Caruso's Candies & Ice Cream has all the dings and whistles of a 1940s soda shop - and their prices are almost comparable to what they might have been six decades ago.
Located in the Meridian Mall, Caruso's stands out like a white rose in the middle of a dozen pink carnations.
Surrounded by clothing stores, the soda-shop-meets-deli welcomes customers with cases of hand-dipped candies in the front of the store and, in the back, an authentic soda fountain with a marble cupboard and mirrored background giving customers much to marvel over while munching on their food.
"It's a different experience than most are used to," said Michael Caruso, part owner, manager and chief candy maker. "It's hard to find authentic soda shops these days. Most people just find ice cream parlors."
There's a difference between soda shops and ice cream parlors, Caruso said.
"Most places just do shakes," he said. "But we have malteds and combinations of ice cream."
And if you're in the dark about what a malted might be, don't fret, Caruso said most people are just as confused.
"It's funny how many people come in and don't know what a malted is," he said. "The difference between that and a shake is that a malted has malt mixing in it."
But Caruso's goes even beyond serving great tasting ice cream.
The shop specializes in homemade candies, ranging from normal sweets, such as chocolate-covered cashews, to out-of-this-world creations, such as chocolate-covered potato chips.
"Some people either love them or hate them," Caruso said of the sugar-coated, crispy snack. "You can't really taste the chip, but you can feel the crisp."
And Caruso's has a very intimate touch to their candy said Jennifer Miller, a Caruso's employee.
"One thing we do here is hand-dip everything," Miller said. "Not a lot of places do that. It's worth it because the candy is more personal."
The soda shop doesn't only offer candy and ice cream; the shop also specializes in lunch-type foods, such as sandwiches, salads and soups.
"You won't find anything deep-fried," Caruso said. "We have a good variety of food for a good price."
When I visited Caruso's, I tried their sliced turkey sandwich for $3.50 and topped it off with a child's scoop of butter pecan for $.80.
Not only was the quality of the food superb, it was also a wonderful substitute to the mall's food court for both my stomach and my wallet.
Almost everything on Caruso's menu costs less than $5, unless you're eating a pound of chocolate, which can range in price from $10 to $18 per pound, depending on the type.
"People come here to find things that they normally don't have," Miller said.
And some of these candies or specialty foods range from sundaes, which are only offered at Caruso's, to special creations Caruso made himself such as Teddy S'mores. Caruso's also sells authentic, tasty fountain sodas not offered anywhere near East Lansing.
"We have Vernors on tap," Caruso said. "We also have Green River, which is what I say 7-Up and Sprite wished they tasted like and isn't located anywhere else 70 miles within range."
Caruso's Candies and Ice Cream makes its candy daily. The store offers no-sugar-added drinks, floats and candies.
For more information visit www.carusoscandy.com.
