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BELLA MIA
CHOCOLATE STORE

Bella Mia, my belle

1096 Hertel Ave.  Buffalo
447 - 0922
www.bellamiacandy.com

The best hot fudge sundae I've ever had in WNY came from Bella Mia Chocolate Store, located on Hertel a couple of blocks before Delaware.  A simple statement, but consider this: I've been eating hot fudge sundaes since I was a wee lad, everywhere from Antoinette's and Anderson's to DQ and beyond. But it was in my mid-twentiesliving on a side street off Hertel that a friend and I made the Bella Mia discovery. It 's small and easy to miss, with a Gobstopper-yellow sign and blue trim, but upon entering, something hits you quickly: this place is fun, and not in a forced way. A brief glance around the perimeter is like checking out a shrine to sugar's greatest hits; as the intro to their website puts it, "We feature Retro Candy, Sponge Candy, Canadian Candy, and many chocolate memories from your past." So yes, you can find Cadbury and Bosco (the Costanza special), Crystal Beach suckers and Chunky bars. But it was the ice cream-specifically the hot fudge and whipped cream-that won my heart. Add the aforementioned retro goodies, the Beatles paraphernalia, and the nice website and Facebook page, and Bella Mia is the creme de /a creme of dessert. Also, "Mojo the mascot" is a doppelganger  for my childhood terrier mix, Suzie. It's like they made this especially for me. Sweet!