The Chocolate Show!

It's never too early to start thinking about the annual Chocolate Show! It takes place from November 10-13 this year at the Metropolitan Pavilion. (It spent one year at the Javits Center, which did not suit it quite as well.) This year, the show is especially focused on United States chocolate, and will showcase 65 chocolatiers.

Little Brown: Have Some Chocolate With That!

There are two things that invariably improve my mood: coffee and chocolate. So it was with glee that I walked through the doors of Little Brown Chocolate Bakery & Coffee. I'd been waiting for it to open all winter. The cafe bills itself as a "chocolate & coffee love affair," and thankfully, you can have a menage a trois with both of them. Another slogan that might apply to this place is: "Have some chocolate with that." Little Brown offers a menu of breakfast and lunch items with chocolate mixed into just about everything. Steel cut oats? Have some Belgian chocolate drizzled on it. What about a low-fat yogurt parfait with fruit? There's Belgian chocolate cream on top. Even pancake bites (oh Lord, these pancake bites are addictive... I ordered a box for my picky 16-month-old and ended up eating half of them) can be served with bananas, maple syrup... and chocolate. About the only things that don't have chocolate are the buffalo mozzarella and tomato sandwich (yum) and the turkey bacon and frittata on a croissant. There's also a large selection of chocolate bakery items that includes a gluten-free chocolate cake. As for the coffee, the mochaccino is rich and thick without tasting like someone emptied out an entire container of Hershey's chocolate syrup into it (I'm looking at you, Starbucks; your location across the street from Little Brown is going to get a run for its money).

Little Brown Chocolate Bakery & Coffee: 1269 Lexington Ave.

Sweets News

Here is a bit of Sweets News that will be dear to every chocolate lover. Francois Payard's FC Chocolate Bar will soon be opening up at the Plaza Hotel (1 West 58th Street at Fifth Avenue). The location on the fourth floor of the Mauboussin jewelry store will be closing after tomorrow.

And for everyone who misses the Lexington Avenue bakery-restaurant, a new patisserie at 1330 Third Avenue (76th Street) will open up this spring. This is a sweet vindication, as an insane raise in rent was supposedly the reason for the closing of the 12-year-old original.

And in even more exciting news, on January 27 from 6-11 pm, you can taste Payard's brand-new line of chocolates which have been inspired by the flavors of Bordeaux wines. Each delicious chocolate will be paired with a different wine. To save on the price of admission to the event, go to www.lasoireedesgrandscrus.com and enter FRANCOISPAYARD for early access tickets (admission starts at 6 p.m.) or FRANCOISPAYARD MERCI for general admission tickets (7:30 p.m.)

Chocolate Overload

I must have consumed a pound of chocolate bars at last week's Chocolate Show. But there are so many ways to enjoy chocolate other than in candy form, and here are a few of my new (and newish) favorites in the city.

• 72% Bittersweet Chocolate Macarons. One-year-old Bisous Ciao offers a wonderful, multi-colored array of macarons in flavors like salted caramel (the most popular), jasmine/green tea, and espresso, but it's the dark chocolate macaron that I can't stop thinking about. (Bisous Ciao: 101 Stanton St., 212-260-3463.)

• Chocolate-Raspberry Cupcakes. Burrata, which has been serving pizza margherita to Upper West Siders for just one week, also has a selection of dainty cupcakes in traditional flavors like chocolate-iced vanilla and chocolate-raspberry. There are no elaborate Cupcake Cafe-style floral decorations here -just the cupcake and nothing but the cupcake. (That's how I like it.) (Burrata: 341 Amsterdam Ave., 212-362-0264.)

• Single-Origin Hot Chocolate. You can take a world tour from Madagascar to Ecuador with the six varieties of hot chocolate at L.A. Burdick. Of course, the mini-chain is mostly known for its pretty little truffles, some of which feature a savory touch of cumin or pepper. (L.A. Burdick: 5 East 20th St., 212-796-0143.)
  

The 13th Annual Chocolate Show

The buzzword at the 13th Annual Chocolate Show seems to be "raw," and I'm not sure how I feel about that - to me, raw chocolates tend to taste rather like paint. (And if I want to eat something healthy, I'll visit a juice bar.) Still, there's a lot to enjoy at this year's somewhat scaled-back show. (Remember when the event was so huge that it took over the adjacent building?)

