Campaign for Chocolate 2008!


1222110717I’m not in the business of throwing around terms like “dictator,” or “fascist state,” but I will say that here at Boston magazine our candy supply is largely at the whim of one woman. This woman really likes M&Ms. Not that I’m complaining.

Over at Cambridge chocolatier L.A. Burdick, locals have a real choice, and it’s not peanut versus plain: a box of Barack Obama, or chocolate a la John McCain. Available through the November election, the shop’s SElection 2008 features assortments of chocolates “meant to celebrate the all-American background of two of the Presidential candidates.”

For Obama, a mix of Hawaiian-Pineapple, Kenyan Coffee, Kansas Corn Crunch, and Tennessee Sour Mash, a small white chocolate and cinnamon mouse. McCain’s assortment includes Arizona Citrus, Hot Pepper Tequila, Peanut Butter, and Kentucky Rye—yuck! (Just saying.)

Available in 1/2 ($28) and 1/4 ($15) pound boxes, and stamped with a donkey or elephant wax seal and tied with blue or red ribbon, the gimmick is, on the surface, painfully nonpartisan. But the votes are in and the numbers don’t lie: So far, the shop has sold more than 19,000 Obama boxes while McCain squeaks in with about 7,000 (largely thanks to the peanut butter, we’re guessing). No matter which chocolate you’re eating, please do eat chocolate.

L.A. Burdick, 52D Brattle St., Cambridge, 617-491-4340, burdickchocolate.com