Crown Candy Kitchen

Crown Candy Kitchen. Behind the counter, proprieter Andy Karandzieff mans the milkshake machine.

Crown Candy Kitchen, is a restaurant located on St. Louis Avenue in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. The restaurant was founded in 1913 by two Macedonian[1] immigrants, and is still run by the three grandsons of Harry Karandzieff, Andy, Tommy, and Mike.[2] This Saint Louis landmark is the oldest operating soda fountain in the metro area, and one of the oldest in the country. The restaurant has an old-fashioned decor with a Coca-Cola memorabilia from the 1930s. It offers a simple menu with sandwiches and is best known for its desserts, most especially for its handmade malts or malted milkshakes. It is popular as a lunch destination with office workers in nearby Downtown St. Louis.

The restaurant offers a challenge to daring consumers of their trademark malts. Should a person drink five 24-ounce malts or shakes within 30 minutes, they receive the malts for free and have their name inscribed upon a plaque in the store.[3] The Crown Candy Challenge was attempted on the Travel Channel's television series, Man v. Food, by the show's host, Adam Richman, on an episode that aired on 25 February 2009.[4] Adam was only able to finish about four of the five malts.[5] The record for the five malt challenge is 2 minutes, 29 seconds by Randy Santel.[6] For seven malts, the record is six minutes, by Ben Monson.[7][8] Since 1913, only about 30 people have successfully completed the Crown Candy Challenge, while several attempt it each week.

In 2012, it was featured on another Adam Richman-hosted show, Best Sandwich in America, for its "Heart-Stopping BLT" sandwich, which uses 14 pieces of crispy, kettle-cooked bacon.

References

  1. ↑ Olandi, John. "Sweetness Preserved: the Story of the Corwn Candy Kitchen". Virginia Pub.
  2. ↑ Olandi, John. Sweetness Preserved, the Story of Crown Candy Kitchen. Virginia Pub. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  3. ↑ Bonwich, Joe (February 24, 2009). ""Man v. Food" St. Louis episode: Wed. 9 p.m.". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  4. ↑ Rifkin, OJ (January 24, 2009). "Man vs. Food episodes #11-#17 air dates and sites". EatFeats.
  5. ↑ Miklasz, Bernie (February 26, 2009). "5 Minutes for Blogging, Feb. 26". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. [H]ost Adam Richman went down for the count on "Man vs. Food" when he took on the Crown Candy Kitchen challenge of drinking five malted milkshakes in 30 minutes.
  6. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSCzLJDXWHI
  7. ↑ Flynn, Mike (May 13, 2010). "Some Guy From California Beat the Crown Candy Malt Record". PunchingKitty.com. Kevin Ross from San Bernardino, California waltzed in to the popular St. Louis store and proceeded to drain seven malts in six minutes.
  8. ↑ Flynn, Mike (May 13, 2010). "Crown Candy Record Breaker Lied About His Identity!". PunchingKitty.com. The man that beat the living hell out of the malt challenge at Crown Candy a few days ago is not who he claimed to be. We now are positive the actual record holder is Ben Monson.

External links

Coordinates: 38°39′05″N 90°11′52″W / 38.651319°N 90.197825°W