But first, if you happen to be a fan of the raw chocolate movement, you'll want to visit: Gnosis ("The World's Most Nutritious Chocolate"), which is offering samples of pomegranate-acai and fleur de sel raw, vegan, dairyless chocolate; Nibmor, which serves a maple and palm sugar dairyless cocoa mix in four flavors, the Ecuadorian raw organic 84% chocolate of Antidote, and the fair-trade selection of Divine Organics.

For me, I'll stick to the apricot ganache samples offered by Valrhona, the chocolate-covered peanut butter and jelly macarons ($3) of Francois Payard, three varieties of chocolate fondue at Les Fondues Au Chocolat (they provide complimentary grapes for dipping, whereas Lily O'Brien's pay-per-dip chocolate fountain gives you marshmallows, graham crackers and pretzels but no fruit), and the 80% cacao bonbon samples offered by Jacques Torres.

Those with a salt tooth will want to try Neuchatel's chocolate-covered potato chips, chocolate-covered bacon strips from Co Co. Sala, and chocolate popcorn by 2 Chicks with Chocolate at The Wine Collection. Peanut butter lovers have both the longtime vendor Peanut Butter & Company and Jer's Gourmet Chocolates.

And what's chocolate without its complementary flavor, vanilla? There's a Bourbon Vanilla from Madagascar stand which is selling vanilla beans and powders.

If you need someone to explain all the attributes of single-origin chocolates, it's best to go see author Alexandra Leaf over at Pralus Chocolatier. She will point out the notes of coffee and fudge in a Brazilian sample and you'll taste chocolate in an enlightened new way. Bonnat Chocolatier also features a good selection of South American single-origin bars.

Many of this year's exhibitors are based in France (Comptoir de Cacao has some wonderful praline samples) , but there's a small Italian corner featuring Guido Gobino and T'a Sentimento Cioccolato, which was headed up by a relative of Italy's most famous panettone manufacturer. At Gobino you can sample the giandujotti, which are $28 at Eataly for a lamentably small package.

Kids can get in on the action with Tina Cocolina books and a Kids Zone where they can use stencils to make sweet-tasting drawings,design chef's hats and dip spoons in chocolate. The three most ornate chocolatiers are Tampa-based William Dean, with tropical-colored confections, customizable chocolate decorations from Poesies Chocolatees (check out the snowflakes and Christmas ornaments. and vintage-influenced Rogue, which uses a special heat infusion process to imprint multi-colored designs onto their chocolates.

Cafe Bustelo is serving free cappuccino, espresso and mocha on the south side of the room. No need to pay for your coffee at the cafe on the opposite side - you're already out $28 just for the tickets to the show! Still, it's hard to leave without purchasing something - I left with a jar of chocolate milk jam from Normandy, a tube of creme de noisette from Pralus (it makes Nutella irrelevant), and two saucer-sized macarons from Payard. It was nice to be presented with a free cup of Callebaut's callets upon exiting - they went pretty quickly.

The Chocolate Show: The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th St.

The Best Chocolate Cake in the World

Of course I had to try this place as soon as I heard about it. It opened up next to Ceci-Cela, another favorite bakery, a couple weeks ago. Apparently it's a Portugal-based chain that expanded to various Brazilian cities. (When I think of Brazil, I usually picture bathing beauties or soccer players, not people who indulge in semi-sweet and bittersweet flourless cakes coated with rich, dark ganache.)

The two versions of the cake (the recipe is the same, except for the Valrhona cocoa content) are served with glasses of milk, or whipped cream, or your choice of Il Laboratorio del Gelato (fresh mint or raspberry are nice). There's a thick layer of chocolate mousse, while a soft meringue base adds a spongy mouthfeel.

So, is this cake the best chocolate cake in the world? I'm not sure; I'm rather partial to the so-chocolatey-it's-almost-black Brooklyn Blackout at Two Little Red Hens, or the Nocturne at Michel Cluizel (I guess that's cheating, as it has raspberry jam in it, and what's even better than chocolate? Chocolate with raspberry jam). But it's definitely a contender if you are open to a nontraditional cake with meringue instead of actual "cake"; both versions are creamy, intensely chocolatey, and not overly sweet.

