There are more than 40 The Capital Grill restaurants in the U.S. We’ve only been to one, and it’s a class act. It has become our restaurant of choice when we’re going to dinner with people who want a steak-and-seafood evening with good wine.

If this is up your alley, The Capital Grille is offering the best wine tasting deal we know of:

Now through September 4th, for just $25 with dinner, you can have as much as you want of nine sparkling, white and red wines, including a Port-style dessert wine from Australia (charmingly called The Portly Gentleman). Known as the Generous Pour, if purchased by the bottle, the wine tab would be almost $800.

At a recent dinner, we opted in and tried all nine Generous Pour wines. We declare it the best $25 restaurant wine experience—as well as an enlightening, fun and delicious evening.

You can have your wines any way you want them, including pours of any and all nine wines and refills of your favorites.

The ability to try so many wines with dinner—to compare and contrast—is a wonderful experience. Do you prefer the La Cana albariño or the St. Jean chardonnay with oysters on the half shell? Try it and decide (we preferred the albariño).

We had both whites, the Crémant and a Byron Bay pinot noir with our salmon—and confirmed that we continue to prefer pinot noir to white wine for pairing with salmon.

Those who ordered steak had five different reds to compare, both international and from California. We accepted “donations” of meat from their generous portions to try with the reds.

At this point we should have called it quits and let The Portly Gentleman suffice as dessert.

But no: We allowed ourselves to be seduced by the rich dessert menu (cheesecake, coconut cream pie, crème brûlée, flourless chocolate espresso cake and some lighter temptations).

A wine pairing dinner is a wonderful way to spend an evening with friends or colleagues, sharing good food and wine adventures. The wine selection was specially chosen by Master Sommelier George Miliotes to complement both the menu and the season.

You can send someone a gift card to the Capital Grille. What a great gift (hint, hint)!
  

[1] Lollipops, which date to the Middle Ages, were boiled sugar on sticks (photo © Insung Yoon | Unsplash).

[2] Head to the nearest candy store, or supermarket, to satisfy your lollipop jones (photo © Insung Yoon | Unsplash).

[3] Artisan candy makers create beautiful lollipop designs (photos © Molasses Candy | Blogspot).

[4] Homemade lemon lollipops (photos #4 and #5 © The Nibble).

[5] Once you get into it, you can get a stand to display your craft. Bring it to the table with after-dinner coffee.

Updated July 2026

It’s National Lollipop Day. Read this history of the lollipop as you enjoy one or two.

Below:

> The history of lollipops.

> The origin of the word “lollipop.”

> Easy-to-make lollipop recipe.

> More lollipop recipes.

> Why are lollipop sticks hollow?

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of candy.

> The year’s 60+ candy holidays.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF LOLLIPOPS

The history of lollipops begins with prehistoric man eating honey off the sticks they used to scrape it from the beehive and culminates in a competitive industrial legal battle in early 20th-century America.

The ancient Arabs, Chinese, and Egyptians made fruit and nut confections candied in honey, often serving these sticky confections on sticks to keep fingers clean.

But what we think of as a lollipop likely dates to Europe in the Middle Ages when sugar was boiled and formed onto sticks as treats for the wealthy—who were the only people who could afford sugar.

By the 17th century, sugar was plentiful and affordable. In England, boiled sugar treats (hard candy) were popular.

Beginning in the later part of the 18th century, industry, including confectionery, became mechanized.

Horehound drops, lemon drops, peppermints, and wintergreen lozenges became everyday candies.
 
 
The Modern Lollipop

While we don’t know the inventor of the modern lollipop, the first automated lollipop machine was invented in Racine, Wisconsin in 1908.

The Racine Confectionery Machine Company’s machine put hard candy discs on the end of sticks, producing 2,400 lollipops per hour, 57,000 per day.

Other claimants for the same year:

 
Now that you know, don’t be a sucker: Enjoy a lollipop today!
 
 
RECIPE: OLD-FASHIONED LOLLIPOPS

Nothing fancy: It’s just the basic lolly you got from the doctor. But it’s your homemade version.

If you want to get fancy, add edible glitter (photo #3) or confetti halfway thorough pouring the candy into the mold.

Prep time is 5 minutes and cook time is 30 minutes.

Ingredients For 12 Lollipops

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the lollipop sticks in hard candy molds. If you don’t have molds, arrange the sticks 3 inches apart on greased foil-lined baking sheets. Set aside.

2. COMBINE the corn syrup and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

3. COVER and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve the sugar crystals. Then uncover and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage).

