Poppa Maize

2 «Di» 4 Gourmet in Avondale AZ is the answer to your longing for all things caramel and wonderful. At least until your Poppa gets up and running again. Give Di a shot. She’s wonderful, and her corn is 2 «Di» 4.

Poppa Maize Gourmet Popcorn is incredible! Not only do they have a billion flavors to choose from, they are SO NICE! I work in events and they have sponsored events for The Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley as well as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I also know they do several charity events a month! What a wonderful (and super tasty!) addition to our community!

If you love popcorn, this is the place for you. They offer endless flavors of kettle popcorn. I love the Butter Pecan, Pineapple/​Jalapeño, and Caramel. The owners and staffs are knowledgeable and very friendly. Excellent gift idea for someone that is hard to buy. They have smaller sampler sizes great for gift basket. The medium bag popcorn on Tuesdays is only $ 2.00, normally $ 3.00.

This place was the answer to my prayers, since I am currently shopping for upcoming birthdays and want to send packages featuring Arizona-​sourced goodies. Thanks to Unilocal (and Gabi M.‘s review, in particular), Poppa Maize «popped» up on my radar and fit the bill beautifully for my needs.
This tiny storefront is packed with a dazzling variety of flavored popcorn and an array of packaged choices. I stuck with the $ 3 (medium) bags and collected a rainbow of flavors. For myself, I grabbed Cheesy Chipotle and Candy Bar Caramel. These didn’t sit long at home before I succumbed to the urge to munch! For gifts, I selected Pineapple-​Jalapeño, Cheese & Bacon, and Cookies & Cream. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any German Chocolate Cake popcorn in the inventory, but I am dying to try that concoction should it reappear in the future.
What was most notable was how friendly the service was. I mentioned that I was trying to shop for locally-​sourced items and was offered a copy of the November 2009 Phoenix magazine which featured a compendium of Mom & Pops and local businesses. Not only did this help me with my birthday-​shopping research, but also made me feel better about my quest. According to Phoenix magazine (who cites Local First Arizona), «When you shop at locally owned businesses, your money is recirculated and creates up to 75 percent more tax revenue to our community and state.»
Call it my way of battling the Great Repression and certain anti-​Arizona boycotts that are unfairly damaging this great state’s economic health. Aaah, sweet (and savory) economic justice! Crunch… crunch!

Walk into Poppa Maize and the first thing that hits you is the wonderful smells. The second thing is the array of popcorn flavors, everything from tradional buttered to coffee flavored. There are seasonal flavors (the candy cane popcorn was delish) and old standby’s. The owners are locals who work hard to please there customers and it shows. My personal favorite is the old standby caramel corn, with the coffee and peanut butter chocolate vying for second place. My husband loves the chipotle cheese. The butter pecan is also to die for. Basically, they are all wonderful. Give it a try, you will be hooked.

After my trip to Chicago last week and eating my weight in caramel/​cheese corn mix from Nuts on Clark, I was jonesing big time for some flavored popcorn today. I remembered reading Gabi’s recent review of this spot and cruised over today on a whim.
As luck would have it, it was two dollar Tuesday at this little indie shop with big flavors! All medium bags normally three bucks are two bucks today. Score. They even had cheese, caramel and purple (not sure what the flavor was) to celebrate our beloved Suns!
Large selection of a myriad of flavors some quite unique. I snatched up a bag of caramel and a bag of cheese to mix together. I also snared a bag of cheesy chipotle. Wow! A burst of cheese followed by the after burn of the smoky chipotle pepper. Simply delicious.
The owner was more than helpful and extremely pleasant to chat with. What a great find and not too far from my oppressive west side digs.

