Baci Perugina Double Layer Candy Bar

You probably know Perugina from their famous Baci chocolate hazelnut-filled "kisses":



But they now have a NEW product, called a Baci double layer candy bar, and they sent us a few bars to try because they are awesome. So this package showed up in the mail:



What is inside the package? These things!



And what is inside that wrapping? This!



As you may have predicted from the name "double layer candy bar," these bars have, ahem, two layers. In the dark chocolate bars, one layer is dark chocolate, the other is hazelnut chocolate, and in the middle are actual hazelnuts. The milk chocolate bars are the same, only with a milk chocolate layer in place of the hazelnut layer.



The hazelnuts added a great textural element, making this extremely edible. I went through a bar much faster than I'd anticipated. It is very much for candy lovers: the chocolate is sweet and straightforward. Even the dark chocolate bars are only 51%, and they're counterbalanced by the gianduia layer, making this a bar that's much better for the milk chocolate fan than for someone looking for an intense dark chocolate flavor. I could see this going over big with the Toblerone crowd.

BOTTOM LINE: A classy candy bar perfect for fans of sweet chocolate, and of chocolate with pieces of hazelnut in it.

Chocolate-covered "Honeycomb" from Balboa Candy on Balboa Island

Balboa Island is that banana stand island place from Arrested Development, which in turn is a show that I don't watch.  It's also a beautiful, surreal place, where wealthy people live in quaint houses, even though there is no grocery store on the entire island.  There is a saltwater taffy store, obviously.  I bought a chocolate-covered honeycomb:

Made with 0% real honeycomb.  I think it was just hardened corn syrup maybe?  It was covered with something that was at least a reasonable replica of chocolate.  So it was basically chocolate + awkwardly textured sugar.

Bottom Line: Could be worse, I guess.

Russian chocolate bars

My friend brought me some chocolate from Russia.

It was good, but it was candy.  One of them was that aero type of chocolate, which I don't really understand.  It's a pretty brilliant scam to put less chocolate in your chocolate, I guess, but it adds an interesting, and only mildly upsetting, texture.

Bottom Line: Other countries also have commercially available chocolate, and it is also chocolate.

Meiji Hello Panda Double Chocolate, Lindt 70%, and Green and Black's 85%

I got a sweet care package:

The Meiji-brand Hello Panda chocolate things are candy, but they are delicious candy.  I am not sure whether there is really any actually chocolate hiding between all the partially hydrogenated oils, but mmm-mmm-mmm, those are some delicious oils.  My compliments to the hydrogenator.

As for the bars of chocolate, they were both good.  The Lindt 70% was not as good as the Green & Black's 85%.  And it was far from as good as the Lindt 90%.  But it seems like it could do in a pinch.  Green & Black's actually did a nice job of getting that sweet spot of chocolatey-but-neither-bitter-nor-sweet, which is a great place to be.  The flavor did not overwhelm, and it was not particularly fascinating, but it did what a good bar of chocolate should do.

Bottom Line: Even with commonly available "real" chocolate, there is no way to compare with the other chocolate products that are possibly sold in the same store.

Guylian

This blog has had a lot of discussion about our favorite candy.  Well, since childhood, this has been my pick:

It's surprising, because I'm normally a purist, but it's not TOO surprising, because it's extremely delicious.  And those Belgians really do know how to do hazelnut praline.

 

So I think over the years, Guylian has cut out the partially hydrogenated oils from this product.  I remember that being a leading ingredient when I was younger, but now the most unnatural thing seems to be vanillin.  Honestly, though, I don't even care what's in it, which is what makes it candy.  It is simply DELICIOUS.

 

 

I spent a month in Nairobi, and the pickings there were unsurprisingly slim.  But the Nakumatt -- think East African Walmart -- carried Guylian's, so I was safe.  They even had a decent dark chocolate bar -- unlike the sugarfree ones they offer in the US.  This is what I survived on when I was running out of my last fancy European bars and then a dog ate the remainder.

Bottom Line:  David's vote for best candy.

Hammond's More S'Mores

As you know by now, I love s'mores, so it should come as no surprise that I love the idea of this Hammond's s'mores bar.