4. REMOVE from the heat; stir in the and food coloring, keeping your face away from the mixture as the odor is very strong.

5. IMMEDIATELY POUR into the prepared molds, or pour free-form over the ends of the lollipop sticks on baking sheets.

6. COOL before removing.
 

[6] Ready to make lollipops? The ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, flavor extract, food coloring, lollipop mold and sticks, and a candy thermometer (photo © The Nibble).
 
 
MORE LOLLIPOP RECIPES

Lollipops don’t have to be sugary or hard. Check out these “lollipops”:

 
 
WHY ARE LOLLIPOP STICKS HOLLOW?

It has to do with how the lollipops are manufactured. Candy manufacturers actually pour the liquid candy into the top of the stick so the head of the lollipop stays attached to the stick.

Otherwise, it could come loose and fall off—which we opine is what happened enough times to create a solution to the problem.
 
________________
 
*The original recording of “lollypop” in Grose’s dictionary “A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,” was in the 1785 first edition or the 1788 second edition. The third edition in 1796, published five years after his death, is often cited as the source, perhaps because it became one of the most widely circulated and cited versions. But it’s not the first citation.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Created by Chris Cason, co-founder of Tavalon Tea, it combines two summer favorites: sweet iced tea and a vodka cocktail.

The tea-infused vodka is delicious straight up or on the rocks, but it’s also a good mixer.

For example, a 1:1 ratio of sweet tea vodka to fresh-squeezed lemonade makes a Spiked Arnold Palmer (fresh lemonade recipe).

You can serve it as an “iced tea cocktail.” Or for fun, serve it in a teacup with a wedge of lemon.

HOMEMADE SWEET TEA VODKA

Ingredients

Find more Cocktail Recipes.
  

Can’t have milk in your coffee? Try SOY GO.

She switched to lactose-free milk and so did the rest of our office (no sense having multiple cartons of milk, and lactose-free tastes the same as regular milk).

However, she found herself out of luck at many restaurants. She tried bringing soymilk in Tetra Pak cartons (think juice boxes) with her, but found it wasteful to use just a couple of tablespoons and toss the remainder.

Instead of learning to like black coffee, she took a tip from our vegan photographer and discovered SOY GO, a creamer made from soy powder—the soy equivalent of Coffee Mate.

 
There are 10 calories per packet. Each packet also contains one gram of fiber and one gram of protein. Packets are designed to “cream” a mug with 8 to 10 ounces of coffee.

If you can’t find it locally (try health food stores and Whole Foods), you can buy it online.

We have lots of chocolate bars and pieces of chocolate that have been nibbled on for reviews, as well as blocks of couverture chocolate (used for baking).

When life gives you extra chocolate bars, make chocolate curls.

Also known as shaved chocolate, the curls can be used to garnish cake, ice cream, pudding, hot chocolate (or iced hot chocolate), cappuccino or anything that can benefit from a bit of chocolate glamor.

You can make dark, milk or white chocolate curls—or a combination. We’re particularly fond of white chocolate curls atop dark chocolate frosting.

TIP: If you won’t be using the curls immediately, place them in a storage container instead of on a cookie sheet.

In addition to the chocolate, you’ll need a vegetable peeler, cookie sheet or storage container (we use a low, square Tupperware-type container), waxed paper and a toothpick (we use tiny tongs that our grandmother used to add saccharine tablets to her tea).

For small curls, shave the narrow side of the bar; for wide curls, shave the broad side of the bar. You may have to practice to get the pressure right (maintain a steady pressure and speed).

1. The chocolate bar needs to be softened: hard enough to shave, but not so hard as to be brittle. We put our bar in a cold oven for half an hour, or on the stove top for 10 minutes on each side (to be warmed by the pilot light).

2. While the chocolate softens, cover a cookie sheet or the inside of a square or rectangular plastic storage container with waxed paper.

3. Make the chocolate curls by drawing the vegetable peeler across the chocolate. Don’t use a light touch, as with a potato or carrot. You’ll need a strong and steady stroke.

4. Use the toothpick to lift the curls gently onto the waxed paper. If you’ll be using them shortly, place them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to harden. Otherwise, store them in an airtight container in a cool place (we keep them near the vent of our kitchen air conditioner). Some people refrigerate them, but the quick transition from cold to a warm room can cause the chocolate to bloom.

Once you get the hang of it, we think you’ll be using chocolate curls a lot!

MORE CHOCOLATE FUN

Check out our Gourmet Chocolate Section for tips, recipes, reviews, trivia and more.