It sounds so cliché, but Dylan’s Candy Bar on 60th Street took me right back to my childhood. The shop – which is owned by Ralph Lauren’s daughter, Dylan – may be very modern and a little flashy, but it reminded me of when I was little for three main reasons:

1 :: Because my brother is called Dylan and whenever I see him (not too often these days because he’s there and I’m here), we try our best to act like children.

me and dyl

(He’s actually about two feet taller than me)

2 :: Because I spied these disgustingly sour sweets, and they reminded me of when said brother and I would unwrap them, re-wrap them in other packaging and give them to my mum, before feeling all schadenfreude when she took her first bite. (We were actually pretty old when we did this.)

Dylan's Candy Bar

3 :: Because of pic’n’mix! Rows and rows of strawberry laces, sour cherries, lemon jelly beans and fudge, all waiting to be scooped.

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But that’s just the start of it. As soon as I walked in, I was hit with a massive waft of sugar – and realized this place is huge.

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It stretches over three floors, with the top floor decked out with a dessert bar and an ice cream counter, while downstairs, there are more sweets than you can shake your sherbet stick at – from old-fashioned to very gross-sounding (oh, America).

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My favorites – and I say this without tasting them – were the items special to Dylan’s Candy Bar. The emblem is so cute; they’d make great gifts.

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I’d been meaning to go to Dylan’s Candy Bar for ages (it’s on my 30 Before 30 list), and it was definitely as fun as I’d hoped. I could’ve spent hours (and hundreds of dollars) there, but I managed to pull myself away with a bag of licorice laces and a few bars of chocolate to send to Dyl (thankfully he doesn’t read this blog).

If you’re in the area, I’d definitely recommend a trip!

Dylan's Candy Bar

Dylan’s Candy Bar is on the corner of 60th Street and 3rd Avenue, right opposite the 59th Street subway stations (the 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R). It’s open from 10am to 9pm Monday to Thursday, 10am to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am to 9pm on Sundays. You can just shop or visit the upstairs level for sit-down snacks.