Review of the Candy Kitchen in Madeira Beach, Florida

The same vacation that found me in Florida in the heat of August left me with a familiar summer craving. In between poolside relaxation at St. Petersburg's Beachcomber Hotel or catching a drink at that same hotel's bar, Jimmy B's, I decided to cool down with a good ice cream cone. There was one problem, however. My father is a diabetic, wherever we went, they needed to have sugar-free ice cream.

Located on Gulf Boulevard in Madeira Beach just beyond St. John's Pass, I found the small ice cream and candy shop just past the Bilmar Resort. With around 4 sugar-free flavors being offered in the somewhat cramped store, I feared that we had gone out of our way for mediocre ice cream. These fears were fleeting, however, as my father enjoyed his Maple Nut Ice Cream and I was able to pick up some candies I had thought to be long gone, aside from my strawberry ice cream.

Perhaps more interestingly than the quality of the ice cream and the variety of the candy selection actually deals with the establishment's bathroom. Imagine my surprise when I stepped into the single person bathroom located on the exterior of the building only to discover that every inch of the Candy Kitchen's washroom was covered in various candy labels. From Goobers to Space Ice Cream (You remember it, it was almost like marshmallows), the labels plaster the floor, ceiling and walls and are amusing, if not slightly peculiar.

The Candy Kitchen boasts that they make their own ice cream and fudge. They certainly have a lot to brag about. The fudge holds its own when compared to the same product from Hershey, Pennsylvania and easily ranks in the top 10 fudges I have ever tasted. Coupled with "nostalgic goodies" such as Bazooka Gum, Abba-Zaba's and the Atomic Fireball, a visit to the Candy Kitchen proved to satiate my sweet tooth without needlessly teasing my diabetic father.

I'm not an expert on candy or ice cream. Maybe this little shop on Gulf Boulevard is really nothing special. However for the traveler who wishes to find a decent place to get some ice cream and perhaps take a flavorful journey down memory lane has no reason to pass up the Candy Kitchen if they are near Madeira Beach, Florida. And if you should visit this obscure candy shop on your travels, be sure to visit the festive bathroom. After you are floored by the quality ice cream and reasonable prices and mystified that someone would so strangely decorate their bathroom with labels, consider buying a souvenir shirt. My personal favorite shows a picture of the strange bathroom with the command to "Come for the bathroom and stay for the ice cream."