New Dove Swirls

I think 2011 is going to be a good year for chocolate. I have a feeling there will be a lot of new, fun candies out there for us to try. Dove has announced that in January, they'll be launching a new product: Dove Silky Smooth White & Milk Chocolate Swirl and Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Swirl. I tried the raspberry and was very happy with it. Raspberry is one of those flavors that can easily go wrong, but here the sweetness of the berry is nicely balanced with the tannin of the dark chocolate. Like most of the Dove products, I could eat a bag of these in one sitting. But just for the record, I did maintain self-control and only had a few. That's today's story, anyhow. Tomorrow could be completely different.

Chocorooms: Possible Contender for This Year's Best Candy Find

Aldi has started appearing in Connecticut. Apparently this chain is more well-known in the Heartland, but until recently, I'd never heard of it. For the official scoop, go here. Now here's my interpretation: it's like Cosco and Trader Joe's got together and had a baby. But, unbeknownst to Trader Joe, Cosco was having an affair with IKEA, so we're not really sure whose baby it is. The stores are small and the products are stacked, like at a warehouse store, but everything comes in normal sizes, so you don't have to buy 300 granola bars at a time. You can get a lot of your groceries there, but not all. Most of the products are under their own label, but are made to look strikingly similar to the name brand.
So let's get to the good stuff. The candy. They had quite a few Hershey options and several Haribo gummies, but they're known for their brand, "Choceur," which is made in Germany. I picked up a bar (a raisin and nut one), but then my attention was diverted to a bag of White Chocolate Almond Clusters (almond and cinnamon biscuit pieces with white chocolate). They also had a milk chocolate version with gingerbread pieces. I had to be selective, because Aldi only accepts cash, which I never carry.
The clusters are little bumpy logs-- more crunchy stuff than chocolate. They're good, but white chocolate isn't my favorite. These were really sweet, but they didn't knock my socks off.
The Chocorooms, however, were a totally different story. These days, the Sugar Baby is obsessed with mushrooms. We've taken many walks in the woods lately, looking for inky caps and puffballs, so the Chocorooms were a no-brainer.The woman at the checkout told me they were "so good!" and that she had bought several boxes because they're not a regular item. I should've followed her lead.
These little cuties are made by Meiji from Japan. According to the package, they are a "chocolaty combination cap and Crispy cracker stem." Okay, so they're "chocolaty," not chocolate. But man, these things are really yummy. A little bite of crispy/sweet/creamy chocolatyness. They are, in fact, very similar to Pocky. I love that the serving size is 11 pieces. You can eat a lot because they're so small. And yes, the Sugar Baby (and his girlfriend, the little Connection) gave them their seal of approval.

Lindt Straccitella: No Matter How You Pronounce It, It's Yummy!

I've recently discovered the joy that is Straccitella. A new gelato place has opened nearby, and I've fallen in love with this traditional cream-and-dark chocolate flavor. I suppose you could compare it to chocolate chip ice cream, but it's just so much better.

At the evil WalMart the other day, I saw a bag of Lindt truffles that included a sample of their new Straccitella flavor, so I had to get it. Even though I'm not big on white chocolate, this is one tasty confection.

It's creamy, milky and sweet with little flecks of nibbly dark chocolate. So good.

I gave the bag of truffles to No-Nuts and told her she should allow me to have one truffle a night. She woke up this morning and said that was a bad idea; she'd already eaten two before breakfast.

Who has the best friends? Me!

The aforementioned June came over last week and not only did she bring lunch, but dessert as well. She reached into her bag and produced a Mr. Goodbar, 3 Musketeers Mint, Limited Edition Tootsie Roll Midgees in vanilla, and white chocolate Reese's. Yum! She e-mailed me after the fact saying that she had made a faux pas; she hadn't read enough of my blog to know that I generally don't like white chocolate. But you know what? Those Reese's were damn good. I mean, really good. It makes me want to give white chocolate another chance.

The Tootsie Rolls tasted like chewy vanilla icing. I've talked about the 3 Musketeers before. Oh well, it can't all be good. And then of course, the Mr. Goodbar. How can you go wrong with peanuts and chocolate?

New York, New York

New York is truly a culinary wonderland. A couple of years ago I took a "sweets" tour of New York that featured Magnolia's cupcakes, Jacques Torres' chocolates and lots of other goodies. I learned my lesson on that trip; you can actually overdo chocolate in a single day in New York. So when I set out to put together a chocolate tour for the Baron, I kept it small but oh-so-sweet.

We dropped the little von Schokolats off at the American Girl Place and headed down to Union Square. First stop: ABC Carpet & Home.

I kept hearing, "Why are we going to a carpet store?"

First off, it's not really a carpet store. I mean, they do have carpets, but it's so much more. All sorts of funky, groovy stuff for your home, and then all these other little stores within the big store. That's where Chocolat Michel Cluizel is.

It's part chocolate shop, part restaurant. They offer guided tastings, from the Introductory Tasting at $35 per person (features 7 chocolates, including blended and single plantation varieties and a "superlative bonbon") to the Full Spirit Tasting (an emphasis on how chocolates pair with fine spirits ranging from Cognac and Muscat to single malt Scotch and Tequila).

The chocolates were lovely. They weren't too froofy with painted designs or gold leaf, and there weren't any of those "spice cabinet" combinations that I loathe. It was a difficult decision, but I finally got a dark bonbon for each of us, and then the Baron picked out two round, prickly things in pink and orange. I would've never chosen these so I'm glad he did. Turns out they were filled with liqueur-- mine had Grand Marnier-- and they were delicious. (Michel Cluizel is the only chocolate shop in Manhattan that's allowed to sell liquor-infused chocolates, because they have a liquor license.)

I also bought a 20 dram "vial" of cocoa nibs (the container looks like a prescription bottle-- very cute!) and a tasting box of single-origin chocolates (more on these in another post). It was pretty pricey, I must say. The individual chocolates were about $3 a piece, so this isn't chocolate to binge on.

Then it was onto Max Brenner. (I'd put the link to the website here, but every time I go to it, it takes forever and I don't want you to curse me.) I know that Max Brenner has been lambasted by the culinary community for being more of a marketer than a chef, and Brian and the Baron felt like the place was a little too Disney World, but I liked it. We were pretty hungry at this point, so the question was: do we order lunch or do we order something sweet and wonderful from the desserts menu? (They had things like peanut butter and chocolate crepes, chocolate pizza, S'mores and dip-your-own ice cream bar.) The answer: both. The Baron ordered a cup of the Mexican Hot Chocolate which came in one of their signature "hug mugs." It doesn't have a handle so you just hug it to your lips. It was pretty tasty: rich and thick with a good kick of cinnamon and peppery spice at the finish. Brian ordered a chocolate beer, which wasn't really chocolatey. More malty and dark like a Guinness. We decided to split a normal lunch and the Munchies Waffles: two waffles topped with your choice of milk, dark or white chocolate ice cream, served with crunchy chocolate balls and chocolate syrup. I would've gotten the dark chocolate, but the Baron's gentle palate dictated that we have the white. It was fabulous. I mean, what's not to love? The waffles were hot and crisp, the ice cream smooth and milky, and the sauce and crunchies gave it more texture. Deeelish! The chocolate shop had an array of individual chocolates for sale, and then boxes of different goodies and hot chocolate and such.

While we were having our feast, we got to talking to two women at the table next to us. One of them said that her grandmother, who lived to be 100, was addicted to dark chocolate. She said when they cleaned out her room at the nursing home, they found a hidden stash of Hershey's Dark. (See, it is a potent antioxidant!)