Building On Bond

Building on Bond serves delightful American fare and specialty cocktails. However, their printed menu does not tell you what dessert options they have available. So I took a risk and went in blind.

It turned out they did not offer any very chocolatey dessert options, so I just asked for whatever was most chocolatey. Ten minutes later, they brought me a fresh-baked, still-warm oatmeal chocolate chip cookie in a mini-skillet:



They got a lot of use out of the mini-skillets at this restaurant. Earlier in the meal, they had used one for some mini-mac-and-cheese. As I said: delightful.

Anyway, the cookie was enjoyable as it was still warm and the chocolate chips were all melty. It cost $4, which seems reasonable for a fresh-baked dessert in a nice restaurant. It was not chocolatey enough. But what else is new?

BOTTOM LINE: Delicious dinner and pleasant dessert, but not the place to go to seek out an intense chocolate experience.

Clinton Street Baking Company: the Brookie

You may recall that we have visited Clinton Street Baking Company previously, last time for Pancake Month. But even when it's not February, there are very good reasons to go there.



One very good reason is this: the Brookie. I saw it and said the the store clerk, "It's a mix between a brownie and a cookie, right?" She said, "You are the only person to have figured that out just by looking at the name!" Privately, I thought: everyone else is not paying enough attention.



The Brookie is that all-brown one in the middle. See it?

The Brookie is everything you would want from a brownie-cookie hybrid. It's extremely moist, like brownie dough that has been cooked just barely long enough. Moist to the point where it practically falls apart in your hand. It has melty chocolate chips in it, like a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven. It costs $2.50, which is completely within my chocolate budget and actually sounds like something I could/should afford every day.

BOTTOM LINE: Better than a brownie. Better than a cookie. It's a Brookie.

Rescue Chocolate "Fosteriffic Peppermint" 66%

We have already reviewed Rescue Chocolate -- positively.  We noted it was made by Tumbador, which we like.  So one might make the naive assumption that the peppermint-flavored Rescue Chocolate would remind one of the Tumbador version.

And you know what?  Sometimes naive assumptions are accurate.  I didn't do a side-by-side comparison, but this definitely reminded me of Tumbador's delicious peppermint bar.

Bottom Line: Tumbador.  Which is a good thing.

Amma 85%

Another trip to Treehaus, another bar of chocolate.

... ok, three bars of chocolate, but only one I haven't reviewed.

Amma is a Brazilian chocolatier.  As in, not only are the beans from there, but the company is also based there.  That alone is really cool.  Generally, I consider Brazilian origin to be too fruity, but this 85% bar had more complicated notes, including raisin and citrus.  It wasn't quite as acidic, and so I enjoyed it way more.

Bottom Line: A very high quality, interesting bar of chocolate.

Chocolate Room: featuring Chocopologie by Knipschildt Chocolatier "Rosewater" and Cacao Prieto 72%

I snagged two bars last time I was at the Chocolate Room.  Both were excellent.

Cacao Prieto is based in Red Hook, and they use only Crillollo beans from the Dominican Republic.  Their 72% bar had all the complexity one expects from crillollo beans and the good chocolatey taste from the DR. A very nice combo.

The Rosewater-flavored "Chocopologie by Knipschildt" bar was also delicious.  The rosewater is subtle, despite the bright red coloring on the bar, and it adds a nice flavor for those who like it.

Bottom Line: The Chocolate Room is amazing both for the desserts it makes and the stock of chocolate it carries.

Creperie

Dark chocolate crepe with chocolate fudge and chocolate brownies, covered in chocolate sauce.

From the outside:

The only downside is they didn't have chocolate ice cream.

From the everythingside:

There may be a more chocolatey crepe somewhere in NYC, but if there is, I don't know about it.

Bottom Line: My favorite crepe.

Jean-Georges' Warm Chocolate Cake

Yes, everyone serves one of these now.  But you have to give Jean-Georges credit for popularizing it.  And his is probably still the best.

Don't make a beginner's mistake: always substitute out the vanilla ice cream for chocolate

The molten center gets me every time.

Bottom Line: There might be more original, or even better, chocolate cakes in existence now, but this is an indisputable classic.

Zelda's Chocolates

I got these during passover and never got around to reviewing them.

I actually enjoyed them.  I don't think they'd stack up to bon bons from a fancy place, but they were delicious.  And not only were they parve, but they were kosher for passover.  An impressive feat.  I hope our Favorite Commenter is paying attention!

Bottom Line:   

The Meadow Round 3: Claudio Corallo 100%, Slitti "GranCacao" 90%, French Broad 81%, Cacao "Love Bar Patanemo Straight Up" 75%

I went to the Meadow and purchased a lot of chocolate for Leila's birthday a while back, and I gave it to her.  Then I ate it.  Anyways, I'll let her tell you about that.

Between the time I gave it to her and the time I ate it, I was feeling pretty jealous, so I went right back to the Meadow and bought some chocolate for myself:

The Claudio Corallo 100% was nice.  It fit in with my not minding Peruvian fruitiness on 100% bars, because it masks the bitterness.  It didn't stand out too much, but I enjoyed it.

Similarly, the Slitti 90% had a good, chocolatey taste, but it didn't jump out at me among other 90% bars.  I think I prefer Lindt's 90% bar, which is cheaper and more readily available.  I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The French Broad 81% was a real winner, though.  It used raw sugar thick-grained enough to make the whole bar taste stone ground.  Nice!  I'm definitely interested in trying a broader selection of their products.

I think the best of the bunch, though, might have been the "Love Bar Patanemo Straight Up," whatever that could possibly mean, by Atlanta-based chocolatier Cacao.  It was just one of those instant, perfectly chocolatey moments.  Then, like all good things, it was gone.

Bottom Line: The Meadow's still got it, and here are four good examples.