The Best Chocolate Cake in the World: 55A Spring St. (212) 343-2253.

Francois Chocolate Bar

I miss the old, wood-panelled Payard on Lexington Avenue; the new one, way up on the fourth floor of a Parisian jewelry store, is much smaller and quieter, with a fraction of the old menu. However, another location will open on Houston Street in a couple months, and I'm sure it will be packed with both goodies and people (like me).

One treat I never glimpsed at the old Payard is the verrine, which I highly recommend. This refreshing summer parfait comes in several variations - the strawberry tiramisu contains vanilla pound cake, strawberries that have been roasted for four hours, mascarpone and candied fennel, while a Japanese-influenced verrine features a layer of tart yuzu cream. This being Payard, of course there's also an all-chocolate verrine.

Other menu items feature signature pastries, hot and cold chocolate drinks, macarons, pound cake and cookies, and a selection of chocolate bouchons. You can still order those wonderful chewy flourless chocolate walnut cookies; now there's a flourless milk chocolate cake with candied orange and hazelnuts.

Even though it was so warm out, I ordered a hot dark chocolate with orange blossom and raspberry. The fruit rescued it from being too rich, and I easily drained the whole cup.

Francois Chocolate Bar @ Mauboussin: 714 Madison Ave., (212) 759-1600.

Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar

Looking around us, my friend and I wondered why the clientele at Ayza was almost exclusively female. And why was everyone ordering chocolate-raspberry martinis? Finally the waitress provided an explanation; apparently, Tuesdays are "Girls' Nights Out," and if you make a reservation on OpenTable, you can celebrate your two X chromosomes with a chocolate-covered strawberry and a chocolate-raspberry martini. Who needs to see the second Sex & the City movie when one can live it in realtime? (Who, indeed. But that's a post for a movie blog!)

The menu at Ayza, which features much more than wine and Jacques Torres truffles, is tapas-focused - perfect for taking a bite in between people-watching. Small appetizers - like crispy baby shrimp wontons in a sweet chili sauce over a seaweed salad, a nicely presented Caprese salad with melt-in-your-mouth buffalo mozzarella, and a velvety asparagus soup spiced up with black peppercorns - share space with a selection of tartines, panini and a few main courses like radiatore pasta and chicken paillard. Not to mention a fine little cheese list, and of course, desserts like warm molten chocolate cake. All prices are quite reasonable except for the martinis, which are $15-$16 (other cocktails are $10-$16); another reason to go on a Tuesday to enjoy them for free.

I should mention that upon being seated, we were given complimentary cups of tropical sangria. Now, if only I'd mentioned "Girls' Night Out" on my OpenTable reservation...

Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar: 11 West 31st St., (212) 714-2992.

Chocolate Michel Cluizel

In my opinion, Chocolat Michel Cluizel makes the best milk chocolate bar on earth, so you can imagine how devastated I was when the company's little outpost in the ABC Carpet & Home store closed. But ABC didn't seem like the right venue; the newish shop on Fifth Avenue is a more intimate, charming showcase for the truffles, bars, and other goodies. The other day, I stocked up on salted butter caramels, pralines, dark chocolate hazelnut bark, a fabulous slice of chocolate-raspberry layer cake, and of course, those amazing Mangaro milk chocolate bars. You won't find a milk chocolate bar with a higher cocoa content; at 50%, the bar straddles the divide between the milk and the dark. It has a much deeper, more intense flavor than any other milk chocolate bar I've ever eaten, and it doesn't suffer from the excess of sugar which unfortunately mars many bars. (Mars Bars?)

Chocolat Michel Cluizel: 584 5th Ave, (646) 415-9126.

Baby Vates at La Maison du Chocolat

La Maison du Chocolat doesn't hold any events for infants, but the boutique does throw sophisticated chocolate parties for children aged 6-12. Kids get to make, decorate and eat a fine chocolate dessert.

