Fine & Raw truffles and bonbons

We have already reviewed Fine & Raw favorably before -- twice.  But I have definitely discovered their best line of products: the truffles and bonbons.

Here is a truffle bar:

It is shaped like a small chocolate bar, but it has the consistency of a truffle.  The real magic?  No heavy cream (or any other dairy) involved!

They also make bon bons, which have a slightly softer consistency:

The truffle bar is exceptional, but the bon bons are maybe better -- really special.

Lastly, they have a "bonbon bar," which is exactly as described -- a thin layer of bonbon on a dark chocolate bar:

It's also great, but it's the weakest link.  The real strength of the bon bons and truffle bar is turning the ingredients and taste of regular dark chocolate into a different and awesome texture.  This is very important to me.  While the bonbon bar is unarguably delicious, its texture is less distinctive than the truffle or bon bons.

Bottom Line: Truffle and bonbon texture with pure dark chocolate taste.  Genius.

Carvel

There is a time and place for everything.

Rabot Estate 90%

Seriously, I do have the best friends:

Ok, so I am gonna be honest GBP 4 for a bar of chocolate is not shocking to me, even at only 35g.  Also, on some research, I think Rabot Estate is somehow related to British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat, but I don't really understand how.

Especially given how pretty it looked.  Here is what was in the package:

Sure, it looks beautiful, but how does it taste?

Let Rabot Estate answer that: "[m]ultilayered flavours soon reveal themselves -- dried fruits, roasted nuts and a hint of jasmine."

Let me answer that better:  It tastes delicious.  It has interesting flavor notes, but it is rich and chocolatey.  It makes you think without being overpoweringly fruity or citrusy.  It's not sharp.  It's complex and great.  And the flavor notes, I think, would make it palatable to someone who normally is more comfortable with something closer to 85% than to 90%.

Bottom Line: Thank you, Annie, for getting interesting, new chocolate from England, to Nairobi, to Chicago, to New York.

Organic Avenue: featuring Gnosis, Hail Merry, and Keen-Wah Decadence

You may have noticed I have recently been posting a lot of vegan items.  That's because I spent a whole month vegan.  During that month, I stopped by Organic Avenue, which seems to be some sort of high-end, pre-made juice bar, with lots of salads and other "organic," vegan items.  And lots of chocolate.  I got something lame for food, but I also got some chocolate:

I got some sort of flourless, chocolate, mint tart from Hail Merry and some sort of chocolate protein bar from Keen-Wah Decadence.  I quick examination of the interiors will tell you which was better:

The Hail Merry tart was great.  I have previously had their chocolate macaroons, which are also great, even though I don't like macaroons.  On the contrary, the Keen-Wah Decadence bar was just gross.  I took a few bites, then threw it out.  I never throw out chocolate.  But it was definitely the Hail Merry tart that was the decadent chocolate item.

I also got a little, bite-sized piece of Gnosis 70% dark chocolate:

Gnosis is another one of those raw, organic, agave-and-coconut-using brands that I wish I hated more than I do.  The square was actually quite good.  It will never be able to hold its own against the great bars out there that actually roast their beans and use real sugar, but still, this was pretty delicious.

Bottom Line: I am finding these "aggregator" stores, on the Dean & Deluca model, are actually pretty good places to try a variety of chocolate items.  We had the Manhattan Espresso Cafe, we had Treehaus, and now we have Organic Avenue.  Among the items, I highly recommend Hail Merry.

Rescue Chocolate "Forever Mocha" 66% and "The Fix" 66%

Another couple stops at Treehaus, and another couple bars of chocolate.  

I had seen Rescue Chocolate offered before, and I was not interested.  My chocolate does not need a cause -- Chocolate is the cause.  Plus, if they can afford to donate proceeds anywhere, then they are probably skimping on quality to raise more money.  

So I ignored rescue chocolate until I tried one of their free samples.  Honestly, I was blown away.  It was the "Forever Mocha," and I don't even like mocha.  It was amazing.  

I later went back and got the more straight up version -- "The Fix."  It was also excellent, but not as good as the Forever Mocha, for some reason.  It was a little fruity, I think, which the mocha flavor helped cover.

In any case, Rescue Chocolate has made a believer out of me.  It was only later that I discovered the chocolate is made by Tumbador, with whom I have had a good experience before.

Bottom Line: If a mocha-flavored chocolate bar sounds up your alley, then I can't imagine a better bar for you than the Forever Mocha.  I have certainly never had one.  If that's not your style, the regular dark chocolate is still a great option.

Epicerie Boulud Flourless Chocolate Cookies

Angel brought me some cookies from Epicerie Boulud, which is, as far as I can tell, not an epicerie at all, but rather a bakery.  That said, "flourless chocolate cookies" sounds up my alley.

The cookies, though, weren't for me.  They look fudgey, but they are actually too crispy, and they have bits of hazelnut in them.  The real problem is that Epicerie Boulud is so close to Levain that there is really no reason to go there for cookies.  There are plenty of reasons to go to Epicerie Boulud -- it's a very good bakery -- but if you are in a cookie mood, take the walk to Levain.

Bottom Line: Didn't get anything quite right with this item.

Sandcastles

I got these cookies at Treehaus:

They are delicious and, surprisingly, vegan.  The kind of cookie that just crumbles and melts deliciously in your mouth -- thanks to the power of coconut oil, maybe?  They were sufficiently chocolatey to earn my approval, though not that kind of intense, decadent chocolatey that you can get at Levain.  I mean, let's face it -- Levain makes a puddle of chocolate with a little cookie visible if you hold it up to the light just-like-so.  This is a legitimate cookie through-and-through.

Bottom Line: Delicious chocolate cookies.  For people who like cookies.