedo-shaped dry crackers dipped in chocolate. Which Li-Lac Chocolates on 8th Avenue near Corner Bistro still make, in milk and dark varieties... And Ebingers! Not the famous blackout cake, but a chocolate pudding cake: smooth thick shiny puddingy top icing on two golden cake layers with lighter pudding filling. OMG, it was good. Thu Jul 23 15:08:24 -0700 2009 4868155 184509 Miss Rennie 3 4902175 The last box of PARLEY BARS were made in 1990. Not sure who owned it at the time might have been PRICE CANDY. The PARLEY is trademarked and there is only 1 known machine that can produce those bars. 19 years with no PARLAYS... Wed Jul 29 20:21:58 -0700 2009 4885149 241785 mjs185 4 5058871 Glad to see that others remember the Parlay bar. In the late 50s and 60s when I was a kid growing up in the North Jersey suburbs, they were my very favorite candy. My mom used to buy the box (8 unfoiled,and one gold foiled, I think) and give us half of one as a treat. Occasionally you could find invidudal bars at better candy displays, for 15 cents a bar, a fortune compared to the 5 cent candy bars.... but they were never quite as good as the ones in the box, for some reason. As Ali G (Borat's alter ego) would say: Dey was da BEST!!! Fri Sep 25 15:55:31 -0700 2009 4902175 1111968 deserthawk 1 5139897 I lived in the Bronx as a youth and the entire family would, from time to time, have a fat attack so would drive to Krum's Candy on the Grand Concourse across from the Paradise moviehouse, a couple of blocks off Fordham Road and we'd stock up on Parlays (my all time favorite candy) Loft's butter crunch and milk chocolate cordials. The last place I found Parlays and the others was at a candy store in Parkchester back in the 80's so I and my mom would drive there for the Parlay's sometimes ............... my mom passed on back in 1990 and I never went to Parkchester again but now wonder if the candy store is still there and they have Parlay's. I doubt it as know Loft's was eventually sold to another candy company and these favored Loft candies fell by the wayside and became part of folklore for many including me. Great candies from equally great period in time meaning the 50's and 60's ....... far different from today in my mind. davidgmar@aol.com Thu Oct 29 07:35:57 -0700 2009 1416555 1120093 Rarebreed 1 5182012 Yes, I used to work for a Lofts' Candy located in Mt. Vernon, NY...back in the early 1960's when I was in high school...and I used to eat a lot of those Parlay bars...and they were great...my brother in law from Westchester NY says he gets a pretty good re-make of those bars from a candy maker in South Jersey.....good old days...for sure Sat Nov 14 16:26:28 -0800 2009 1416555 1124584 Vince Dees 2 5182076 For all you Parlay lovers out there .. Berkeley Sweet Shop on the Boardwalk in Seaside, NJ makes a very good Parlay - check them out at www.berkeleycandy.com .. they will ship UPS. I'm enjoying one right now! Sat Nov 14 16:55:10 -0800 2009 5182012 1124593 SalD 3 5182324 Yup, that's Sal by brother-in-law...he just sent me a box via UPS...and it is taking me back to the sweet times... ;-) Sat Nov 14 19:46:35 -0800 2009 5182076 1124584 Vince Dees