Dylan’s Candy Bar
1011 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10021, (646) 735-0078
Getting There: 4,5,6,N,Q,R to 59th Street/Lexington
http://www.dylanscandybar.com

New York City is filled with places that may be considered tourist traps. And most of these locations, most true blue city dwellers would not touch with a ten foot pole. Times Square to a tourist is viewed as the New York City destination, but to city residents, it is akin to Dante’s third stage of Hell. Yet even the most jaded New Yorker has a hankering for guilty pleasures. And one lies right in midtown that we just can’t seem to stay away from.

Dylan’s Candy Bar boasts the biggest collection of different types of candy in the city. Their selection of sugary treats is so vast, it takes up three floors of the building it inhabits. We’re talking a candy shop here making the feat even that much more impressive. This place is so popular in fact, that they have been featured on almost every cable travel show, a true sign of it’s “must visit” status.

Recently, the LocalBozo crew was out and about, perusing the city to see what’s new, so our loyal readers will always be the first to know about happenings around town. We hit midtown east in the late afternoon, and decided it was time for a break. It just so happens we were right outside of Dylan’s Candy Bar. Perhaps nostaligic for our youth, once inside the huge glass doors, we instantly felt like a kid again, just having seen Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It should also be noted that we were not annoyed by anyone during our visit. For a place filled with children on a busy weekend afternoon, there was no screaming or whining. It seems that the grand selection of candy has a almost hypnotic effect on these children. There is literally a piece of candy for everyone here- sugar free or Snickers bars, M&M’s or that rarely found or forgotten candy, that is either regional or has very low distribution.

That being said, I was thrilled to see my favorite candy of all when I traveled down to the basement level of the shop. Dylan’s Candy Bar actually carries Valomilks! I know many of you are saying, “what’s that?” If so, prepare to have your mind blown. Valomilks are made in the Midwest and can rarely be found on the east coast. Therefore whenever I see them I must stack up. Picture this: a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but instead of peanut butter, the chocolate cup is filled with creamy, oozing marshmallow goodness. Sounds amazing right? The creamy center mixed with the perfect size of the chocolate shell makes for a great taste. Trust me, head over there a buy one, and if you can afford it, get an entire palette!

I know candy stores are generally thought of as places for children only, but that is simply not the case at Dylan’s. Children of all ages will be able to walk through the store and see candy that existed when they were young. It is really a sweet way to walk down memory lane. As a child of the 1980s I was overjoyed to see the treats that used to fill up my Halloween sack each year. It’s funny how a sticky piece of taffy can remind you about the innocence of being a kid.

Besides the rare candies featured, Dylan’s maintains sections of the store completely devoted to a single product. For example, if you head to the lower level of the store, you will see an all out shrine to M&M. Huge tube structures of overfilled with this classic sweet. They have every color imaginable in a very large quantity. Bags are provided for you to fill up on them, almost like your preparing for a long trek of sometime. Along with the candy themselves, Dylan’s has a wide variety of M&M apparel. If you like clothes, hats, watches or anything that says M&M on it then you have come to the right place. There is also a section devoted solely to rock candy as well, with flavors of all types. The illuminated sculpture of rock candy alone made my mouth water!

Like I said, New York City is filled with places and activities that are for tourists only. They can come here, and enjoy them and take the stories back to their homeland. But if you look below the surface of a place that you may have once considered to be too good for real New Yorkers, then you will discover a place that brings you back to a time where you did not have a worry in the world. It also doesn’t hurt that candy is delicious. In fact, we’d likely need a few hours to touch on all of the great candy and apparel offered at Dylan’s as well as an outrageous ice cream bar. But you need to check it all out for yourself. So head on over to third avenue and check out Dylan’s Candy Bar, because you have your entire life to be an adult.

– Alan Smithee