Unfortunately, it's better in marketing copy than it is in reality. I've had some s'mores candy bars that I've really enjoyed before, though obviously it is an inherent challenge to try to replicate the taste of a warm, melty dessert in a pre-packaged bar, so some allowances must be made.

Hammond's take on the s'more bar includes of milk chocolate of a fine quality, but I am not a milk chocolate fan. There's a little bit of marshmallow fluff-like substance in the center of each square, but not enough to make a big taste impact. I could not identify any graham crackers in here, so even if they were hiding somewhere, they were not substantial enough to add to the bar's texture.

This Hammond's More S'mores bar is candy. Which is nothing to be ashamed of. It's just not serious chocolate, that's all.

BOTTOM LINE: For really excellent s'mores flavor, I would look first to the Liddabit Sweets s'mores bar. Or, frankly, I would just build a fire and eat a real-life s'more.

Zurich

I flew from San Diego to Zurich.  Zurich is very small, and chocolate is everywhere.  I took a train into the main station, and before I could even find my way anywhere, I ran into a Sprungli shop. 

Sprungli:

I feel like the Swiss think of Sprungli the way Americans think of Godiva.  It's high-end for most people, but it's not handmade.  You may know them as the second half of Lindt & Sprungli but likely have only had the Lindt-branded products.  Sprungli is certainly higher end than Lindt, and it's actually very good by any standards.  It was a great way to start, because it created a good standard to which to hold other Swiss chocolate.  I had their signature Luxemburgerli -- essentially just an overweight chocolate macaron (thick, with a small diameter) -- and an excellent truffle.  Europe: off to a good start.

Merkur:

My next stop was Merkur, which was also in the train station.  I had heard Merkur was good, but I didn't really understand its deal.  Apparently it's a distributor for another popular company, Laderach.  I purchased a truffle, a bonbon, and a slab of chocolate.  All were labeled as 70%, Brazilian-origin.  I brought my haul up to the famous Swarovski Christmas tree in the station and waited for my friend Bob to arrive.  By "wait," I do not mean "wait to eat the chocolate."

Neither the bonbon nor the truffle particularly impressed me, after Sprungli.  The bar as set high, and Brazil is not my favorite origin, but I still expected better.  The slab did not fair much better:

It was fruity and otherwise uninteresting.  

After a mild ordeal in finding Bob, we left the station, and I found myself in Europe:

Completely Europe

Honold:

 

Our first stop was Honold.  We were excited.  We got a hot chocolate.  We got a piece of cake.  We got a dark chocolate truffle.  We got a hazelnut bonbon.  We were out of the train station and ready to rumble.

 

The hot chocolate was not great.  The cake was okay, but also not outstanding.  Bob didn't seem to mind:

The truffle and bonbon were better.  The first things I'd had that were in the same league as Sprungli.  So far so good, but so good isn't so good when you are in pursuit of greatness.

Truffe:

I found it.  Truffe (or, as we say in English, "Truffle") is the most adorable chocolate shop I encountered in all my travels.  It's small, and it's run by a very small, older lady.  This is her retirement job.  Leila and I have already thought this one through, but this lady is a step ahead of us.  Much like The Meadow or Fog City News, she scours the world for the best chocolate -- mostly, but not exclusively, bars.  She also has an adorable cafe in the back.  She is extremely knowledgeable and friendly, so definitely step in and have a chat.  I purchased three chocolate bars, and she threw in a waffle thing and a little nougat:

 

The bars were as follows: a 74%, Dominican-origin bar from Swiss chocolatier Nobile, a 74%, internationally prize-winning, Venezuelan-origin by from Swiss chocolatier Idilio, and a giant brick of chocolate from ancient Italian chocolatier Roberto Catinari.

The Nobile bar was exquisite.  It was rich and chocolatey, but it was interesting and different from typical West African chocolate.  I usually like Dominican chocolate, and this was no exception.  The Idilio bar was almost as good.  It's exactly what top-tier Venezuelan chocolate should taste like -- chocolatey, bright, and flavorful.

