Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Got my stomach in a twist!!
Written: Dec 10 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Soft sweet tasting pretzels.
Cons: Not all choices are always available
The Bottom Line: When in a mall or transport area try a couple of these. They make "My Day".
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Auntie Anne's Pretzels |
A number of years ago on one of my very brief visits to a shopping mall, my wife told me about some delicious hot pretzels. I was a little surprised because she rarely ever has a pretzel on the street when we are walking around in Manhattan or at a ball game.
She had me taste one of these things and I was hooked right away. I could see why she liked it. Though I happen to like regular soft pretzels, these were in another class, but here's my problem. Many times when I'm traveling I see these places while in my car at roadside stops. There also happens to be one in Penn Station right near the entrance to the Long Island Railroad, bad news!!
I'm sure everybody has heard the statement, "Your eyes are too big for your stomach". That's just not the case with me. The fact is my wallet is too small for my stomach and I get all in a twist trying to decide which of the yummy pretzels I should have. It's usually two I'll take at a time. I'm really trying not to get any bigger.
The Business Starts
I checked out Auntie Anne's web site and found some interesting information. A husband and wife opened a stand at a farmers market in the Pennsylvania Dutch area of Pennsylvania. They made and sold a few different types of snacks. Here are words right from their site "...One day, the wrong ingredients were inadvertently ordered, resulting in a disappointing pretzel. After some experimenting, Anne's husband Jonas suggested adding a few additional ingredients. The resulting pretzel turned out to be the best pretzel Anne and her customers had ever tasted! Soon, the demand for pretzels led to the decision to eliminate all other snacks sold at the stand.
..."
Great story but it seems it wasn't just the product. They also say that the way to success is by working the three P's. purpose + product + people. With each "P" working together, you can profit.
It seems they are doing something right because they started making Pretzels in the heart of pretzeland as I call it. There are many pretzel factories in this area but none are soft and tasty like Auntie Anne's.
The family does happen to bring some of the "faith" that also seems to manifest itself in this charming area of PA. They have a motto stating themselves as trying to live up to being "A Shining L.I.G.H.T. in the Business Community"
This philosophy is central to Auntie Anne's Statement of Purpose:
Lead by example
Invest in employees
Give freely
Honor God
Treat all business contacts with integrity:
They must be doing something right because this family owned franchise now has over 850 locations worldwide and they are still actively reaching out to open more.
The Product
Pretzels are their main business. They are thinner than the big bready ones that are available most anywhere. The other thing that makes them much different is that they are fresh and hot. They guarantee that every pretzel has a thirty minute freshness. I never realized that before reading about it and now I check it out if waiting for as train. Fresh pretzels are constantly being baked.
A couple of days ago I was trying to decide which pretzels I wanted. Not all were in the showcase so I ordered an Original and a Jalapeño as they were getting packed a fresh bunch of sesame came out of the oven. I love those so I asked to return the original and went for the sesame. Moments later some Cinnamon Sugar came out and then I wanted to have one of those as a sort of dessert. I'm telling you I have a problem at this place. Other choices of hot fresh pretzels are Almond, Glazin' Raisin', Sour Cream and Onion, Garlic and Whole Wheat. Not all stands carry all types from what I read.
The Jalapeño have just a little touch of spice to them, but enough. Having an original or the sesame at the same time is a tasty treat indeed. The cinnamon sugar really is a sweet one. Dessert like.
Also in a small showcase near the pretzels are Pretzel Dogs. They have the a Nathan's brand Hot Dog jacketed by pretzel dough. Nathan's happens to be my favorite in hot dogs. It's probably a great combo but I still haven't been able to pull myself away from the my other pretzel favorites.
I never realized they also sold 'dip' for the pretzels. Here's a list but not every dip is sold in every store.
Caramel
Cheese
Hot Salsa Cheese
Light Cream Cheese
Marinara
Sweet Mustard
Sweet Pretzel Dip
The fact is I don't know if I could dip the pretzels because they are so tasty on their own.
Auntie Anne's offers soft drinks hanging onto the name of the area where their first successful store was located in Pennsylvania. Names like
Dutch Ice Grape, Kiwi-Banana, Lemonade, Mocha Orange, Crème, Piña Colada, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry, Wild Cherry
Dutch Smoothie;Grape, Kiwi-Banana, Lemonade, Mocha, Orange CrèmePiña, ColadaBlue Raspberry, Strawberry, Wild Cherry
Dutch Latté; Caramel, Coffee, Mocha
Dutch Shake, Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla, Coffee
I have had the kiwi-Banana Smoothie. Oh man, It was excellent!!
Final Thoughts
Every time I have walked up to one of these places somebody has caught my eye and asked for my order right away. All items are not always ready to go but it doesn't take a lot of time for a fresh batch to come out. If you are waiting to board a train that's ready to leave then two minutes is an eternity. I suppose its hard to maintain that balance of being in stock for the guarantee and not wasting product that gets to old.
The pretzels are absolutely delicious with a good selection of taste treats. They are much lighter than a regular soft pretzel so they go down very quickly and easily. I no longer have the pretzels off the city streets when I know I have an Auntie Anne's nearby.
Friendly's / Cold Stone Creamery / Dunkin' Donuts / Krispy Kreme / Ralph's Famous Ices / Baskin Robbins
Recommended:
Yes
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