Chocolate Bomb at Sugar Sweet Sunshine

Many people know of Sugar Sweet Sunshine as a cupcakery.  It has cupcakes, made with almond meal/flour/something.  I am assured by cupcake lovers that they are exceptional cupcakes.  But a chocolate lover gets distracted by the almond and craves something more chocolatey.  Don't worry; they've got you covered.  Just walk around the corner of the counter.

This disaster is one of my favorite chocolate desserts in the city, and certainly a must-go on the Lower East Side:

That's chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and chocolate whipped cream, mashed together, scooped into a cup, and eaten as pudding with a spoon.

Bottom Line:  I gained 10 pounds just typing up this review, and all I wanted was the opportunity to gain 20 more with another cup of this stuff.

Foray to Massachusetts #1: Downtown Boston Chocolate Walking Tour

I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Boston, where I visited a lot of chocolate venues-- some of them old favorites, some new delights. I did not take photos at all of them. I also did not eat things at all of them. Only because I did not pace myself well, so I got too full for more chocolate. Poor life planning.

Anyway, I'm offering you here a more complete Boston Chocolate Walking Tour. Pace yourself better than me, and do your best to make it to all of these places. I promise it's worth it.

Here is a map of all of them, because I am technologically adept:


View Chocolate NYC Boston Walking Tour in a larger map

Start at your furthest point north and east: the North End, near the Haymarket T stop. First stop is Mike's Pastry (300 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113), the most famous place in Boston to buy cannoli. They have so many cannoli flavors here. Like chocolate mousse! Chocolate Ricotta! Other chocolate flavors!

The North End is known for its food, so you're not done here yet. Next visit Cocoanuts (28 Parmenter Street, Boston, MA 02113). This place is beautifully curated, and they carry so many delicious options, including some of my favorites (Liddabit Sweets and Asher's), as well as brands I'd never even heard of before (like Zoe's). I met one of the owners, and she is clearly a woman who knows and loves her chocolate. I would like to go back here and buy one of everything, please and thank you.

Photos of Cocoanuts, for your salivation:

Next cross the Greenway to get to Quincy Marketplace, a historical Boston shopping area where you can find the historical Boston Chipyard (257 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA). The Chipyard was founded in 1976. It is a Boston institution. (That's right, it was sounded on America's bicentennial year. Coincidence? Okay, yes, probably.)

The Chipyard makes small, chewy cookies in flavors like "banana chocolate chip" and "oatmeal raisin chocolate chip" and "double chocolate." I would say more about this place, except I didn't buy any cookies, because they wouldn't sell me just one-- they only sell them in bags of a half-dozen-- and frankly I was already full from my first stops on this walking tour. I disapprove of that policy.

Now walk even further west, to Beacon Hill, where you will find the appropriately-named Beacon Hill Chocolates (91 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114). This is another very high-quality chocolate shop. I could have spent all day and $300 dollars in here. Thank God, I did not.

Also in Beacon Hill is a branch of J. P. Licks (150 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114), one of my all-time favorite Boston ice cream brands. THEY HAVE SO MANY FLAVORS. Special flavors for this month include options like, "Chocolate Peppermint Sorbet - Sinfully rich chocolate sorbet refreshed with mint and chunks of peppermint candy." I can't, guys. I just can't.

Now walk a little south and a little further west, so you're heading down Newbury Street, Boston's premier shopping street. (Think 5th Ave., only calmer and classier, because it's New England.) Your first stop off Newbury is L. A. Burdick (220 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA). L. A. Burdick now has a store in NYC, so you can trust that they will get a more complete review one of these days, but for now let me just say that their shtick is offering a half dozen single-origin hot chocolates, which are exactly as good as they sound.

Next stop on Newbury Street is the Hotel Chocolat (137 Newbury Street, Boston, MA). This place has a very sleek, European feel. And they offer free samples sometimes. And they have one chocolate tasting box, and I don't know what is in it, but it costs $230.

