Mr. Chocolate

This weekend we went to Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven in Brooklyn, NY. My friend Judy had turned me on to his chocolates a couple Christmases ago. Then Jake renewed my interest by geting me a 50 piece box of chocolates for Valentine's Day last year. Anyhoo, long story short, we decided to visit the Chocolate Factory ourselves. And who better to accompany us than Judy (the pusher), her husband Duncan, and my sister in law/fellow chocoholic Sarah and family.

Sarah and I spent a good deal of time checking out what was available at the shop on the website www.mrchocolate.com and I had a fairly good idea of what I wanted to walk out with. We arrived and walked in the little shop to a wave of chocolate aroma. I felt as though they were showering it down on me as I walked through the door. The shop was beautiful and just the right size. Bookshelves along two walls were filled with yummy chocolate items in simple tins tied with orange ribbon. I became so overwhelmed that I just grabbed a cookie and a bag of chocolate disks for my mother in law.

Everyone else got a hot chocolate and my husband was kind enough to share his with me. This hot chocolate was so thick that when we took it out into the freezing air, it literally began to solidify. It was like drinking the best melted chocolate bar you had ever tasted. We sampled the 'Wicked' hot chocolate which has chiles in it for an extra kick. I have to admit I didn't think I would enjoy it really made a difference so subtle but tasty.

After calming down and getting some real food in my stomach, I went back to get all of the items I had intended on purchasing. Chocolate bark with pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts in both dark and milk chocolate, the Peanut Trifecta - Candied peanut clusters covered in dark chocolate, candied peanuts covered in chocolate then rolled in cocoa powder, and my favorite, peanut brittle covered in dark chocolate, a box of 'Wicked' hot chocolate mix, and a small bag of assorted chocolate mendiants each with almond, candied ginger and pistachios. Then to my surprise, my sister in law bought us the 'Chips and Dip' - dark chocolate squares paired with a jar of peanut, almond and hazelnut "dip".

We came home and passed out the gifts to the folks then began eating our way through everything. Jake and I both agree that the bark is by far the best item purchased. The chocolate is pure and the nuts perfectly toasted. Our least favorite would be the peanut clusters. The nuts are not very toasted and the candy falls a little flat.

I made the mistake of watching Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory the night before with my nieces. I think their expectations for the factory were a little high and due to the fact that we went on a Sunday, not much Oompa Loompa action was going on. When I open my chocolate shop, I'll make sure to add a chocolate waterfall of some sort just for disappointing them.