I’m a sucker for popcorn… I’ve never had a bite of popcorn that I didn’t like… really, I swear! I’ve had all kinds from healthy plain popcorn with nothing on it, to Orville Redenbocker, salted, buttered, caramel, cheese, herb, movie theater, and everything in between. I especially love kettle corn because you get both salty and sweet, the best of both worlds.
So, when I thought about what to bring to the pool party I attended today, I decided I would bring a sampler package of Poppa Maize popcorn… I actually didn’t realize how far Poppa Maize’s location was from me at the time, but I went nonetheless and guess what? It did not disappoint! It was worth the drive…
Everyone at the party loved the popcorn and there was so much of it… I am sure there will be leftover and the beauty of the sampler pack is that the flavors are individually wrapped, so they will last awhile if need be. I snagged a kettle corn flavor right off the bat — loved every bite.
I’ll have to venture to try some of the other flavors next time, but for now, I’ll just request one thing: Poppa Maize — please pop up another location closer to Old Town… if you do, I promise to pop in often! Mmmm… popcorn!

How did 19^th Ave and Greenway get to be the fun food destination in town? First Chino Bandido, now dozens of popcorn flavors at Poppa Maize. Yes, I now know it’s been there for years, but now that I’ve finally found it, it’s officially in the regular rotation. So now after I’ve gorged on Jade Red at Chino’s, I save the snickerdoodle for later and head into Poppa Maize for dessert. They have most flavors pre-​packaged in 3 sizes with the smallest just $ 1. ONE DOLLAR! The owners are the nicest people you’d ever want to deal with, and will give samples to help you find your favorite flavor. Like the chipotle cheese. Yum. It’s really a win/​win because I’m the hero bringing home the uneaten snickerdoodle AND birthday cake flavor popcorn for the kids. The only question is what’s next in that strip mall? Funnel cakes?

A hidden gem!
We never knew this place existed and stumbled into it after lunch at Chino Bandito (next door). They have all sorts of flavors of popcorn and are more than willing to let you sample them. Even some seasonal flavors. We were really excited about the Cake Batter flavor but we sampled it in the store and were a little disappointed in the lack of cake batter flavoring, too much spoiling by Cold Stone’s ice cream flavor I guess.
We took advantage of the bakers dozen deal on the small snack size bags so we could try lots of flavors, it was 13 bags for $ 11 (normally $ 1 each). They were even willing to make us a bag of a flavor if we didn’t see it in the small size.
They have many more flavors than what’s on their website, some of the ones we got were Churro, Bacon & Cheese, Cookies & Crème, Coconut, PB & Chocolate, Cherry Chocolate and Candy Bar.
The store had lots of cute tins/​gift ideas so next time you are trying to come up with a gift idea for someone, this might just be a great alternative option to the classic gift card.

LEMON MERINGUE POPCORN!!! Yes, indeed, and it’s DELISH!
And so are a lot of things at this small, soon-​to-​be-​two-​storefront business. The owners are terrific people who love their customers and will bend over backwards to serve you. Check them out online; you can order there if you can’t make it to Phoenix.
Daren C. has already listed many of the flavors in his review; some are always available, and some are seasonal. Here are my favorites:
1 — Lemon meringue… does that sound like an odd flavor for popcorn? Think again! If you like lemon pastries, you’ll love this.
2 — Pineapple jalapeño — perfect combo of sweet and salty
3 — Coconut — if you’re a coconut lover… yum!
4 — Backyard BBQ — like the potato chip, but much less greasy
I go for more of the sweet tastes, but they also have a number of salty/​cheesy/​garlicky types, too. In addition, they sell unusual varieties of unpopped kernels, if you’d rather pop it yourself. You can also pick up a tasty popcorn-​based chocolate/​caramel candy, and saltwater taffy, to boot.
Go get some. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!

Samples! Samples! Did someone say free samples? I love popcorn. I still buy a 3 pack of Cracker jacks from time to time. Fiddle Faddle brings me back to sneaking a box in mom’s bag when we went to the stock car races on Saturday nights. So maybe I have an unusual love affair with sugar coated popcorn. Eating a whole 3.00 bag was definitely cheating on someone, I’m not sure who. But our romance will not soon end. Not with flavors such as cordial chocolate cherry (with real dried cherries), cake batter, and jalapeño cheddar. The sweet and lovely owner denies that there are any nutritional facts to divulge about the popcorn, but I’m pretty sure that if I ever get caught eating a three dollar bag, I’ll be in sugar divorce court. It would be worth the hassle though. Fresh and sweet popped goodness, cheap.

