Whoever is in charge of inventory at Marty’s Liquors, in Allston, must be quite a character. It’s like a junk shop for foodies: a haphazard array of hot sauces and jellies, imported pastas and day-old focaccia, tea biscuits and jugs of pancake syrup — exotic flavors, unheard-of brands. Some of the coolest finds, though, are in the candy section. Swiss-chocolate bars, saltwater taffy, liqueur-filled truffles, jawbreakers and Jordan almonds, root-beer barrels and gummi sharks, gourmet jellybeans, butter-toffee peanuts, and pink M&M’s are just the beginning. Then there’s Biermann’s marzipan ($5.99); these almond candies are shaped to look just like mini-bakery goods — peasant loaves, sticky buns, pretzels. And don't miss the Mashuga-Nuts ($4.99) — mashuga means " crazy " in Yiddish — which are pecans dunked in cinnamon meringue, and definitely offbeat (not to mention super-sticky). Best of all are the gummi grapefruit slices ($3.99/pound) — sugar-dusted yet terrifically tart wedges of jelly joy. Perhaps the inventory guy can recommend a wine to go with them.

Available at Marty’s Liquors, 193 Harvard Avenue, in Allston. Call (617) 782-3250.