How does Minneapolis Chicago Mix compare to ours?

During a recent Axios retreat in Minneapolis, our bosses put us up in a downtown hotel right next to a location of the Twin Cities' Candyland store.

Why it matters: The company is notorious (to me) for patenting the name "Chicago Mix" in 1992 , thus forbidding any Windy City popcorn makers from using the term to describe a delicious blend of cheese and caramel corn.

• The nerve!

What happened: With resentment, I walked into the store and ordered a small bag of their so-called Chicago Mix to take home and compare it to our, no doubt, better Garrett Mix.

The comparison: A small bag of Chicago Mix costs $3.50, while a small bag of Garrett Mix costs $4.99.

• Chicago Mix blends cheese, caramel, and butter corn, while Garrett's features caramel and cheese.
• Chicago was fresh, crunchy, and delicious, with really big popped kernels, while my Garrett bag tasted a little less fresh, with slightly smaller puffs.

Candyland's Chicago Mix versus Garrett Mix from a sealed bag. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios

The verdict: These two mixes taste almost identical, but the freshly popped Chicago Mix pushed it just a hair over the packaged Garrett Mix.

The bottom line: If you're in the Twin Cities and no Chicagoans are looking, I recommend you pick up a warm bag of Chicago Mix from Candyland.

• Plus, if you visit the downtown Minneapolis store, you can take a cool picture next to the Mary Tyler Moore statue.

Justin and Monica pose next to another great Midwestern journalist (Mary Richards) in downtown Minneapolis. Photo: Sam Allard/Axios