L.A. Burdick

After Leila visited L.A. Burdick in Boston, it stoked my memory, and Angel and I went to L.A. Burdick in Flatiron.  I had not been in about 4 years.  (Which of course has not stopped me from expressing opinions.)  Of course this meant we needed to buy one of everything:

LA Burdick is especially known for its selection of single-origin hot chocolates.  When I went four years ago, I got a sampler of hot chocolates and... a lot of other things.  Here is the email I sent to Leila and Angel immediately after getting home:

LA Burdick has not great bon bons and chocolate mousse, BUT it has a really interesting hot chocolate situation.  they have 6 different single origin hot chocolates.  the madagascar, ecuador, and venezuela were GREAT.  the bolivia, dominican republic, and grenada were not good.  the first three were, like, around vosges-level good.  which is really good.

Yes, we have been serious about this stuff for many years now.

In any case, my previous suspicions were confirmed on my return.  The bon bons were nothing special.  The cake was a disaster -- there was some fruit situation hidden sparsely inside.  The macaron was adequate.

But the hot chocolates were great.  We got Madagascar and Venezuela, having pulled up my old email (though a few of the flavors had changed).  I of course preferred the Venezuela.  Angel preferred the Madagascar.  But, in any case, two satisfied customers.

We also got two chocolate bars:

They were clearly crafted with love:

And in fact they may have been the highlight of the whole stop.  Both bars were excellent.  I had never seen this before, but they had a percentage range -- 69%-72% and 70%-72%.  Not that much of a range, but still.  The former was a blended origin with nibs and the latter was a simple Venezuela origin.  Both were delicious, and both were devoured within a few minutes.

Bottom Line: If you keep it simple here, you will do very well.  Just don't get carried away.  In other words, don't be us.

Lavazza Hot Chocolate

Usually I avoid Eataly with all my might because, hello, I am not a tourist. But last week I was hungry and in the neighborhood, so I gave it a shot. Naturally I wound up quenching my hunger with a hot chocolate, as that is my go-to dinner food.

The hot chocolate was Lavazza, which is one of the first stands you see when you walk in the front door. In true Italian fashion, it was extremely thick. It was surprisingly delicious, considering my uninformed snobbery about Eataly. It really did taste like Italian hot chocolate. And the price point was surprisingly reasonable-- about as much as Starbucks hot chocolate, only way thicker, denser, and darker.

BOTTOM LINE: Surprisingly delicious and intense hot chocolate; great value for the price.

Belgian Hot Chocolate at Petite Abeille

A lot of the time when you order hot chocolate, you get Swiss Miss and water.  Or, if you are lucky, steamed milk with Hershey's syrup.  Now, if there's nothing else around, and if the Swiss Miss/Hershey's to water/milk ratio is high enough, I will happily drink that.

Sometimes, though, you get something that is basically melted chocolate, super thick, and filling enough for two meals.  Or maybe you'll get something completely unsweetened.  Or maybe something fancy, with a scoop of ice cream in it.  These are typically my favorites.

But sometimes you just want hot chocolate.  You know.  With milk and chocolate.  That's what we have here:

Petite Abeille is a lovely little spot in the West Village (along with spots in Chelsea and Flatiron).  They have waffles.  They have Tiny Flemish Pancakes.  Whatever you are picturing right now, they are tinier, and probably more Flemish.  It's a good scene.  And they have hot chocolate.  It's worth a trip.

Bottom Line: When you make hot chocolate from milk and chocolate, good things tend to happen.