Stop here if you need a snack or if you are planning an event. I stopped off for a snack and was happily surprised. I tried the butter pecan and garlic and herb popcorn, yum! They are very friendly and their popcorn is good. I already plan on using their popcorn for upcoming parties. Great little place.

Yummy popcorn flavors! Hard part is deciding which flavor.
Friendly service!
Their retail store is located next to Chino Bandito at 19^th Ave/Greenway…in case you miss them at an event or festival.

If you need some flavored popcorn this place is it. The churro takes like churros, the wings and ranch taste like wings and ranch. My fav is the chile y lime. And i’m not a fan of spice either.

You want popcorn… go here!
Whether you want simple kettle corn or cheesy popcorn or a butter pecan popcorn its all delicious and more fresh than you would like to believe.
They let you sample a couple flavors, it is cheapness, and the owner is super nice!
go here for POPCORN!

I dig this popped corn.
The actual store I didn’t go to, but someone brought a big bag full of smaller sample bags in to work after eating at the Cult of the Chinese Pandero. (
)
Whoever comes up with all the flavors must be like James Brown:
«I don’t know karate, but I do know Cah-​razy!»
See DarenC’s nice list below of all (?) the flavors they have.
I had Backyard BBQ and Cheesy Chipotle. Imagine an ideal of what those flavors must taste like and that’s what it taste like. Great flavor.
I don’t know the prices, so I can’t use my harsh, judgmental, sliding scale like I did for Sprinkles (
), but I know it has to be premium. The difference is that my sample of Poppa Maize actually lived up to high expectations.
I’m going to risk seeming like the greedy co-​worker and go back for another. Sure I’ve had my share, but most everyone has left and there’s plenty still there and I want to see if there’s one of the sweet flavors left for dessert! («I was told that I would receive a piece, and last time I did not recieve a peice…»)
I can always say the nighttime cleaning crew must’ve helped themselves.

Are you kidding???
This place rawks! They have a store front and will allow you to taste a few too. They do events like 5÷21÷09 they are going to be at Independence High School for a carnival. If you go to Chino take a few steps North and get some excellent popcorn.
Candy Bar Caramel
Backyard BBQ
Wings and Ranch
Fiesta Taco
Cheese and Bacon
Cheesy Chipotle
Caramel Apple
Smores
Toasted Coconut
Butter Pecan
Banana
Toasted Almond
Cookies and Cream
Jalapeño Cheddar
Red Hot Cinnamon
Caramel Chese Mix
Caramel
Cake Batter
White Cheddar
Pinapple Jalapeño
Firecracker Crunch
Strawberry
Chili n Lime
White Chocolate
Churro
Cheese
Chocolate Chocolate Chip
BUttered
Kettle Korn This is a Personal Favorite
Garlic and Herb
Yeah It can be overloading but It is easier to order then Chino. lol

Who doesn’t like popcorn? Especially popcorn with all sorts of unique and yummy flavors. I’m sure everyone has been on the receiving end of one of those weird tri-​flavored popcorn tins that always has the most boring flavors in them. At Poppa Maize you can actually customize that tri-​flavored tin into a gift that your foodie receiver is sure to appreciate. I’ve never actually been in their store, but I have sampled a great deal of their flavors. They offer these awesome little single serving sample deals so you can figure out your favorites. They have a TON of flavors, and the list would be too long for here, so check out their site for that. Among the flavors I have tried are: Apple Cinnamon (sweet and earthy tasting), Backyard Barbeque (a great alternative to chips), Cheesy Chipotle (spicy and tangy, a great combo), Toasted Almond (light flavor but tasty), Toasted Coconut (YUM), German Chocolate (just like the cake in popcorn form), Chili y Lime (tart and spicy), Strawberries n Cream (fresh and fruity, an old fashioned flavor), Pina Colada (very sweet and tropical), S’Mores (yummy), White Chocolate (extremely sweet), and Chocolate Chocolate Chip (chocolate overload). If you are looking for extra tasty popcorn to snack on or you want a nice little treat for someone, this is a great place to go. Their prices really can’t be beat when it comes to this kind of quality product. Yay popcorn!