Crown Candy Kitchen

A St. Louis institution lies two blocks down from the bath house seen in Sunday's post. Crown Candy Kitchen is 103 years old, makes ice cream and candy in house and serves fabulous lunches that have been condemned by the American Heart Association. Visitors to our town would never stumble across it. The location is not far north of downtown but it's not on a through street and some of the surrounding neighborhoods aren't so great. 

Still packs in the locals, though, with absolutely no marketing. These photos were taken around 4 PM. The people in the right of the top picture are waiting on line to get in.

And you know, I've never set foot inside the place. Sometimes there is a conflict between recording the image and living the experience.              

Crown Candy Kitchen

In an old neighborhood not far from downtown is Crown Candy Kitchen, run by the same family since 1913. It's a bit isolated now but people come here from all over. They serve basic lunch items, sandwiches, burgers and the like, but they are renown for their sweet stuff. Crown makes its own ice cream and still practices the art of confectionery. Chocolate is made on site. The jewels in the Crown are its big hand-made milkshakes. By tradition, if you can consume five of them in 30 minutes, it's on the house and they engrave your name on a plaque on the wall. Visit St. Louis and accept the challenge.

TOMORROW: Funky Broadway