My family and I have been loyal customers of Krause's Homemade Candy for many years. We've bought…read morechocolates for ourselves, holidays, and gifts, and visiting Krause's has always been a tradition whenever I returned to New York after living in Florida. In fact, it was the very first stop my husband and I made because I couldn't wait to enjoy my favorite chocolates again. Unfortunately, this visit was incredibly disappointing. The first thing I noticed was the new logo and packaging. While I know businesses evolve, the new design loses the classic, elegant feel that made Krause's so special and instead looks much more generic. More importantly, the chocolates themselves are not the same. Many of the pieces are noticeably smaller than they used to be, and the chocolate tastes different. Several pieces even had bloom, which affected both their appearance and texture. I purchased a variety of chocolates, including individual pieces from the display case, chocolate bars, and peppermint patties, and every product seemed to reflect a decline in quality. To make matters worse, many of my longtime favorite pieces were no longer available. I've happily recommended Krause's for years because it consistently offered some of the best homemade chocolates in the Capital Region. This time, however, I left feeling disappointed and honestly saddened. I truly hope the owners will consider returning to the quality, recipes, and traditions that built Krause's outstanding reputation, because many longtime customers remember how exceptional their chocolates used to be.

Still one of my favorite candy stores to visit when I am out in albany... even though they have…read morediscontinued by favorite watermelon slice hard candy. So disappointing but that is life. They have a great selection of unique Holiday molded chocolate candy and some of the best caramel apples around. This is also a great place to stop and shop for treats and gifts.

NOTE: This location is CLOSED. The nearest location is at Rotterdam Square Mall…read more You deserve a chocolate break! What a cool slogan. Gertrude Hawk is one of my favorite chocolate shops, which has locations in only NY, NJ, and PA. This location opened recently at Colonie Center (lower level near Sears). Locally, there are other locations at Rotterdam Square and Wilton Mall. The store carries a good variety of boxed chocolates, candy bars, Smidgens, chocolate tubs, prepackaged candy, chocolate covered pretzels, and confections on display. These chocolates make great gifts for that special someone. The friendly staff was handing out free samples. The main draw for me to Gertrude Hawk are the chocolate & caramel dipped apples and the HAND DIPPED ICE CREAM BARS, especially the latter. Not all Gertrude Hawk locations offer hand dipped ice cream bars including the Langhorne, PA store in the Oxford Valley Mall. I was bummed out there and told to go to Cold Stone Creamery in the same mall. Anyways, I was very thrilled to see this store now open and I treated myself to a hand dipped ice cream bar, Whitey's vanilla ice cream dipped choice of chocolate, (I chose peanut butter sauce), which came out to $3.01 with tax. The ice cream is cold and refreshing, but the sweet crunchy coating is the best part!

I don't get this place. For a specialty chocolate shop they are only mediocre, as a place of…read morebusiness, I'm astounded that they're still going. Every time I go into or even just walk past this place, there is no one there. While I've had employees wander off on me here, recently they are not to be found at all. If I were a less honest person, I could easily walk out of there with most of what's on the floor. It's not like the employees are gone for a few moments, we're talking about 10-20 minutes of absolutely no one around, even after shouting "hello". Maybe it's just me, but when I'm in the mall, especially on a weekend, I don't want to have to go hunting to someone to cash me out. I'm amazed that their inventory doesn't walk right out the door. Their prices are fine, their selection is okay, but the complete and utter lack of staff is something I just can't get past.

A lot of great deals, staff very knowledgeable and helpful. Great place to get my snacks!read more

I don't know when this store opened in the mall because I normally enter via the Christmas Tree…read moreShop which is directly above it. But, it was the holiday time so my wife and I wandered in on Boxing Day to see what they had. While a lot of stuff was gone (understandable, as Christmas was the day before) I did see some interesting things. I purchased a package of Gummy hot dogs (you read that right) and looked at some of their toys and candy. Like all other Five Below stores, it is slightly one step up from a Dollar Store with a bit more focus on things teenagers might enjoy (posters, cheap clothing, cheap toys, cheap electronics.... cheap anything). However, I was extremely disappointed to see items with prices tags of $10 and $25. I get inflation is what it is, but for a store titled "Five Below" (meaning everything is $5 or less) to see items five times as much is wrong. If they want to be a cheap consumer goods store then fine, but it doesn't fit their brand and they really should change their name to "Cheap junk at random prices" (apologies if another store with that name already exists).

Spices are the best anywhere. I often order online when I can't get to a store…read more Highly recommend their cinnamons (I like Vietnamese the best), Fox Point seasoning blend, granulated roasted garlic - the closest taste to fresh garlic I've found. I love that you can buy small packets of seasonings to try them out. As for politics - they tell it like it is.

I usually do mail order, but I was near the Albany store, so I took advantage of replenishing…read moreseveral of the spices I use frequently and buying a gift. Penzey's has the best specials! I am a longtime satisfied customer. I purchased the "Love Pack" special as a gift for a bridal shower in October. The 12 pack includes an assortment of commonly used spices that are perfect for a bride to be. It was on sale for $45. from $90. It was an excellent value! The "Love Box" only needs a bow since it is packaged so nicely. I will add a gift certificate to Trader Joe's to complement the shower gift. Service at the store is always attentive but not overwhelming. You are encouraged to browse and ask questions that you may have. They often have a free gift of a regular sized spice. If you order online, you can pick up at the store or you may have it delivered often free of charge. The website is very well organized and using it is quick and fun. Along with many others, I appreciate the support the company President provides to political causes. I purchased five gift certificates to support the company after it was criticized/threatened after Kamala Harris recently visited the Pittsburgh store during her campaign. $50. Certificates were on sale for $35. Good gifts to have on hand.

This wonderful novelty toy store is brimming with popular and unique offerings for all ages. My…read morenine year old granddaughter and I had a wonderful time browsing. We only had 45 minutes to shop which was not enough time to check out everything, but with the guidance of the friendly, knowledgeable owner, we spent our time well. We selected fidgets for her, presents for her cousins as well as several games to bring on our annual family vacation in Narragansett, RI. It was great to be able to ask the store owner about items and get informed responses. It was much better than shopping online and searching for questionable product reviews. Again, we chose to support a small local business!

For a relatively small store, it's amazing how much interesting (to me anyway) stuff there is in…read morehere. When I first walked, in, I thought it was mostly for kids, but as I strolled around, I was amazed in a good way at the inventory here, including an assortment of smaller games (card, dice, social, party, etc), "grumpy old people" themed socks, a variety of interesting books, and more. There's a lot of things here which I don't necessarily need but are still calling out for some of my discretionary income. I have quite a few friends who would also definitely enjoy coming here when they visit me.

They have AMAZING chocolate. I've tried their chocolate dipped frozen banana, it was okay. I prefer…read moretheir chocolate bars. I've also had a box of their assorted chocolates and it was really good. Their prices are decent and the staff is pretty nice.

This is a candy store that sells outdated, stale, disgusting, and likely e. Coli bearing candy. Of…read morecourse, since they are in New York, they don't care that the customer is unhappy. Don't go there EVER. I should have walked out when the clerk had more piercings then a sideshow freak showed up. Alas, I didn't. Run, don't walk past this disgusting place