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Chocolate Covered Sponge Candy By Sandra Scott |
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They asked, “Have you tried our famous sponge candy?” Sponge candy? We had never even heard about it. They instructed, “On the way to Presque Isle make sure you stop at Romolo’s and get some. Try it and you will never be able to get enough of it. It is awesome.” Romolo’s was easy to find. It's a beautiful Tuscan-style building on the main road. We were surprised by how many cars were in the parking lot in the middle of the morning in the middle of the week. Romolo’s Chocolates is more than a chocolate store. The building features a theater-style chocolate shop and bakery along with the Cocoa Cafe, a beautiful outdoor piazza, and the Mercado, which offers unique gift items.
Tony explained his success by saying that he took two successful companies, General Electric and Disney, as his business models. He treats his workers with the same consideration as General Electric and makes a visit to his shops an experience as Disney does. To that end he is expanding the Piazza where he often has entertainment.
The sponge candy was my favorite but John, ever conscious of chocolate’s health benefits, had his eye on the 72-percent Pure Dark Chocolate Bars made European-style that does not have the bittersweet taste other high-percentage chocolate often has. I had my sponge candy, John had his 72-percent chocolate bar and we each picked some truffles in our favorite flavors. And, off we went to Presque Isle. Romolo’s Chocolates made our trip around Presque Isle a sweet one. It’s a good thing Romolo’s was on the way back to the Sheraton so we didn’t have to go out of our way to replenish our stock for the long ride back to central New York. Visit www.romolochocolates.com and www.visiteriepa.com. |
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some local people. We told them how much we enjoyed
the Maritime Museum, which is right next to the Sheraton, and
mentioned that the next day we were going to explore Presque Isle.
We were lucky to meet with Mr. Chocolate
himself: Mr. Tony Stefanelli in the Cocoa Cafe. While John sipped
his chocolate milk, which he declared the best he ever had, Tony
shared his family’s story
with us—another American success story.
His grandfather, Romolo, came from Italy in 1908 and after a while
ended up in Erie making chocolate. Tony is the third generation in
the chocolate-making business and his two sons, Anthony and Roman,
are now also working in the business. Tony, who opened his store in
1994, is only one of 26 master confectioners in the U.S. Family
photos throughout the three shops honor the family that has been
hand-making artisan-quality chocolates and confections for more
than 100 years.
I asked about the sponge candy mistakenly
calling it chocolate. Mr. Chocolate explained that the sponge candy
is a confection covered with chocolate. Personally, we just called
it “Totally Awesome.” The sponge part, and it does look like a
yellowish sponge, tastes a bit like molasses taffy but, as Tony
explained, “It is a challenging confection because it requires
perfect environmental conditions and dead-on accuracy to make.” It
is the crisp texture that melts in the mouth that is so unique and,
of course, it is covered in chocolate. And since it is Romolo’s it
is only the finest chocolate from Grandpa Romolo’s recipe.