Circus peanuts in Ottawa?
March 13, 2012 12:01 PM Subscribe
Where can I buy Circus Peanuts in Ottawa?
(only real ones, orange in colour, banana in flavour, and peanut in shape will do)
(only real ones, orange in colour, banana in flavour, and peanut in shape will do)
Bulk Barn has some Ottawa-y locations and lists "Marshmallow Peanuts" on their website. Give 'em a call?
posted by troika at 12:13 PM on March 13, 2012
posted by troika at 12:13 PM on March 13, 2012
I've never seen them in Canada, anywhere, ever. Specialty candy shops are your only hope, I'm afraid.
There are apparently three Sugar Mountains in Ottawa, though the exhaustive list of products on their website makes no mention of Circus Peanuts.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:14 PM on March 13, 2012
There are apparently three Sugar Mountains in Ottawa, though the exhaustive list of products on their website makes no mention of Circus Peanuts.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:14 PM on March 13, 2012
Response by poster: I've checked Bulk Barn on occasion, but they've only had banana-shaped, yellow-coloured, banana-flavoured versions (which are completely wrong, of course). I'll have to check again.
I've found them in Zellers once or twice in the past, but I haven't seen them in years so lately I've had to resort to getting people to pick them up for me when they go to the states.
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:18 PM on March 13, 2012
I've found them in Zellers once or twice in the past, but I haven't seen them in years so lately I've had to resort to getting people to pick them up for me when they go to the states.
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:18 PM on March 13, 2012
My wife (who I thought had Circus Peanut radar and would have commented by now) has looked pretty hard and has had to resort to buying them in the US whenever we go to Buffalo. She's been unable to find 'proper circus peanuts' in Canada.
posted by Brockles at 12:34 PM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Brockles at 12:34 PM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Bass Pro in Vaughan seemed to have them, but it's hardly close to Ottawa.
I suspect they fall foul of Canadian "Illogical Food" guidelines ;-)
posted by scruss at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2012
I suspect they fall foul of Canadian "Illogical Food" guidelines ;-)
posted by scruss at 1:15 PM on March 13, 2012
Brockles' wife here. I see he has outed me as a Circus Peanut eater. I blame my father for encouraging this disgusting eating habit when I was too small to know better. I have indeed looked, and never found, a genuine bag of Circus Peanuts on the north side of the border. Sure, Canada has "marshmallow" snacks, and "banana flavoured snacks" and even possibly FAKE Circus Peanuts, but they aren't at all the same. Your best bet would be to find your nearest US city, drive there, and go to the first Target/Grocery store/Walmart* or drugstore you can find. Buy as many as you can. Sure, they may go stale, but they're usually stale when you buy them anyway. I mean, honestly, I think you could stockpile enough for ten years, and after ten years, the ones at the bottom would taste no different from the newest ones in the stores. Isn't this part of their charm?
*Note - the Walmarts in Canada have surprised me at times - carrying candy I swear they didn't before, stuff I thought was only available in the US. I have not found Circus Peanuts at any I've been to, but if I were you, depending on the urgency of the Circus Peanut craving, I would try my local one anyway.
**Unrelated note - If you do go to the US, treat yourself to some proper Oreos, too. Completely different in the states.
posted by routergirl at 1:29 PM on March 13, 2012 [2 favorites]
*Note - the Walmarts in Canada have surprised me at times - carrying candy I swear they didn't before, stuff I thought was only available in the US. I have not found Circus Peanuts at any I've been to, but if I were you, depending on the urgency of the Circus Peanut craving, I would try my local one anyway.
