Food & Drink in New Brunswick

Ah, candy. It’s the universal childhood reward for being good, for completing a job well done, or sometimes just because. For people aged eight to eighty, nothing offers quite the same positive reinforcement as a piece of candy. The good news for any homesick expatriates or weary world travelers with a layover in New York City is this town’s abundance of candy shops, many of which serve international treats that can be hard to find outside of their country of origin. First a bit of classic American nostalgia, courtesy of Economy Candy on the Lower East Side. Established in 1937, it is one of New York City’s oldest candy stores, and after seven decades it has amassed quite a collection of candy brands, including rare local brands thought to be no longer made. The cramped aisles are packed with assorted sweets and confections from New York City and throughout the world. From Haribo gummy bears to cola bottles and rare brand gums and candies, there is something for every sweet tooth at Economy Candy. Mixed nuts, chocolates, dried fruit and loose candy assortments can be bought by the pound. Just expect to fight for space in the overwhelming storefront on weekends, thanks to a large influx of late morning Lower East Side brunchers. At Aji Ichiban on Mott Street in Chinatown, candy lovers maneuver around rows of tidy transparent bins full of Chinese, Japanese and other East Asian candies, plus dried fruits and random chocolates. Preserved plums (an acquired taste for some), kumquats and kiwis are just a few of the typical traditional Chinese candies that can be found here. For Western-style candy lovers, there is the ubiquitous gummy selection: soft, colorful and fruity bears, fried eggs (they taste like vanilla orange cream), alligators and others. But it’s not all about sweets here; a selection of savory Asian snacks from dried seaweed crackers to wasabi rice crisps give customers an opportunity to try some Asian-style alternatives to popcorn and potato chips. At Sockerbit on Christopher Street in The West Village, the clean storefront is stuffed with a wide variety of Scandinavian smågodis, or little candies. Selections like marshmallows, licorice and hard candies will look and taste nostalgic even to non-Scandinavians, thanks to lots of natural ingredients in the candies themselves. Here, candy lovers can mix and match, and come out with a colorful bag of cheery, interesting goodies.

By Brendan Fitzgibbons Dogs can pant to cool themselves down, but humans? All we’ve got is ice cream. Lucky for us, New York offers no shortage of chilly treats, from handcrafted scoops and smooth sorbets to fruity popsicles and milky, refreshing floats. Sit back, lower that body temperature, and enjoy these five spots for sweet treats. Ample Hills Creamery Prospect Heights | 623 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn One lick of Ample Hills’ ice cream, and you might wish you were on a hill of it. This Prospect Heights shop makes their sweet treats by hand using local and all-natural ingredients. Their menu of more than 20 ever-changing flavors includes options like The Munchies—stuffed with Ritz crackers, mini M&Ms, potato chips, and pretzels—or Salted Crack Caramel, which mingles saltine-based “crack cookies” with salted butter-caramel ice cream. The eclectic selection means that Ample Hills is that rare ice-cream shop where the adults are often just as excited as the kids. The ice-cream maestros recently opened a second location in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5, as well as mobile carts that rove around Pier 1 and the Carousel. Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain Carroll Gardens | 513 Henry St., Brooklyn The employees at Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain are jerks—but that’s only true in the sense that they wear the word on their T-shirts. The store has a vibe that’s as friendly and welcoming as any establishment in Brooklyn, with delectable treats and floats to boot. The jerks’ signature drink, the Brooklyn egg cream, tastes like a chocolate water fountain of fizzy hope. If you’re really tired or need to be revived from cardiac arrest, you can also try the Wake Up Call, a coffee soda with coffee and a hearty glob of ice cream. Get a sneak peak of Brooklyn Farmacy’s new cookbook, The Soda Fountain, on The Groupon Guide. Cones West Village | 272 Bleecker St., NYC The multicolored scoops on the sign of this tasty West Village shop could be mistaken for a double rainbow. But the façade is only a taste of the wide range of Argentine gelato flavors available inside. Spread out in a massive cold case, they all look like they’re on trial for their sugary goodness. Try the coffee mocha chip, ginger, or tiramisu, and don’t forget the silky sorbets in flavors like cantaloupe, mango, and even chocolate. This is gelato that’s so good, it can even stand in for a trip to the bar: the whiskey-flavored gelato is so strong that customers have to show their ID. People’s Pops Multiple locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn Remember the popsicles you used to make as a kid? People’s Pops are not those popsicles. The menu reads more like a list of a sorcerer’s potions than a list of frozen-treat flavors: blackberry and lemon verbena, organic lemon and mint, rhubarb and star anise. Each People’s Pop is packed with the freshest local fruits, so enjoying one is like licking a deliciously cool farmer’s market. The artisanal shop began as a one-day experiment, but has since blossomed into four permanent locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with pop-up stands at Smorgasburg and the Brooklyn Flea on the weekends. Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Multiple locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn Everything about Van Leeuwen ice cream is classy. Just saying the name “Van Leeuwen” feels like you’re floating on a superior ice-cream cloud. At three locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, employees scoop out flavors made with hormone- and antibiotic-free milk. Van Leeuwen also has a traveling truck that would make any normal ice-cream truck want to go back to ice-cream-truck school. Try the espresso and earl grey flavors, or ceylon cinnamon, which has a spicy, dusty kick. Van Leeuwen also keeps special flavors on rotation, including a sweet, sticky black rice flavor for the adventurous tongue. Shop Groupon for coffee and treats in New York City. People's Pops photo by Bethany Bandera. Brooklyn Farmacy photo reprinted with permission from The Soda Fountain by Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain, Inc. copyright (c) 2014. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House LLC. Photography (c) 2014 by Michael Harlan Turkell.

The saying “less is more” has perhaps never been truer than it is at Porchetta (110 E. 7th St.) and Porsena (21 E. 7th St.). At both East Village hot spots, Chef Sara Jenkins has built a cult following by keeping her menus tightly focused rather than trying to do it all. Crowds gather at Porchetta to savor one specific thing: slow-roasted pork (served in varying ways yet always the central focus of each dish). At Porsena, they come for perfectly cooked artisanal pasta. Jenkins’s straightforward approach reflects a distinctly Italian state of mind, which makes sense, considering her upbringing around Tuscany and Rome. Mario Batali summed it up succinctly when he called her “one of the few chefs in America who understands Italy and how Italians eat." “I think Italians in Italy eat with a certain fairness that Americans and Italian-Americans don’t have,” Jenkins said, asked about what prompted Batali’s praise. “An Italian is perfectly happy with a perfectly cooked artisanal spaghetti with great olive oil and chilies, while an American would want to add three or four [more] ingredients.” When Jenkins isn’t working in her own kitchens, she can often be found exploring other rich, delicious, and straightforward flavors around the city. Here are a few of her favorites. For Italian (outside of Porsena): “I eat at Cesare Casella’s place on the West Side, Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto (283 Amsterdam Ave.). He’s a Tuscan chef who’s been working in New York for many more years than I have. He’s very authentic.” For gelato: “Il laboratio del gelato (188 Ludlow St.). They have traditional and nontraditional flavors.” For espresso: “Abraço Espresso (86 E. 7th St.) on 7th Street. They are maniacal about making it right.” For wine or cocktails: “I like to drink wine at Bar Veloce (175 2nd Ave.) on 2nd Avenue. It’s an Italian wine bar that’s been there more than 10 years. It’s not over the top, not pretentious or precious. Just a great wine selection in a nice space.” Check Groupon for deals on Italian restaurants in New York City.