Tony Ballog and his Gypsy Orchestra

	Fudge How Sweet It Is (East Lansing, Michigan)
		Fudge is a popular American treat for family gatherings and holidays like Christmas. There are several flavors of fudge, and recipes are often closely guarded secrets. In the nineteenth century, for example, women’s colleges had their own distinctive recipes for fudge. Across the United States, fudge also became associated with resort towns; in Michigan, "fudgies" is the term used by locals to describe tourists in such lakeshore towns as Mackinac and Traverse City. Joe and Patty Cusenza’s first public forays into fudge making were at county fairs, to which they hauled their marble tables so they could demonstrate on site. In 1994, they opened the How Sweet It Is fudge shop in West Branch, Michigan. They opened a second store in East Lansing in 1997. Joe and Patty have retired, but their son Lenny Cusenza and his partner Lisa Dula still make fudge and gourmet chocolates by hand.