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Monday, Mar 29, 2010 4:30 PM UTC

On the street: Which Easter candy is overrated?

Francis Lam talks to New Yorkers about Peeps, chocolate eggs, and which treats win and lose

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Topics: Food traditions, Francis Lam, Food,

On the street: Which Easter candy is overrated?

The other night, my Jewish roommate looked at my bag of drug store bounty and squealed, “Ooh, I love Peeps! I haven’t seen any in months.” She paused, thoughtfully, then asked, “Wait, is there a Peep season?”

“Yes,” my Catholic girlfriend replied. “Some people call it Lent.”

So if All Hallow’s Eve gets costumes and Christmas gets Santa and presents, Easter gets candy as its nondenominational cultural ambassador, with cultishly devoted followings. I mean, have you ever seen the amazing annual Peeps Diorama Contest? Or taken a bite of a delightfully insane Cadbury Crème Eggs benedict? People are serious about their Easter candy! So we took to the streets to find out what your favorites are … and I found myself defending the honor of my beloved marshmallow chicks.

And to those of you whom we didn’t get to talk to, leave your favorites — and why — in the comments! 

Francis Lam is Features Editor at Gilt Taste, provides color commentary for the Cooking Channel show Food(ography), and tweets at @francis_lam. More Francis Lam.

Thomas Rogers

Thomas Rogers is Salon's former Arts Editor. He has written for the Globe & Mail, the Village Voice and other publications. He can be reached at @thomasmaxrogers. More Thomas Rogers.

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