Candyland

Metromix: Bring your appetite (and a shovel) on this tour
of the best candy stores in the city
October 15, 2007

Let's face it: The New York daily grind does NOT leave you feeling like a kid in a candy store. To achieve that feeling, you'll need something that's sweet, gooey, maybe sour and most likely bad for your teeth.Fortunately, some of the best candy stores in the world reside right here. The hundreds of bodegas may offer instant gratification with a Snickers bar, but the real addicts find their fix at the numerous "pick-your-own, in-the-bag, by-the-pound" bulk candy buffets. The idea of digging into a pile of jawbreakers with a plastic shovel may seem juvenile, but this Halloween you too can trick or treat (for just $9.99 a pound) at these dentists' paydays...

Dylan's Candy Bar
With a colorful psychedelic Willy Wonka-esque interior, Dylan's Candy Bar is the ultimate New York City candy playground. Sure, you'll find spoiled brats running up and down the Swedish Fish–filled stairs, but cubicle dwellers and tourists often swarm the 250 or so bins and dispensers. Dylan's is so famous, there's a celebrity wall of bins signed by actors, politicians, athletes and musicians. Susan Sarandon, Bill Clinton and Steven Spielberg all have filled their bags with their favorite candy here.

Economy Candy Market
The antithesis of Dylan's glam is the rustic lollipop landmark Economy Candy Market, located on the LES. A throwback to when the tenements were occupied, Economy is one of the longest-standing family-owned businesses in the city. But history is not the only lure here. The ginormous candy collection, stacked up as high the supremely tall ceilings, has attracted sweet tooths since 1937. Old-school favorites like hard candies, licorice and gum balls pack the bins at this often-crowded but electric scene. And unlike many of its Uptown and West Village counterparts, the folks at Economy offer solid discounts on their stash.

World of Nuts & Ice Cream
If, for some reason, you need to find a good hodgepodge of gummies after an Allman Bros. gig at the Beacon Theatre, make sure to visit World of Nuts & Ice Cream, located two blocks away from the famed concert hall. Yes, they have nuts and ice cream (actually, more like flavored air better known as Tasti-D-Lite) but the nearly 260 candy bins and 50 Jelly Belly dispensers make this tiny, but jam-packed, spot a required stopover after the show.
Aji Ichiban

"Lost in Translation" types searching for sweets from the Far East can be found at this little-known shop, where Soho meets Chinatown. Fill a sack with hot wasabi pees, YoYos, Bun Buns or dried fruits. Just be sure to read the fine print in English.

Sweet Factory
Yes, it's a national chain. And yes, it's halfway to Jersey. But Sweet Factory, located on the second floor of Port Authority, can ease a commuter's bus ride home to West Orange. Nothing unusual for a bulk candy story, although, thanks to its bright, glowing neon lights (within the very dim bus terminal), it could be the only candy store that could very well give someone a seizure.

Earth Matters
Here's an an alternative: This heady café, which mainly serves organic food, vitamins and coffee, also has a sizable snack section designed for the shovel-and bag-mentality. Yes, traditional cavity catalysts aren't sold here, but in this organic day and age, maybe substituting your craving for sour peaches with dried peaches isn't such a bad thing this Halloween. Um, yeah.

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