But the real surprise winner was the Roberto Catinari block.  I had been told that he is some master chocolatier and friend of some chocolate pioneer, but I started spacing out.  I was hungry.  Apparently his son isn't as good as he is.  I dunno.  All I know is that this bar is just knock-your-socks-off good.  It's about 80% chocolate, but it isn't sweet.  It's stone ground in that Italian way, and it includes nibs for an even rougher texture and chocolatier flavor.  I can't say enough good things about this bar/brick.

(As an aside, the nougat didn't interest me, as it wasn't chocolate, but the Viennesi-brand chocolate-covered waffle was surprisingly delicious.)

Teuscher:

I know Teuscher.  I love Teuscher.  There's a Teuscher in New York City (in Rockefeller Center).  Angel and I constantly debate whether it's worth its chops, but I always defend it.  So of course I needed to go to the hometown shop:

 

 

I just ordered a single truffle.  I could get more back in New York.  But I wanted to see how my tastes had calibrated.

It was delicious.  It was noticeably, though not by leaps and bounds, better than Sprungli.  It's good to know that what I like in New York still stands up in Switzerland.

Aeschbach:

We wandered past a few chocolate shops that hadn't made my list.  Usually I didn't bother going in.  But something about Aeschbach called to me.  I ordered a Crillollo bonbon, and they threw in a free truffle.  Both were exceptional.  The bonbon was the best I had in all of Zurich.

H. Schwarzenbach:

With all that walking around, it was time to sit down at a cafe.  We got some hot chocolate at H. Schwarzenbach.

It was good.  It didn't blow me away.  I liked it better than the version at Honold, though.

Mostly, the cafe was a nice place to recharge for a bit, before hitting our final shop.

Cafe Schober/Peclard:

Way to save the best for last.  There was a great dark chocolate truffle.  There was an exquisite hot chocolate -- the best I had in Zurich.  It was thick, chocolatey, and just right.  But most importantly, there was this:

 

This was the best chocolate cake I'd ever had.  It's mostly flourless, except a thin bottom layer.  It is devastatingly chocolatey.  The name "Intense Chocolate Cake" did not even do it justice.  If you can only get one chocolate product in Zurich, get this cake.

My Cousin:

Coincidentally, I have a cousin in Zurich, so I called her up and found a lovely spot to spend Chanukah.  She has three adorable kids.  And she offered me a little chocolate for the road.

 

So this is probably not where you expected us to be reviewing M&Ms.  But this is the place our blog is going to put its review of M&Ms.  In the post about the chocolate of Zurich, under the subheading of my visit to my chassidic cousin.  In any case, here's the thing about M&Ms.  I ate these in an airport with some exquisite dark chocolate.  I had two bites of the dark chocolate, and I was done.  I put it down.  And I felt great.  The M&Ms were the opposite experience.  I had one.  Then another.  Then I found myself just pouring them into my face as quickly as possible, until they were all gone.  For about two seconds, everything was wonderful.  Then I felt just awful.  I think we have all had this experience with M&Ms.  They are delicious.  But they are disgusting.

As for the gelt... a dog ate it.  The good news: it lived.  The better news: it was ugly.

Bottom Line: Zurich is small and in Europe and has pretty good chocolate, though I am not sure it quite lives up to its reputation.  That cake, though.  I'll dream about that for a while.

San Francisco

Yes, in this post I review San Francisco for its chocolate.  I am an ambitious man.  As you will soon be able to tell from my description of all the chocolate I ate in my ONE DAY in SF.

Double Rainbow's Ultra Chocolate Ice Cream at SFO

I got started before leaving the airport:

Honestly?  It was really good.  Off to a great start, with chocolatey chocolate ice cream.

Tcho

I've liked Tcho for a long time.  I first encountered them years ago at the Chocolate Show.  Their thing is to make "flavored" chocolate without using any flavoring ingredients -- just chocolate, sugar, soy lecithin, and vanilla.  Their "flavors" are "fruity" (from Peru), "citrusy" (from Madagascar), "nutty" (from Ecuador), and my (obvious) favorite, "chocolatey" (from Ghana).  These origins are no accident -- Peruvian chocolate is famously fruity, while West African chocolate (especially from Ghana) is by far the most common chocolate we eat, so we identify it as quintessentially "chocolatey."  (Also in the works are floral and earthy bars.)

