Vosges Marzipan Bar, Green Tea Bar, and Hot Chocolate

I stopped by the Vosges shop in Soho recently, and they are really just a solid company.

So the matcha green tea bar with spirulina was not the biggest hit.  I mean, it was ok.  But Roh-Kaolade did it better.  Still, it was interesting.

The marzipan bar was really excellent.  The marzipan was fresher and gooey-er than the Rittersport version.  The only downside was that it had a stronger taste, so that -- despite have a higher chocolate-to-marzipan quantity ratio than the Rittersport -- it did not have a substantially higher chocolate-to-marzipan taste ratio.

It should also be noted that Vosges makes excellent hot chocolate.  It is not thick like City Bakery's.  It is for drinking.  It is a drink.  That is ok.  It is delicious.  It tastes like chocolate.

Bottom Line: Vosges is great, because they do simple things really well but also have really wacky ideas that are usually worth a try.

Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe in Cambridge, MA: featuring Olive and Sinclair 75%, Fruition 70%, Vosges 65% Gingerbread Toffee, and The Tea Room Green Earl Gray 60%

During a recent trip to Boston, Kasey and I purchased three bars at Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe:

The Olive and Sinclair bar was too fruity for me, and -- while I believe it when the label says it is stone ground -- it did not have the classic, gritty "stone ground" texture.  Kasey liked it though.  When I complained that it was too fruity, Kasey brought out a 70% Fruition bar that immediately sent me into fruitiness shock.  I had previously taken issue with their 66% bar as being too fruity, and the 70% was even more extreme.  

The Vosges Gingerbread Toffee bar was surprisingly delicious.  Kasey liked it but was not as excited as I was.  I thought the gingerbread and toffee added a nice texture and did not take away from the chocolate flavor.

The Tea Room Green Earl Gray bar was the most interesting.  You get smacked by the taste of tea and oils the moment you bite in, before even tasting the chocolate.  It was all too much for me, but Kasey clearly enjoyed it.

Bottom Line: Three interesting bars from a shop(pe) with a great selection.  As usual, I pick the Vosges bar.

Dagoba Mint, Lindt 90%, and Vosges Bacon

So here is a pretty normal evening for me.  Go see a friend play some music, hang out afterwards, buy three bars of chocolate, go somewhere with some people, and finish the chocolate in like five minutes.  So recently I did that with these three bars:

So here is some useful advice for the serious chocolate lover in a bind.  My favorite chocolate bar that you can purchase at Duane Reade is the Lindt 90% bar.  

It's super high percentage but not bitter.  I'm sure they do something super unnatural to make it so mild, but I'm not complaining.  Whatever they do really brings out the chocolate flavor.

The other bar I found -- not at Duane Reade -- was the Dagoba Mint bar.  It was not bad, but we have reviewed so many excellent mint bars that it is hard to recommend this too strongly.  But if you are out of mint options and have a craving, you will not be disappointed.

I don't eat bacon, but my friends do.  I love Vosges, so I picked up their bacon bar for everyone else.  It was a pretty big hit

Bottom Line: I continue to survive in the face of adversity.

Vosges Peppermint Candy Cane Bar

The peppermint blitz continues!  Vosges makes "Haut Chocolat."  It's even the subtitle to their name.  And it's very true.  But how will a haut chocolatier fare when trying to make not just a peppermint bar, but a candy cane bar?

I will answer that question myself, because that is my job.  The answer is, "Very well."  The question was for dramatic effect.  Did you feel the drama?  I know I did.

So they literally use crushed candy canes.  As many of you know, candy canes are peppermint-flavored candy.  Which, in America, means they usually don't actually have any peppermint in them, or any mint at all. They are mostly corn syrup with some artificial flavoring.  Don't complain.  If you want to complain, buy a regular peppermint bar.  This is America.

But, as I stated, Vosges is haut chocolat.  They are not going to make a plain, artificial candy cane flavored bar and send you packing.  It's a Peppermint Candy Cane Bar, and so there is actual peppermint oil in here too.  Don't worry: the natural and artificial peppermints play nice together, and the candy canes add the perfect crunch.

My only real question is: If you cover candy in high quality chocolate, is it still candy?

Bottom Line: I know that you should buy and eat this.  I just don't know whether it is candy.