Alright, so this post will contain several sections, possibly including but not limited to: introduction, children’s books, candy store.

Introduction

You heard it here first (unless you read my personal blog. or are my facebook friend. or follow me personally on Twitter.): I am moving. Yes, I am abandoning NYC, my home, my lovely lovely home, and making my way southward, all the way down to Virginia, where I am going to become a Writer of Stories and Novels.

But before I become said Famous Writer of Stories and Novels (I just added famous), I am trying to get my few-month, pre-departure fill of NYC. This, by the way, is impossible, but in my travels I have seen many things (Brooklyn Bridge! Purple Rice! Shelves of candy! Pastel-colored malls! Grassy knolls in the middle of city streets!). So here I begin “Places & Spaces,” one of the many columns Stickers & Donuts can never hope to keep up with on any kind of regular basis.

Childhood Memories of (Not Real) Candy Stores
(which then leads to childhood memories of other foods)

food

So, my Place & Space is a fantastic candy store which I’ll get to, but walking into it reminded me of the days of old when they seemed to have candy stores — no not pharmacies where you could purchase candy, but actual stores devoted exclusively to the selling of candy to children for a nickle — on every corner.

And if you are thinking, “Maria, you weren’t alive for that era” then you may or may not be right, but I was alive for the era where everyone from that era started making movies and writing books where said candy stores existed. I have always dreamed of going into a candy store with candies piled high to the sky. YOU MUST WATCH THE FOLLOWING PIPI LONGSTOCKING CLIP to get a full understanding of what I mean by the quintessential 1950s Candy Store:

Now, if you also read the same books and watched the same movies as I did in your childhood, you may not remember the candy stores and the food (but, come on, you would remember that scene, right? those bright flowery bags? all that candy?! the kid stuffing the frosted thing in his mouth?!!!). That is because, apparently, ALL OF MY MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD ARE ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD.

Examples:

The first and most obvious book I remember from my childhood is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I have a particular memory of the pancake over the school because it combined the joy of both food and a school closing. Unfortunately, I could only locate a picture of the glistening jello in the forest:

jello-cloudy-chance-meatballs

I had a lot of Berenstain Bear books. The only one I can remember is the one where they ate Too Much Junk Food. Suffice to say the point really passed over my head and my main memory concerns the double page spread of a table filled with the most delicious junk food you can imagine.

berenstein-bears-junk-food

Then, of course, there is The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Yes, Turkish Delight sounds delightful, but as I prepared for this post, I desperately searched for an illustration of what I had apparently deemed a memorable tea party at the beginning of the book. These were the only specific details I remember from the entire book which I read ten years ago. And here is the passage my brain chose to remember:

lion-witch-wardrobe-text

Great. Then of course there is Alice in Wonderland teas and I know I would be remiss without mentioning Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and even as an adultish creature my greatest memory of the movie Chocolat is this rich, creamy cup of steaming hot chocolate that looked like it was just a cup of melted chocolate bars. Oh, and Matlida. I know you are supposed to be grossed out by that giant chocolate cake. Me, not so much.

In Conclusion: Economy Candy is a Fantastic Store in Manhattan

The above tangential section leads me to my ideal place of joy, and yes, all of the above was required to explain just how wonderous it is. It’s not fancy, but it is stackedddd to the ceiling with candy and fruits and nuts and chocolates and CHOCOLATE COVERED S’MORES.

It’s called Economy Candy and it’s on 108 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side. Usually opened 9-6 (Saturdays 10-5). Check out some of these fab images I snitched off Yelp:

And that is the short story long, my friends. Now go to bed or back to work, either way, be sure those sugarplums dance in your head.

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