(Photo: Kenneth Chen)

Even though New York’s mean streets aren’t prime trick-or-treating territory (unless you mean something else by “trick”), we’re still better equipped for the holiday than anyplace else in America. Rivington Street’s Economy Candy is pure over-the-top New York, a font of variety and abundance that would leave Willy Wonka weeping in his cocoa. The floor-to-very-high-ceiling shelves at this 65-year-old Lower East Side shop—check out the antique gum machines hanging from the walls—are overflowing with proletarian sweets like Gummi Bears (and worms and fish and other chewy creatures), perfect for Halloween handouts. Then there’s the high-end stuff you’d never waste on the kids, like Scharffen Berger chocolate and tough-to-find European brands like Odense. Augustus Gloop never had it so good.
108 Rivington Street (212-254-1531;economycandy.com).

Related:

• Archive: “Best of New York Weekly”
• Articles by Christopher Bonanos
• Table of Contents: October 27, 2003 issue of New York | Subscribe!