Baby Vates and I will have to wait about six years to take advantage of this, but we did stop into the 30 Rockefeller Center location today for a semi-sweet hot chocolate and a light "Pleyel" chocolate cake made with almond flour, which came with a little dish of whipped cream adorned with dark chocolate pearls. (The only other available cake was the Delice, a square of layered chocolate mousse.) (We found it easier to enter through the East 49th Street entrance rather than from inside Rockefeller Center, where there is a small flight of stairs leading down into the cafe.)

(La Maison Du Chocolat: Various locations.)

Free Hot Chocolate!

Because of my new arrival, I don't have much time to post these days - but I just had to pass along this information: on Valentine's Day, the Chocolate Bar (19 Eighth Ave.) is holding a Hot Chocolate Happy Hour. Buy one hot chocolate, get one free!

Café Charbonnel NY

NYC may be souring on sweets, but I'm certainly not. My latest indulgence is the hot chocolate at Café Charbonnel NY, the chocolate café on the eighth floor of Saks Fifth Avenue. Made with dark and milk chocolate shavings, milk and a bit of heavy cream, it is full of cocoa flavor without being too rich. (Lately, there seems to be a trend of super-dark hot chocolate, but sometimes it is overpowering and not as drinkable.)

Café Charbonnel also features a conveyor belt; instead of sushi, it circulates chocolate-chip cookies, pastries, and trios of chocolate candy. (I recommend the chocolate truffle brownie.) If you decide to come away with a box of candy, there are all kinds of truffles; right now, the Milk Marc de Champagne truffles are 30% off.

(On another truffle-related note, the International Culinary Center is offering a Chocolate Treats and Truffles class on Saturday, Sept. 12.)

Café Charbonnel NY: Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor, 866-478-7586.

Never Be Without Chocolate

"You carry chocolate bars around with you the way other people carry cigarettes," a friend once said to me. Are you the same way? Do you shudder at the thought of being without chocolate? Then you might appreciate this awesome Website, Chocolocate.com. It has links to over 1200 chocolate-focused Websites around the world, from Australia to Ghana to Wales. No matter where you travel, you'll never be without that essential item - chocolate.

Chocolates for All Personality Types

It's never too early to start thinking about Valentine's Day - and all of its attendant chocolates! My little list of chocolates by personality will ensure that your chocolate gift is as unique as the person you're buying it for:

• The Earthy-Crunchy: Your environmentally aware friend will appreciate a recycled box of Fine & Raw's dark chocolate bonbons made with raw blue agave nectar, virgin coconut oil and a touch of Himalayan sea salt. (To me, they taste like adult Mounds bars, but without all the cloying sweetness.) You can find these at gourmet or natural food stores around the city - I happened to get mine at Sustainable (109 Ave. A, 212-254-5400).
  

• The Artsy-Fartsy: The aesthete will marvel at a box of beautifully decorated truffles from Eric Gererd's L'Atelier Du Chocolat (59 West 22nd St., 212-243-0033). I first tasted Mr. Gererd's chocolates at Brooklyn's Bierkraft in 2003. Although none of the beer flavors have made it to the new menu, there's a wasabi truffle with a bamboo leaf pattern, a red-and-brown zig-zagged red forest fruit in dark chocolate ganache, and a heart-covered rosewater truffle. For Valentine's Day, there will be special hollow chocolate hearts! It's enough to make you feel like you're in love, even if you aren't.

• The Comfort Foodie: What could be more comforting, or more chocolatey, than the double chocolate and triple chocolate cupcakes at Dessert Club Chikalicious (204 East 10th St., 212-475-0929)? Call the night before Valentine's Day and they will make up a pretty box for you.

• The Do-It-Yourselfer: Give someone a chocolate truffle; you have fed her for today. Teach someone to make her own chocolate truffles, and you have fed her for a lifetime. A gift certificate towards the French Culinary Institute's upcoming "Chocolate Truffles, Bonbons & More" course will go a long way towards making your special someone into an expert chocolatier. You might indirectly benefit! (More info at 888-324-CHEF.)
  

