Kaffe 44, ChokladFabriken, and a tourist shop, Stockholm

I met up with my sister in the airport in Stockholm.  We went up to Umea real quick, then returned to Stockholm for a day.

 

Kaffe 44:

Our first stop was a vegan cafe.  We were mostly there for food.  By the time we got there, we were starving, but I think the food would have been delicous even had we been full.

Of course, we got dessert.

First, we got cake truffle-like things, which are actually extremely similar to the snowballs at Zucker Bakery in the East Village!  They were similarly made with coffee or coconut, but they were similarly delicious.  I was shocked that Zucker could pull these off well, so I was doubly shocked to found them done well at a random vegan cafe in Stockholm!

The cake truffles were so good that we got a slice of chocolate cake, too.  Apparently, they were sold out of their chocolatiest cake, but even this one was totally delicious.  If I'm ever back in Stockholm, Kaffe 44 will be one of my first stops.  I even picked up a couple of great 7" records on the way out!

ChokladFabriken:

Right around the corner from Kaffe 44 is a "chocolate factory" called, uninspiredly, ChokladFabriken.  I was told about this place by the nice gentleman who sat next to me on the plane from Umea.  He may have been dating a woman younger than his sons, but he was friends with most of my favorite Northern Swedish bands, so I think he was probably cool enough to pull it off.

Anyways.  ChokladFabriken.  We started with some excellent, rich hot chocolate.  We then picked up a bar, some bon bons, and a truffle:

The bon bons and truffle were all quite delicious, each with an interesting but chocolatey flavor.

 

The bar was good but couldn’t compare to the bars from Switzerland, France, and Belgium.  That said, when I gave some to Leila before miscalibrating her with all the world's greatest chocolate, she quite liked it.  So, objectively, even the bar was good, though it was the only item that didn't stand up to the topmost in the world.

Te Kaffe Choklad:

We felt obligated to hit up the touristy Gamla Stan area.  At least it did not make any claims it could not substantiate:

 

We stopped by a super touristy chocolate shop and picked up a mint bar that will be reviewed as part as Leila and my post-trip chocolate tasting.

 

We also got another cup of hot chocolate, but this one was totally subpar.

Bottom Line: Stockholm is not a chocolate town.  But you can find good stuff anywhere, if you meet the right cool Swedish dads going through their mid-life crises.