I stopped by Tcho twice -- first I picked up a small "chocolatey" square and a 99% blend bar (chocolatey and nutty).  

I seriously recommend all of Tcho's bars.  It's a great way to develop a chocolate vocabulary and to familiarize yourself with different origins' different flavors.  The ingredient list for their 99% bar says it includes only cocoa beans, so it might actually be 100%.  It tastes it.  Good but bitter.  I also got a slightly disappointing ice cream pop of some sort:

I later returned to Tcho to do a (free) factory tour, which they seem to offer multiple times per day.  No photos were allowed, so this is all I managed to take:

It was a good tour.  I already knew a lot of what they were teaching, but it was a really solid background on the making of chocolate.   They also gave out samples of all their dark chocolates, as well as several milk chocolates -- specifically a "classic" milk chocolate and a "cocoa" milk chocolate.  Both were delicious, and both were as described.  Obviously, I preferred the latter.  After the tour, I had to make several more purchases:

I got a Tcho Shot -- a shot of melted dark chocolate -- along with some chocolate-covered nibs and some more "chocolatey" squares (for distribution throughout my trip).  The shot was excellent, but actually less thick than I expected when compared to something like the hot chocolate at Grom or DT Works.  The nibs were good, too, but were not as "pure" as most Tcho products.  They were made with confectioners' glaze, among other ingredients.  Tcho usually prides itself on tempering its bars to get a shine without any glaze, but that's obviously much more difficult -- if not impossible -- when trying to coat nibs.

Scharfen Berger

Scharfen Berger has moved their factory from SF to Illinois, but they still have their outpost at the Ferry Building.  They sell stuff there that you can't get elsewhere:

I tried a whole bunch of things, and most were really good, but I'm just not as much of a fan of Scharfen Berger as many others.  They really like fruity chocolate, which is just not my thing.  I tried some mint bark, which was delicious, and their bonbons were of course good quality, but I was not wowed.

Recchiuti

Recchiuti is a SF-based chocolatier whose shop is also in the Ferry building.  My trip just having gotten underway, I was still just whetting my appetite, and I picked up a brownie, bar, and some bonbons:

The bar was good but not extraordinary.  I always love bars with nibs, and this had a nice smokey flavor, but I couldn't get too excited about it.  The two bonbons were a step up.  There was a very dark "force noir," which was good, and a Venezuela-origin bonbon, which was even better.  Best of all was the brownie.  It was chocolatey, fudgey, and delicious.  One of the best brownies available anywhere.

Neo Cocoa

I had wanted to try Neo Cocoa, but I couldn't figure out a way to get any.  Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across there table in the Ferry Building totally by accident -- and they were passing out free samples!  Most of the products available were flavors, so I settled on the mint.  It was ok, but nothing special.  I'd like to try something purer by them.

Fog City News: Labooko 100% Peru and Amano 70% Dos Rios

Many cities in the US have unassuming shops with excellent chocolate selections.  In New York, the classic example is The Meadow.  In SF, it's Fog City News.  Outside of chocolate, the two shops could not be more different.  Fog City News is exactly as described.  It sells newspapers and magazines.  The Meadow sells salts and bitters.  But they actually have a startlingly similar chocolate collection, which speaks incredibly well of both places.  (Though Fog City News is consistently $1-$2 cheaper per bar.)  I took the opportunity, of course, to pick up two bars I had not seen elsewhere, as recommended by the proprietors.

Labooko is an Austrian company, and the packaging and bar is possibly the most beautiful I've ever seen.  Their 100% bar is a Peru origin.  Peru is typically my least favorite origin, because it is typically the fruitiest.  This bar, though, was exceptional.

At 100%, it's a slow eat, so a lot of people got a chance to taste it.  Even people who didn't like 100% bars liked this.  Possibly the fruitiness offset some of the bitterness.  There is only one caveat: after you eat this, everything else just doesn't taste as good.  Normally you start with the darkest chocolate and work your way down (or else the dark just tastes too bitter in comparison).  Trying that with Labooko is a mistake.  I can't tell you why.  Maybe it's just so good that everything else becomes disappointing.  Fortunately, I saved some of the other bar I purchased at Fog City after initially eating some subsequent to a bite of Labooko:

Amano is a Utah-based company, and I purchased a 70% Dominican-origin bar.  I like that each square has the logo:

Eating it separately from the Labooko bar, it was actually quite good, though by no means my favorite from the trip.

