For the Love of Mom - and - Pops

These classic New York institutions dish up fantastic meals alongside history and family legacy. Their loyalists, often spanning generations, keep returning for specialties just as invigorating as the owners' life stories

- SOPHIA MICHELEN

RAY'S CANDY STORE

113 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009; Contact: [phone]; Cost for two people: $6-15/34601,150 (cash only); www.rayscandystore.com

There's no mistaking who the famed "Ray" of Ray's Candy Store is from the minute you enter this small East Village shop. The interiors are as interesting as they are arresting. The walls are covered with old, local neon adverts, newspaper clippings of Ray Alvarez and his famous celebrity visitors, birthday party notes, and congratulatory cards of yore. The “menu” is a humble handwritten note scribbled on recycled cardboard, papers, and even paper plates. The institution, established in 1974, has remained unchanged for decades. Authenticity is part of its charm. Even the sound of the turn-of-the-century cash register brings about a nostalgic symphony from an era long ago. The image on the storefront captures the real-life Ray, and meeting him is more than half the fun of experiencing this 24-hour hub across from Tompkins Square Park. Fried Oreos and beignets are top sellers, in addition to his soft-serve ice cream and the famed New York egg cream-a drink made with milk and seltzer that is considered a dying culinary art. The ingredients may not sound appetising, but the flavoured-syrup blend is summer in your mouth.