Walking through the doors of Caruso's Candy Kitchen in Dowagiac, Michigan was about as close to stepping back in time as I have ever been. DH, DD and I left from a few days in Chicago earlier in the morning, and were on our way up the Lake Michigan coast to Mackinac Island. When I spotted a write up of this old fashioned soda fountain in a travel guide, I convinced DH that we should stop there for a mid-afternoon snack as it would be "right on the way".
Well, it was closer to a 60+ round trip OUT of the way, but it was worth every mile. Caruso's has been owned by the same family since Antonio and Emilia purchased the old Sorti's Chicago Candy Kitchen in 1922. In 1929, they "remodeled", keeping only the original Italian marble soda fountain, the mirrored and stained glass back bars and the miniature children's bent iron ice cream parlor tables and chairs. In the 1940's the Caruso's purchased an industrial beater to mix the creme fillings for the hand dipped chocolates. That was the last major piece of equipment purchased for the store. In the 1960s the business was turned over to the Caruso children, and his great grandaughters now operate the business.
We grabbed a stool (yes, they swiveled!) and quickly became overwhelmed with the decisions in front of us. The ice cream menu contained at least 30 different concoctions, each sounding better than the last. Nine year old DD decidedly quickly that she would like a raspberry float, followed by DH's choice of a classic banana split and finally, after much agonizing, I chose a vanilla sundae with chocolate sauce, crushed cherries, chopped nuts and whipped cream. As pretty as it looked, it tasted even better. The frozen treats were delicious, but the experience of sitting at that marble fountain, looking out at the little Mayberry-esque town and listening to the chatter of locals as they shared lunch in the booths Angelos built himself 80 years before was priceless.
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