I've always had a real soft spot for foods and food institutions that seem impervious to an artisan touch — seedy bars, old-school diners, the Italian beef joint where they'll tell you to "f**k off and come back when you're ready" if you dawdle at the counter. This ethos extends into individual dishes, as well, and a lot of holiday classics fit the bill, such as fruitcake and green bean casserole, and of course, candy corn.
Candy corn wasn't a huge part of my childhood Halloween experience. I'm sure I received a few of those little orange-yellow-and-white shards of corn syrup in my trick-or-treating bucket while growing up (OG McDonald's Halloween pail for the win!), but I don't remember loving or hating them, which seems to be our culture's current default setting when it comes to candy corn.
