New In Chocolate Innovations

Chocolate Chicago

Recently I was sent to Chicago on a business trip and was in search of the best hot chocolates in the area.  I heard of a few places that were highly recommended.  One was a Mexican restaurant called Xoco that had an amazing sounding hot chocolate with a twist of Mexican spice.  There was also Mindy's Hot Chocolate which was both a restaurant and a dessert bar and sounded fairly intriguing.  There they offer you about 6 different types of hot chocolates as well as a wonderfully delicious sounding chocolate souffle!  My mouth watered at the menu!  Unfortunately work did not enable me to go very far and I had to settle for a cup of Starbucks powdered do-it-yourself mix (which wasn't all that great) that a very generous vendor managed to find for me since I was going on and on about the places I wished to try.  On the upside, I did stay at the Double tree hotel where I had the chance to over-indulge on their amazingly delicious chocolate chip cookies.  These cookies are fantastic!  They are filled with chocolate, pecans (possibly walnuts), and oats and are served to you warm at check-in, check-out and whenever you feel like randomly asking for one.  My only caution; BEWARE they are extremely addictive!

A Treat to Gobble

If you are in New York and looking for an awesome chocolate treat L.A. Burdick is the place to go!  Just like me, L.A. Burdick was born in 1984 (just another reason for me to love them, its a sign).  Now that the weather outside is getting cold, a hot cup of chocolate is the perfect touch for a perfect day!  If I lived in New York this would be my favorite spot to grab a drink and a nibble and relax with a book.  The store is adorable and they have such lovely decorations, interesting facts about chocolate decorate the walls and large displays of chocolate in fanciful jars and boxes adorn the full shelves.  Beautiful lighting and holiday charm adds the right touch of special to the atmosphere and the air is filled with the most luscious smell of chocolate I have ever experienced.  It is almost impossible to walk in without getting more than one treat!

My absolute favorite item from Burdick's New York Cafe is their amazing hot chocolate! I have tried all three and each one is beyond superb! Rich, thick, creamy and full of chocolatey goodness! For serious chocolate lovers I highly recommend the dark chocolate cup. It is certainly not overbearing but I also love dark chocolate so maybe I'm not the best at advising if you don't love dark chocolate. Another aspect of Burdick that I love is their seasonal treats! Just in time for Thanksgiving they have these adorable and delicious turkeys! My favorite is the milk chocolate ones filled with the pecan, bourbon and chestnut ganache. The tails are coated almonds and each are special because they are handmade! Amazing!

Here's what they say about their adorable turkeys, "Gobble them up! What a fun & delicious way to celebrate an American tradition. These delectable turkeys are some of our most popular holiday items. Each is hand-piped with flavored ganache and boasts a tail of almond feathers. Four turkeys come nestled in an elegant and festive box making great gifts that can be shipped anywhere. Buy individual table favors for each place setting and a box of four for the hostess to express your gratitude! Each box contains 2 dark chocolate turkeys with clementine ganache, and two milk chocolate with pecan, bourbon and chestnut ganache."

Creepy Chocolate

Throwing an adult Halloween party?  These are the perfect Halloween scares!  Chocolate Frog Jelly Shots!  I love Jelly shots so combine that with Chocolate and it is heavenly!  

Jelly Shot Test Kitchen: "Chocolate Frog" Jelly Shots, preparing to hop off the tray. . .

Perfectly Pumpkin

Tis the season for lots of scares and giving thanks.  Trick or Treaters are beginning to lurk and party planners are having a ball!  My favorite piece of Chocolate this season is Godiva's Pumkin Patch Truffles!  They are superbly smooth and oozing with wonderful pumkin flavor!  To add to that, they are beautifully packaged in adorable orange foil with a little velvet green leaf and brown curly to look just like a pumpkin would.  Perfectly adorable!

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