Ballston delight

Much like the magic closet of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the top levels of the Ballston Mall yields access to a different world.

Beyond Claire's Bellyring Emporium, Monograms 'R' Us and Panda Express' amazing technicolor sweet 'n' sour sauce lurks...

The Kettler Capitals Iceplex

Where else can one see professional athletes so close up that you can feel the breeze from Nicklas Backstrom's flowing locks?

Where little girls in tutus stride the halls alongside the bad-ass brick wall that is Donald Brashear?

Or, outside, play Match-The-Vehicle-With-Its-Owner - Mike Green = Lamborghini...but who drives the Prius, or the Caddy with the red bow on the grill?

You'll join schoolkids pounding on the glass windows, chain-smoking Russians (not the players, the friends and family) and ladies wearing jackets of a suspiciously, ahem, cougaresque pelt.

Yes, Ballston Mall. It's not all Yankee Candle Co. and cell phone kiosks.