Do you ever just want to like something way more than you do? Like if someone at work gives you something to listen to or to read, and they’re really excited for you to experience it, and then you do, and you don’t like it, but you have to fake your enthusiasm to keep the atmosphere of the office pleasant and cordial?
Or when everyone seems to really be on board with something and you just do not get it?
I have a lot of those things.
For example, Bruce Willis. He’s the worst. Same character in every movie I’ve ever seen him in. Same with Denzel Washington. Can’t stand him. I am afraid to watch The Siege for fear I will drown in a sea of my own apathy.
I don’t like the Beatles either. I never hear the end of this from my wife. She loves them. Everybody loves them. They’re so important; they changed music blah blah blah. Paul McCartney is a tool. There are many songs by the Beatles that I enjoy greatly, but only when sung by other artists. So that’s something.
Like Peter Griffin, I don’t care for The Godfather. Similarly, I don’t really care for Martin Scorsese. For being such a hallowed piece of Hollywood royalty, I think many of his films are a little lacking, Taxi Driver aside of course. Take The Departed. The rat at the end. Really Marty? I don’t even know how you lift that hand of yours, it being so heavy and all. And how you can win Best Director and Best Picture for a movie that is a nearly identical remake of a foreign film is beyond me. Changing the words to English and adding Leonardo DiCaprio does not a genius make.
But I digress, and you may pick up where I am going with this.
When I started blogging way back in the late 70s, Vosges was one of the first cool person chocolates I encountered. I ran out to the hipster food mart down the street as soon as I heard they carried them. And while I enjoyed that bar, I wasn’t blown away by it. And I wanted to be because everyone else seemed to be.
Recently, I stumbled upon a wider selection of Vosges at another market. An Italian market. You can add Italians to that list of things I think I should like more. I kid! (No I don’t.)
I went with the Bapchi’s Caramel Toffee Bar because it sounded amazing. Milk chocolate, caramel butter toffee, walnuts, and pecans. Sold.
But like my previous experience, I came away a little disappointed. The milk chocolate is fine. Smooth, creamy, etc. It didn’t change my life. The pecans and nuts are there more for texture than anything. And their flavors are overwhelmed by the buttery toffee, which I found a little too salty at times. Ok, most of the time.
The bar is fine, but I’ll forget about it as soon as it’s gone and never buy one again. I wanted to love it, not like it. Especially since it cost me eight dollars and a little of my sanity as I navigated the dead-eyed, mouth breathers that clog the aisles of the aforementioned market on Saturday morning.
I think I like the idea of liking Vosges, more than I actually like the chocolate itself. I want to be the guy that likes the chocolate that my friends haven’t heard of. But I haven’t given up on them yet, not completely anyway. There are many, many more varieties to try, and they might still surprise me. Though I usually know how that goes. See Bruce Willis this June in G.I. Joe 2!
The gingerbread toffee comes with dark chocolate, and is saltier. See if you can track that one down.
I love you. Mind you, not in a creepy cougar way. Your blog just makes me laugh my ass off (yeah, if only).
Thank you!
I love you too, in a very much creepy cougar way.
I’m with you, I was let down by the Mo’s Bacon Bar and I thought everyone was supposed to love that one. However, I was really surprised by how much I liked their Matcha chocolate, I’m not even a green tea fan.
they are pretty much hit or miss, but I just had the Smoked Sundried tomato dark chocolate piece (not a bar, but a heart shaped solid piece of chocolate) and it was really interesting. You could actually taste all the different ingredients at different times (ie smoke at begining of bite, sundried tomato towards the end). I suggest buying the mini bar samplers, more bang for your buck!
Thanks for the recommendation!
I have felt this same feeling about a number of the fancy-pants “gourmet chocolate bars” with all sorts of random whatnot stuffed in their innards. It’s become such a thing, I’d love to see more that achieve their intentions a little better. Maybe if GI Joe 2 doesn’t work out, we’ll see Bruce Willis in the next Vosges bar…
YES!!!!!!!
Have you tried the Vosges bacon bar? I have been wanting to try it forever, but I can’t justify paying $8 for a potentially unpleasant candy bar.
I loathe the Beatles. I think they would have faded away if it were not for American advertisers kissing the collective butt of baby boomers. Every time someone is like “Where would music BE without The Beatles”, I point out that there would never have been an Oasis. Whiny, nasal-y and awful. My husband LOVES them and he used to play it around me till I pointed out that A. it made me want to choke someone and B. I kept my love for music he did not care for separate.
Had to comment, SOLIDARITY. They DO suck. People buy a lot of McDonalds and that does not make it good. I have not tried Vosges yet, but usually do not care for super premium chocolate. Fancy ICE CREAM and I am so there.
AMEN!