i want candy

Picture 6
Originally uploaded by margrocks.

i am currently in possession of 1) 5 pounds of gummy bears, 2) 5 pounds of caramels, and 3) one pound of pink and green jordan almonds =

1) breakfast

2) lunch

3) dinner

perfect.

kidding, kidding. i'll throw some spinach in there somewhere.

no, no, no. they're for a bridal shower i'm throwing tomorrow for my dear friend k. i have quite the life. straight out of an episode of sex and the city, i will be spending my friday nite baking Duncan Hines strawberry cupcakes with pale green buttercream frosting topped with bubble gum bows (cute, right?) and stuffing gummy bears into plastic bags for favors. and i wonder why i don't get dates. pastry-making class is not, apparently, the place to meet men. well, straight ones anyway. who needs 'em? i've got gummies!

hm. probably gay gummies...too comfortable wearing jewel-tones to be straight.

anyhooo...i endured a nauseatingly long subway ride to the lower east side this morning to buy the candy at this fabulous store on rivington between essex and ludlow - economy candy. please, if you live here, check it out. it's absolutely worth the minor diabetic coma you'll slip into (and this just from the smell upon entering.) this place is straight out of the movies. i had to fight the urge to run up to the counter, slap a penny on the counter and shout, "hey, mr brown, can i please have a peppermint stick and a strip of candy dots? mother said it's okay! thanks! gee, you're swell!"

it's an unassuming little storefront with a royal blue canopy, but the moment you walk in, the doorchime tinkles, tinned coney island ragtime heralds your arrival, and you suddenly find yourself standing in a kaleidoscope kingdom of candy. floor to ceiling, they have every candy you can possibly imagine. i am not kidding. all available in bulk or by the pound. they even have my beloved english candy bars - cadbury flake, double decker, dairy milk. giant cardboard boxes overflow with chocolate-covered dried fruits - - cherries, apricots, blueberries. jordan almonds line the walls in big plastic bins in a rainbow of colors. oh! and they have that fancy wancy chocolate by scharfenberger as well as their chocolate nibs (excellent for baking!). if you go, don't forget to look up. typical of new york - there's a whole other world up there! giant pez dispensers, bouquets of chocolate and lollipop roses, tons of retro candy (skybar, big hunk, pop rocks, necco wafers). i could go on, but i'm starting to feel slightly heady just from talking about all this confectionery. just go.

know why?

it's cheap. cheap. cheap. cheap.

do not, i repeat, do not go to dylan's candy bar on the UES. i don't care if it is the pet project of ralph lauren's daughter. you will pay $35 for a giant lollipop that you could buy at economy candy for $6. she learned, no doubt, the art of overpricing from her dear old daddy.

another benefit that comes from shopping at economy candy? no kiddies! now, don't get me wrong. they're cute. really. but when i'm jonesing for a pound of malted milk balls, i don't want to have to weave through throngs of little people with sticky fingers to get to my bin of chocolate-malt nirvana.

so go. even if it's just to take it all in. the colors. the smells. the memories that come gratis with one of those giant pixie sticks.

if you go in the mid-afternoon, you can move among the beautiful people that now populate the LES. all of these beautiful people own very beautiful little boutiques, but apparently the beautiful people were getting their beauty sleep - most of the boutiques didn't open until noon. drats. that slinky little mint green vintage pucci in the window would not be mine!

no. but the Andes chocolate mints are.