Sugar, spice and everything nice at local sweet spots

Dylan's Candy Bar

1011 Third Ave.

Forced to wander the Houston Galleria for six to seven hours each day one summer, I was desperate to find some sort of sanctuary (and source of energy). Eventually, I discovered Dylan's Candy Bar — the enameled real-life manifestation of Willy Wonka's factory created by the daughter of Ralph Lauren. Visiting the three-story New York flagship is like a field trip. Start with a scoop or two of ice cream upstairs, and you'll be fueled for a good hour or so of running around like a 5-year-old. Dylan's has every modern candy imaginable.

The Sweet Life

63 Hester St.

Hidden on a low-key street in the Lower East Side, The Sweet Life is the candy shop of Rockwellian childhood dreams. The intimate and sweet store is filled with old-fashioned as well as imported hard candies and gummies, along with dried fruits and teas. Their motto is: "Anything can be dipped in chocolate." And they stay true to form. Of their many handmade creations, the most popular is the "softy pop" — chocolate-covered marshmallows on a stick. For just 85 cents a pop, life sure is sweet.

Economy Candy

08 Rivington St.

While The Sweet Life has a homey quality to it, Economy Candy resembles a warehouse documenting every saccharine delight from 1937 (its founding date) until now. From floor to ceiling, every nook and cranny is overflowing with giant sacks of candy, chocolate, nuts and dried fruit. Stocked alongside the edibles are novelty items such as tin piggy banks and giant Pez dispensers. Some of the best buys are the bundles of gummies and hard candies along the wall for $2 or less — definitely the place to pick up cheap movie candy.

Kam Man

200 Canal St.

For my palate, Asian candy is better than almost anything in comparison. Fruit flavors such as Muscat grape and mango are more intense (and commonplace), while caramels are creamier. Japanese markets such as M2M and Sunrise suffice when it comes to — well, Japanese candy — but Kam Man has a nice variety of most Asian brands. Ribon Milk Soft Candy, Nobel Super Lemon Sours and Flowers Haw Flakes are time-tested favorites.

Papabubble

380A Broome St.

This is candy for the highbrow connoisseur. Originally from Barcelona, its outpost on Broome Street is the only one in the Americas. And with flavors ranging from passion fruit to mango-red-chili-pepper, some of their vividly colored rounds of hard candy require an acquired taste. But the store is a must for any candy lover. The candy is made in-house each day, and you can watch the virulent slabs of sugar being pulled and molded as you sample a variety of sweets. Just be sure to check out the bottommost shelf when you're there — that's where they keep their "misshapen" candy that's sold for less than the usual cost of $5 per 2-ounce bag.