Pure Dark

Does the cold weather have you craving a pick-me-up? You'll find one at the new Pure Dark chocolate shop on Bleecker. Open since the beginning of October, the rustic store sells only the highest-quality, highest-cocoa-content (50% and up) dark chocolate. You can buy it in a slab, a nib or a hunk of bark. But the most unique way to consume it is at the mixing bar! Four different blends of chocolate nibs, fruits and nuts are sold, but you can also hand-pick your own "custom mix" of, say, chocolate, walnuts, and cranberries. This delicious yet nutritious trail mix will give you plenty of energy for your holiday shopping. And if you plan to do your holiday shopping at Pure Dark, here's a cool gift idea: layer a clear, multi-tiered vase with different chocolate mixes.

(Note to bloggers: Apparently, the taking of photos is strictly prohibited inside this store, as I found out when I tried to snap one with my cell phone. This is a shame - if more restaurants and shops institute this rule, it's going to make our job a lot harder!)

Pure Dark: 350 Bleecker St., (212) 367-0920.

The 11th Annual Chocolate Show

Pulsating music courses through the speakers, and giant glossies of red-lipped models decorate the entrance to Pier 94. But don't worry, you haven't wandered into a fashion show by mistake; this year's Chocolate Show just has an extra emphasis on style. The visual focus extends to many of the chocolates!

Virginie Duroc-Danner of France fashions extraordinarily beautiful confections in many different colors. Her bright crocodile boxes filled with truffles make a great gift, and children will clamor for her ladybugs and teddy bears filled with salted butter toffee.

Christopher Michael and Christopher Norman also offer ornate, multicolored chocolates. The Mary's of Japan exhibit showcases a new line of ganaches decorated with delicate Japanese flowers - you can watch the chocolatiers hand-painting them. Boissier is selling pink tins of little chocolate petals. Romanicos is selling smart-looking chocolate sushi. Those who covet an attractive wrapper as much as its contents will want to visit the Bloomsberry stand.

This year's chocolate-dressed mannequins feature Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Iron Man costumes. And if you want to see a master chocolatier create a work of art before your very eyes, don't forget to see Derrick Pho's homage-in-progress to our new President-elect! Pho's medium is Callebaut.

You might be thinking, "Yes, I want to see everything, but I also want to TASTE everything!" Here are my tasting tips:

• The Valrhona stand is verrry generous with the samples (dark chocolate orange peels, mmm). (Don't forget to visit the new Valrhona Boutique at the Food Emporium at 1175 Third Ave. In other openings, the new Lily O'Brien's Chocolate Cafe is opening at 36 West 40th Street in mid-December.)

• An absolute must-try: the Guido Gobino goodies. I had the opportunity to interview this master of gianduja for an upcoming article in Dessert Professional, and I can tell you that there is nothing on the planet like Gobino's olive oil/sea salt cremini. You can't find them at any store in the U.S., so stock up at the show!

• This year, you can find Mexican hot chocolate at the Chuao Chocolate stand, and espresso cocoa at Chocolat Moderne.

• Fairytale Brownies are back with Belgian chocolate cream-cheese brownies.
  

• One of the most exotic tastes you will encounter is the "Pig Candy" at Roni-Sue's - it's chocolate-covered deep-fried bacon! Roni-Sue also has a new line of pumpkin spice truffles - just in time for Thanksgiving.
  

• But if you're a chocolate purist, go for the single-origin, 67% cacao bars at the Republica Del Cacao. According to the vendor, the Maniba bar has a hint of mango because the beans are grown near mango trees. Also, make sure to snag a bunch of couverture wafers at Guittard. (Guittard is always forthcoming with the samples!)
  

Finally, if you plan to eat so much chocolate that you develop stretch marks, your last stop should be Palmer's, where you can pick up a jar of cocoa butter lotion.

The 11th Annual Chocolate Show: Pier 94 (12th Ave. @ West 55th St.)

Single-Origin Chocolate Ice Cream!

