This Louisiana Candy Cart Is Still Pulled By Mule

From iconic New Orleans king cake to the more obscure but no less beloved Hubig's Pies, New Orleans's food scene offers no shortage of sweet surprises unique to the Paris of the South. Add to the list of things you can only eat in New Orleans: a stick of taffy bought from a candy cart pulled by a mule. The Roman Candy Company has been selling gourmet taffy from a mule-drawn wagon in the streets of New Orleans for over 100 years, with no plans to stop anytime soon.

The candy, while tasty, is nothing too exciting. The foot-long sticks of hand-pulled taffy come wrapped in wax paper and are offered in three flavors: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. It's classically sweet, chewy, and delicious. The real star of the show, however, is the eye-catching red and white wagon pulled by a real live mule. In 1915, when the Roman Candy Company first started rolling through the streets of New Orleans, a mule-drawn cart was simply the most efficient way to do business. Nowadays, of course, a more than 100-year-old candy cart pulled by a mule is far more noteworthy.

The Roman Candy Company has nothing to do with Rome. The original Roman Candy Man, Sam Cortese, was the son of Sicilian immigrants, and as the story goes, he chose the ambiguous name to appeal to a wider audience. According to company lore, Cortese's mother, Angelina Napoli Cortese, would often make the family recipe taffy to share at holidays and gatherings, and her son would sell the extra candy from his produce cart the following day. The sweet sticks were so popular that Cortese decided to forget fruits and vegetables and sell candy full-time.

In 1915, Cortese had a wagon specially built to make and sell taffy on the move. Over a century later, Cortese's family still owns the Roman Candy Company, and they still use that original wagon. Complete with bells, wooden wheels, and clomping hooves, the mule-drawn cart has become a beloved and unforgettable fixture of New Orleans's street food scene. The iconic wagon has even inspired paintings, Christmas ornaments, and t-shirt designs. The Roman Candy Cart continues to roam the streets of the Crescent City almost every day, selling sticks of taffy for a buck a pop and captivating tourists and locals alike with the priceless taste of tradition.