Check It Out: New Licorice, Bagels, Pizza Dough, Hair Products, and More

by 
Karen Plourde, Editor, Weavers Way Shuttle

Bulk & Beyond

Beguile your licorice lover with Zot organic berries and “stones.”

Laces, allsorts, twists — there’s lots of licorice out there, and some isn’t that good. But Zot organic chewy licorice “stones” and berries, now available at The Incredible Bulk in Mt. Airy, will make you forget the unfortunate chewy candy choices in your past. The stones are like grown-up Good ‘n’ Plenty; the berries, a snappier version of gumdrops. The berries are $21.99 a pound; the stones, $24.99.

Not interested in climbing aboard the licorice train? How do maple bourbon pecans strike you? They’re the latest offering on Carpenter Lane from Hollister, CA’s Marich Confectionery, and go for $12.99 a pound.

Bakery Bites

A new Saturday bagelmaker in Mt. Airy. And find Lost Bread Co. loaves and more in Ambler.

Mt. Airy shoppers who miss Elkins Park’s Roling’s bagels on Saturdays can perk up at the news that Bart’s Bagels of West Philly will soon be filling that void. They pride themselves on their handmade, kettle-boiled bagels and simple ingredients, and they’ll be priced the same as the Fill-a-Bagel varieties: 89 cents each.

Another West Philly bakery, Michael Dolich’s Four Worlds, recently upped its delivery of pizza dough to our Northwest Philly stores to five days a week. Their edible canvases are $3.49 each.

Meanwhile in Ambler, whole grain breads, rolls, and pretzel shortbreads from Olde Kensington’s Lost Bread Co. are generating some buzz. Their selections include Pane de Tavola (a rustic, Italian-style loaf), seeded milk buns (white, with a hint of sweetness), Seedy Whole Grains, and table bread (a dense, grainy batard).

All Wellness and Good

Field Day’s right-priced hair and body products land in Ambler. And new shampoo bars at Next Door and Across the Way.

Lots of folks want to get away from big-name bath and body products that are loaded with parabens, phthalates, and synthetic ingredients, but doing that can hit your wallet extra hard. Not so with the Field Day line of hair and body care formulas, which now occupy several spots in Ambler’s wellness section.

Sixteen-ounce bottles of their body wash are $5.99, as is the same size container of their shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo, body lotion, and conditioner are available in five varieties (including fragrance free), and there are three types of body wash on the shelves. The hand soap comes in three scents; a 16-ounce bottle is $4.99.

In other hair care news, Next Door and Across the Way have added to their lines of shampoo bars. Shoppers in the Hill can try Moon Valley Organics herbal shampoo moisturizing bars, based in Deming, WA. Their website states that their four-ounce bars ($5.99 each) will yield twice as many washes as a bottle of shampoo.

In response to customer requests for more shampoo bar options, Across the Way has added HiBAR shampoo and conditioner bars to its shelves. They’re $10.99 each for a 3.2-ounce bar, are wrapped in a paper box, and are cruelty free. The shampoo bars are available in two types: Moisturize for dry, thicker hair, and Volumize for thin, frizzy hair.

Going On in Grocery

Mom’s Organic Munchies offers healthy nibbles for kids and sweet treats for grownups.

After bowing out of Chestnut Hill a few years ago, Freeport, ME’s Mom’s Organic Munchies has returned with a bigger presence in Ambler. Their two-packs of truffle cakes in two flavors, single Skinny Mint and pecan shortie cookies, and three flavors of Kids Munchies contain no gluten, dairy, casein or refined sugar. Find the cookies ($3.49/ea.) in the front grab ‘n’ go case, and the truffle cakes ($6.99/ea.) in the refrigerated bakery case; the Kids Munchies ($4.99/3.2 oz.) are located in the baby/cereal aisle.