"Single-origin" is quite the buzzword these days; not only you can buy coffee beans from Colombian farms, but you can decide whether you want your chocolate bar to be Venezuelan or Ecuadorian. Now, you can eat chocolate ice cream from Costa Rica, Ghana, Dominican Republic or Borneo! Choctal, a company which claims to offer "an essential chocolate and vanilla experience," distributes single-origin chocolate ice cream through Trader Joe's. I picked up a package of four cups today at the Queens location. Apparently, the Costa Rica cup features caramel notes, the Ghana has undertones of tropical fruit, the Dominican is aromatic and dark, and the Borneo has a "long, sumptuous finish."

Unfortunately, I'm only going to be able to try three cups, because the fourth is mysteriously absent from the freezer. I'm going to have to ask my companion about this.

Chocolate Bar

(4/28/09 NOTE: The Chocolate Bar has now reopened again at 19 8th Avenue.)

The West Village's loss is the East Village's gain with the relocation of Chocolate Bar, which opened on East 7th St. this week. The attractive new space has barstools and tables, so you can now linger a while. And with so many delicious chocolate goodies, both edible and drinkable, you'll definitely be tempted to stick around. (NOTE: As of March '09, the news is that the Chocolate Bar is moving back to the West Village. It will reopen on April 28 at 19 Eighth Avenue.)

Chocolate Bar is known for its smartly packaged line of chocolate bars with flavors like coconut cream pie, malted milk, raspberry jam, key lime, salty pretzel and caramel apple. Some wrappers are inspired by pop art or graffiti, and owner Alison Nelson has plans for a line of tattoo-inspired wrappers. (She cutely informed me that she got her first tattoo in the East Village, so this seems particularly apt for the new location.)

Throughout the month of July, drip coffee and espresso (all from Gimme Coffee) is 1/2 off. I paid a visit yesterday and tried the espresso egg cream (there are also black & white and hazelnut ones) and an "iced buzzed" (mocha) that knocked my socks off. I used to crave the Mocha Choka at Gimme, but the Chocolate Bar iced mocha is much more chocolatey! Store manager Jack says that he uses 64% cacao chips in this drink. I already want another one; I hope he doesn't think I'm too weird if I stop by again today.

Besides, I didn't get a brownie yesterday. And I didn't get a chocolate-covered Oreo. Or a truffle. Or a chocolate peanut butter caramel bar. Or a chocolate-chip cookie. Or a chocolate-covered graham cracker. Or... did I mention, I really want another iced buzzed?

The Chocolate Bar: 127 East 7th St., (212) 367-7182.

Batch (3/2009 CLOSED)

"You've come at just the right time," said Pichet Ong. He was preparing a plate of chocolate truffles for sampling. And these weren't just any chocolate truffles; they were the salted butter caramel, basil balsamic, white chocolate jasmine and saffron Pernod concoctions of Ellen Mirsky. She's selling 6-piece boxes of them at Batch, Pichet Ong's delightful addition to P*ong.

My timing had been horrendous earlier this week. I'd attempted to visit Batch on Monday after reading a newspaper article which incorrectly stated that the sweets shop was open every day. Unfortunately, Batch is closed on Mondays! Naturally, I had to make up for lost time. So I filled up on luscious raspberry cream cake, dense, fudgy chocolate mint cookies, a big chocolate chunk cookie, and a cake topped with thin slices of bananas. Oh, and those truffles.

Batch: 150B West 10th St., (212)929-0250.

Nirvana In A Jar

Today, my companion brought home the March issue of New York Spirit: Resources For Natural Living. Among the magazine's coverlines were "How to Beat the Winter Blues" and "The Fast Track to Enlightenment." I have my own recipe, however unwholesome, for beating the blues; it involves a spoon and a jar of Guido Gobino's Crema Gianduja. This creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread is about 50 times better than Nutella; it contains 34% IGP hazelnuts from Italy's Piedmont region and not a whit of vegetable fat filler. Fold it into a crepe, smear it on a piece of toast, refrigerate it till it turns fudgy, or just spoon it out of the jar right into your mouth. It might not steer you towards enlightenment, but you might reach nirvana!

Guido Gobino's Crema Gianduja, and the darker, more cocoa-y Crema Al Cacao spread can be found at Chelsea Market's Buon Italia (75 9th Avenue, (212) 633-9090). It is also sold, along with other scrumptious Gobino products, at Grom Gelato (233 Bleecker St.).