See's Candies

See's Candies is famous in SF.  It's an early career Warren Buffett acquisition, and one can see why.  They do a great job of producing delicious, candy-quality chocolate.  The 62% "dark" chocolate bar had milk in it. But it was still delicious.  The bonbons there cost half the price or less as compared with many of the other places I went, but they too were delicious.  They would never be mistaken for something snobby and artisanal, but that's not what they are trying to do.  They were extremely chocolatey, and they tasted great.  Every See's I saw had a line, but a short line, which is a pretty good indication that they are doing their business right.  Nice job, Warren.

Cocoa Bella: Mary's Truffle and Bon Bon and Christopher Elbow Bon Bon

My last chocolate stop was Cocoa Bella.  Cocoa Bella is a chocolate importer.  They don't make their own chocolate, but they scour the world for the best bonbons and truffles.  They have a couple shops in SF.  I went to one in some mall.  I asked for guidance on the chocolatiest items they had, of course.  I was served a truffle and bonbon from Belgian chocolatier Mary and a bonbon from the local SF Kansas City-based chocolatier Christopher Elbow, whose (San Francisco) store I did not have time to seek out (thanks for the correction, Elaine!).

The Mary's truffle completely blew me away.  It was the first time since Bespoke Chocolates closed in NYC that I'd been so blown away by the quality of a truffle.  I thought there was no way that they would replicate the quality in their bonbon, and I was once again blown away.  It was incredible.  I was so impressed, actually, that I went all the way to Brussels to visit their flagship store and purchase even more of their products.  This is not a joke.  That review is still to come.

The Christopher Eblow 70% bonbon, in comparison, was bound to disappoint.  It was smokey and not chocolatey enough.

(As a side note, I did not make it back to XOX Truffles, but I had been there previously, and it is very good, though not particularly outstanding.)

Bottom Line: Honestly, San Francisco gives New York a run for its money on the chocolate front.  In any case, the two are certainly the top two chocolate cities in the USA.

Feodora Festive Chocolate Figurines

Guys, I'm telling you, Christmastime at my office is unreal. These chocolates from Fedora are just 1/100th of what we have at my work on an average day between December 8 and New Years.

Also, how is German candy so much better than American candy? If we had Festliche Chocolade Figuren in America, I guarantee they would be made out of corn syrup.

BOTTOM LINE: Germans continue to do it better.

Asher's Milk Chocolate Boardwalk Crunch

As you may recall, I am a big fan of Asher's. I'm now including their Milk Chocolate Boardwalk Crunch in that statement.

Here is what is in this thing: marshmallows, buttered popcorn, nuts, and pretzels. It is basically an entire meal. A meal inside a chocolate bar.

It's pretty awesome. It has a great salty/sweet balance. It's more like a very high-end candy bar than it is like a normal chocolate bar.

My one complaint is, of course, that it's milk chocolate. Now I just need to order the Dark Chocolate Boardwalk Crunch, and my life will be complete.

BOTTOM LINE: Like a meal in a chocolate bar. A delicious, delicious meal.

Sokolata Ygeias (Chocolate of Health) by Paulidis

My Greek Friend Jason brought me a chocolate bar after hearing about my interest in Ion Galaktos.  Ostensibly a "dark chocolate" bar (the back label calls it "bittersweet"), Chocolate of Health contains, as its first two ingredients, sugar and milk powder.  Cocoa solids makes up the last of the six standard milk chocolate ingredients in this bar -- even less than vanillin (of which little is required, being an artificial flavor).

Pretty on the inside.

With all this being said, it sounds like the chocolate would be bad.  But far from it -- it's just really good candy.  In fact, I think I would take it over Ion Galaktos, despite that it has the exact same ingredients and less in the way of cocoa solids.

I like the wrapping, too.

Bottom Line: The Greeks have a great candy selection.

Snickers

You know what my favorite thing is about November?

Leftover Halloween candy. That's what.

Did you get any good loot this year?

