We Found The World’s Most Expensive Movie Snack — You’ll Never Guess Where

Here's a pop secret: the world’s most expensive popcorn is sold right here in Chi-town. To get it, you’ve got to go down a long, dark alley. Let’s back up: Chicagoan Matt Bercovitz fell hard for popcorn when, as a little guy, he got a taste of it at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Pursuing his crunchy passion, he founded Berco’s Popcorn in 2011 and began whipping up small-batch snacks using Midwestern corn.

This month, Bercovitz opened a retail window in a Lincoln Park alley. The popcorn comes in flavors such as Pretty & Skinny (air-popped, with just a dash of salt), Big Time Butter (no explanation needed) and— our favorite — the Billion Dollar Popcorn. No, the treat’s not really a billion dollars. But at $250 a tin, it’s still pretty pricey for, um, popcorn.

Here’s how we justify it: the snack is prepared with best-of-the-best ingredients including organic sugar, butter from a Vermont creamery, and Nielsen Massey bourbon vanilla. There’s more (like rare Danish salt), but we can’t wait to get to the good part: the treat comes topped with edible gold flake. Bet you didn’t know popcorn could put on the Ritz like that!

So if you ever host P-Diddy for a movie night, you know where to pick up the snacks. Oh, and if this tip is a bit more useful to you: most of the popcorn tins go for about $60, and they make delicious last-minute gifts.

Berco’s Popcorn, 2008 North Halsted Rear (at Armitage Avenue); 312-642-3726.