Al’s Delicious Popcorn is the official gourmet popcorn of the Cincinnati Reds. The popper also provides popcorn for Hampton Inn and Suites, Land-Grant Brewing Company and American Nut Company.
And Al’s Delicious Popcorn has been a bona fide local Columbus, Ohio institution since 1985.
The operation boasts more than 65 flavors of popcorn, ranging from a straight-up Butter & Salt to something a little edgier like a Breakfast mix that blends its Bacon & Cheese popcorn with the house French Toast popcorn.
There’s even a popcorn flavored like Brie & Jam for your charcuterie tray. You can get lost in thought just looking at the flavor options.
Within this context, consider the Parmesan Garlic flavor. For all the world, it looks like regular buttered popcorn, with puffed-up kernels in a familiar yellow hue. It’s so much more. The crisp, airy pops begin with the salty, buttery base that makes popcorn addictive, but then that flavor melts away, yielding to a punchy parmesan accent and a good classic grab from garlic.
It’s impossible to stop eating from the bag of parmesan pops, but as far as excessive snacking goes, it’s a pretty healthy choice. Eat all seven servings in the bag (like we did), and you’ve still consumed less than 300 calories. For those on restricted diets, lots of the house flavors are gluten-free and vegan (including options such as Bananas Foster and Bubble-Gum). And if you can’t decide on a particular flavor from Al’s giant line-up, you can always book a one-hour tasting tour at its headquarters on Bethel Road.
Al’s Delicious Popcorn is sold in-store at its own location, as well as at other retail outlets such as Weiland’s and its stall at the Center Street Market in Hilliard. Al’s Headquarters at 1500 Bethel Rd. is closed Sundays, but it’s open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. To book a tasting tour, check out its website here: alspopcorn.com.