Storm Rations A2: Hershey's Chocolate Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

In addition to the Blue Bunny sandwich, we also picked up a pint of Hershey's Chocolate Cookies & Cream ice cream.  This was the far more successful of the two picks, surprisingly.  

Well, sort of surprisingly.  Surprising that Hershey's was able to make delicious ice cream.  Less surprising that chocolate cookies & cream would be a good flavor -- I've been yelling about that for years.  ("Who knew?" my friend Kate asked.  "I did," I responded.)

I appreciated that the cookies did not overwhelm the ice cream

You get exactly what you'd expect here.  It's not super high quality, but it's chocolatey chocolate ice cream, and it has oreos in it.  What more could you want on a (very) rainy day?

Bottom Line:  If you are craving something delicious, chocolatey, and non-gourmet, check this out.

Storm Rations A1: Blue Bunny Big Mississippi Mud Ice Cream Sandwich

So, I was stuck in DC for the storm.  And during the storm, there weren't too many options out there.  Fortunately, there was a store within the Columbia Heights building in which my friend Emily lived.  We decided to make some emergency pasta, but obviously no meal is complete without dessert.

The cover does not scream out quality, but "rivers of fudge" is always appealing.

The pickings at the store were unsurprisingly slim.  So I wouldn't say I was disappointed by this sandwich, but i was not too impressed.  I got exactly what I expected.

As you can see from the inside, the package was not deceptive in any way.

The real problem was just, as usual, that the ice cream was cheap and not chocolatey enough.  The fudge wasn't enough to satisfy my unreasonable demands.  But I ate it in about 5 seconds without complaining.  Maybe 4 seconds.

Bottom Line: Might get you by in a storm when the options are slim, but when you can leave your building to look for something better, I might recommend it.

Chocolate Sugar Wafers at Family Dollar

We cover a lot of fancy things here at Chocolate NYC.  But sometimes you just need to take the class up to the next level.  That's when you go to Family Dollar.

You know what this tastes like, so I will keep this brief

So you pretty much know what you are getting here.  Some cardboard-y wafer, with some sort of mysterious chocolate filling.  There are three notable things about these wafers: (1) You get a giant package for literally one dollar.  (2) They are surprisingly delicious.  (3) If you have more than two wafers you will feel physically ill for reasons you will never be able to ascertain.

All that said, these are kosher pareve, and I would take these over Hauser of Belgium any day.

Bottom Line: If you go far enough into Brooklyn to visit an adorable puppy, sometimes you need to make sacrifices to eat something chocolatey.

Worth it.

Ion Galaktos

I am making a prediction: this will be the best-titled post this blog will ever have.

Anyways, so I was in Fresco for the fortieth time since I posted about them last week, and they had a bunch of Greek chocolates and candies.  I picked the one that involved the least amount of stuff-that-isn't-chocolate, the Ion Galaktos (translation supplied by my Official Greek Friend Jason).

Now Leila and I both agree that dark chocolate is superior to milk chocolate, but I think I have a softer spot in my heart for the stuff, as my grandmother used to bring me amazing bars of Lindt milk chocolate whenever she would arrive from Europe.

But there are two types of milk chocolate:  Serious Milk Chocolate and candy.  This is candy.  I could tell that as soon as I bit in.  But I had never scientifically determined what makes the difference.  Until now.  Dun dun dunnnnnnnn.

It even looks like candy

The ingredients in this are good.  Most Candy Milk Chocolate has corn syrup or other junk; this does not.  There is just one thing out of place:  chocolate, sugar, soy lecithin, and vanillin.  Catch it?  I need more data, but the difference between vanilla (the real stuff) and vanillin (the flavoring) may be more important than I had suspected.

I do want to make something clear, though.  I am a chocolate purist, but I am not really a chocolate snob.  I love Candy Milk Chocolate.  I may prefer Serious Milk Chocolate (and of course I prefer dark chocolate), but Candy Milk Chocolate is better than non-chocolate candy any day.  And this is about as good as Candy Milk Chocolate gets.  I am not quite ready to answer Leila's question for myself, but if you are looking for some good candy, this would be a nice place to start.

Bottom Line: Really good candy.  Not to be compared with a bar of dark chocolate.