**Unrelated note - If you do go to the US, treat yourself to some proper Oreos, too. Completely different in the states.
posted by routergirl at 1:29 PM on March 13, 2012 [2 favorites]
See? Circus Peanut radar.
posted by Brockles at 1:42 PM on March 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Brockles at 1:42 PM on March 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Darn. This is not looking good!
posted by fimbulvetr at 1:57 PM on March 13, 2012
posted by fimbulvetr at 1:57 PM on March 13, 2012
I never knew what those orange banana things were called, but loved them as a kid. I have not seen them in years in NJ, but have not been looking either. Ah, so they are Circus Peanuts! Do they go by any other name?
posted by mermayd at 2:07 PM on March 13, 2012
posted by mermayd at 2:07 PM on March 13, 2012
There're lots of eBay sellers who sell nothing but candy that isn't available outside of their particular country or region. Plenty of circus peanuts on eBay... I am having a little bit of a bother finding a seller who will ship to Canada/ship to Canada at a reasonable price, but I have always had very good luck with little "Hello, I would love to buy this and I wonder if you would make an exception and ship it up to Canada blah blah" inquiries. That and "I was about to click 'Buy it Now' when I noticed the shipping was listed at $30 -- I wonder if this is an international rate for overseas? I am in Canada and the peanuts should ship quite cheaply etc etc"
posted by kmennie at 2:13 PM on March 13, 2012
posted by kmennie at 2:13 PM on March 13, 2012
Can you buy from Amazon (US)? I don't see them on amazon Canada. (My father used to buy these for us, so they're quite nostalgic for me too!)
posted by la petite marie at 2:53 PM on March 13, 2012
posted by la petite marie at 2:53 PM on March 13, 2012
From the Amazon link above - I saw that Candy Nation is the storefront name, so I did a quick google... and they ship to Canada! No idea what the shipping cost would be, but it's worth a shot.
I have received so much derision over my enjoyment of Circus Peanuts over the years, and yes, it's a nostalgia thing for me, too. So I'm happy to see I'm not alone!
posted by routergirl at 5:23 PM on March 13, 2012
I have received so much derision over my enjoyment of Circus Peanuts over the years, and yes, it's a nostalgia thing for me, too. So I'm happy to see I'm not alone!
posted by routergirl at 5:23 PM on March 13, 2012
If you prefer to go the "road trip" route, the nearest two stores which offer REAL GENUINE CIRCUS PEANUTS (not the inferior store brand imitation circus peanuts) are the KMart in Watertown NY and Malone, NY.
So sayeth the Circus Peanut Finder at the official Spangler website. (They don't ship to CA, I checked...) I plugged in the zip code for Ogdensburg (13669) which looked like the nearest US city. You may want to try with a different zip code, if there's another more convenient border crossing you prefer.
It's strange that Circus Peanuts are absent north of the border. I suppose it's just our revenge for all the times I had to drive two hours to Vancouver just to load up on Coffee Crisp and Smarties.
posted by ErikaB at 6:58 PM on March 13, 2012
So sayeth the Circus Peanut Finder at the official Spangler website. (They don't ship to CA, I checked...) I plugged in the zip code for Ogdensburg (13669) which looked like the nearest US city. You may want to try with a different zip code, if there's another more convenient border crossing you prefer.
It's strange that Circus Peanuts are absent north of the border. I suppose it's just our revenge for all the times I had to drive two hours to Vancouver just to load up on Coffee Crisp and Smarties.
posted by ErikaB at 6:58 PM on March 13, 2012
Response by poster: It's the shipping costs that have made me hope for a local supplier. . . . I guess it looks like either road trip or getting my next visitor from south of the border to bring up some or paying for shipping. They used to be relatively easy to find as recently as the '90s in Canada -- there was always a local grocery store or something that had them. Ah well. At least I can still occasionally find Necco Wafers around here, but they are getting rarer all the time as well.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:42 PM on March 13, 2012
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:42 PM on March 13, 2012
I live about 20 min. from the border and often do some cross-border shopping. If you send me an email with a list of things you're looking for, I can check, buy it and bring it into work with me (I work downtown Ottawa). Email is in my profile. Offer is open to anyone else with a craving.
posted by KathyK at 7:14 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by KathyK at 7:14 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
Toys R Us have a mysterious Cheap Gross Candy aisle, at least in the west, and I have seen Circus Peanuts, Popeye "Candy Sticks" and Rockets there.
They're all individually wrapped inside their bags, and I think their intent is to grow up to be pinata filling.
posted by Sallyfur at 10:05 PM on March 14, 2012
They're all individually wrapped inside their bags, and I think their intent is to grow up to be pinata filling.
posted by Sallyfur at 10:05 PM on March 14, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:12 PM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]