Your last stop is ice cream: Emack and Bolio (290 Newbury Street, Boston, MA). Their website tagline says "ice cream for the connoisseur," and if that's not me, then frankly I don't know what is. I love Emack and Bolio ice cream; always have. They now have a branch in NYC, so again you can expect a full review some point soon. Not to give it away, but: it's going to be a positive one.

And that's it! The best of downtown Boston in one amazing afternoon.

Did I miss any of your favorite spots? Let me know! I'd love to check them out.

The Humbug at Liddabit Sweets

The Union Square holiday market is in full effect, complete with lots of overhyped, artisanal goods.  I hope you are ready.  I wasn't.

I should have been.  I've had other Liddabit Sweets products before, and they are very good.  They have a line of honeycomb bars.  They have some pumpkin things.  Good times all around.  But I was still not prepared for The Humbug.

It's some sort of chocolate truffle with crushed peppermint in it.  We love that here.  But doing it in a truffle instead of a chocolate bar is really some next level magic.

Bottom Line:  A crispy, mint-flavored, chocolate truffle.  Holiday magic is real.

Ground Support Cafe Hot Chocolate

There is nothing particularly special to say about Ground Support's hot chocolate. It is fine. If you're on West Broadway and you want a chocolate drink, you won't regret it, but you certainly don't need to seek it out.

Really I am including this hot chocolate to make a point. That point is as follows:

Hot chocolate is better when drunk out of a ceramic mug. Period. You can take the exact same hot chocolate and put it in a paper cup, and it will not taste as good.

I don't know exactly why. But I know this is true.

BOTTOM LINE: Pro tip: when given the choice, always drink your hot chocolate out of a non-disposable mug.

OatMeals

I have already mentioned my affinity for chocolate oatmeal.  Well, you can buy it in New York, of course, at OatMeals.

OatMeals is an oatmeal bar.  You get water- or milk-based oatmeal, into which you can mix... well, anything you could possibly want.  This time I kept it pretty simple -- dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, chocolate sauce... and a second helping of dark chocolate.  And it was glorious.

Bottom Line:  Now that I am an adult I eat adult chocolate cereals.  Let's all be adults together.  Wait, you've got a little fudge on the corner of... no, the other si-- here, I'll get it.

Guest Post by Angel: El Ceibo 77% Cocoa Nibs & Uyuni Salt

Angel, a great friend of the blog and the only person we know who is as into chocolate as we are, was kind enough to grace us with a review of El Ceibo's nibs+salt bar.  Her words and pictures follow:

The El Ceibo is not the best, but it is good.  It has a smooth velvety texture.  The taste is fruity with a nice sweet/bitter balance.  The aftertaste is slightly milky and bitter.  It's strangely not very nibby or salty.  I wouldn't even notice the salt if I hadn't seen the label.

After nibbling on it at work for a few days, I realized that I was just eating it because it was there, not because I craved it. I think the fruity profile of the chocolate was just a bit too much. I would eat it if offered, but I would not buy it again.

Bottom Line:  It is perfectly serviceable chocolate, but I would not go out of my way for it.

Sweet as Fudge Candy Shoppe Raspberry Jell Rings

Based on their website, Sweet as Fudge Candy Shoppe seems like a place I would really enjoy. I have never been, because it is in Philadelphia and I am almost never in Philadelphia. But my co-worker went there on her birthday and brought back this container of raspberry jell rings to share with the office:

Obviously, I hated these. They are a tiny bit of chocolate surrounding a bunch of hard jelly. I hate hard jelly. Probably I should not have eaten them at all, except they were the only chocolate in my office, and it was extremely kind of my co-worker to share them with us, so I ate two of them.

Now I feel like I need to go to Philadelphia and seek out the Sweet as Fudge Candy Shoppe and give it its fair due. By buying something that is actually about chocolate. And not just about raspberry.

BOTTOM LINE: You definitely have to be a raspberry jelly fan to get any enjoyment out of these raspberry jells.