150847 Thu Feb 24 21:29:33 -0800 2005 14 12 Boston Area 0 809187 My wife is on the South Beach Diet, which allows occasional tastes of dark chocolate. Any suggestions on where to find some special stuff? (She likes the Scharfenberger I've found at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods). thanks, nick Thu Feb 24 21:29:33 -0800 2005 0 Nick 1 809189 Formaggio Kitchen in Huron Village and South End Formaggio carry a few high-end French and Belgian varieties of chocolate. Their petit fours are pretty special, too. Come to think of it, the charcuterie is just the thing for someone on a low-carb diet. Thu Feb 24 22:20:36 -0800 2005 809187 0 MC Slim JB 1 809190 Valrhona Le Noir and several different types of varietal choco bars at Trader Joe's. Definitely try all of these... they're quite unique in flavor and trying a bunch can be a fun experience. Thu Feb 24 22:28:13 -0800 2005 809187 0 rxrfrx 1 809192 I'm guessing that includes nuts, as well? I'd go for a divine mouthful of bittersweet almond or hazelnut cluster from Serenade, in Brookline Village. Link: http://www.bistrodraw.com/Furniture.htm Thu Feb 24 23:03:28 -0800 2005 809187 0 galleygirl 1 809193 I personally flavour straight chocolate bars, preferably of single origins. My personal favourite for day to day consumption is Chocovic's Guaranda at Trader Joe's, made solely from Ecuadorian Forresto beans. It's not as aristocratic as the Venezuelan Criollo beans (Chocovic's Ocumare features those and is very popular with chowhounds), but I like the mildly smoky, and more pronounced woodsy flavours of the Ecuadorian chocolate. $1.79 a bar and (to me) preferable to the more basic Valrhona and Scharfenberger bars. Other good places to scope out are Savenor's on Charles Street, Marty's Liquors, the Formaggio Kitchens (South End and Huron Ave) and Christina's spice store, next to their ice cream store. I've been able to score some single origin chocolates from Michel Cluizel at Savenor's. Expensive but fairly tight knit and complex flavours. Bright fruitty notes on the "Hacienda Los Ancones" from Saint Domingue (the back of the packaging lists currant and apricot among others). More demure, a bigger emphasis on an earthy acidic flavour in the "Hacienda Mangaro" from Madagascar. If you really want to drop a lot of money, Richart at Copley has a range of chocolates with interesting flavours. I sampled their "herbal" set, very finessed touches of flavours like green tea, mint/verbena, basil etc... Only complaint is that at these prices, I expect finely tempered chocolate, and the shells didn't show that perfect brittle snap that a good chocolatier could bring out of chocolate. There are some differences in what Formaggio at the South End and Huron Ave stock in terms of chocolate. I've seen boxes of Michael Rechiutti chocolates (from the Bay Area) at the South End branch, and they're about probably the most refined chocolates I've had from this country. Unfortunately, they don't feature the whole range, just a limited box. Rose caramels (well, these are white chocolate, and thus all the ore surprisingly good) and the Ecuadorian varietal are my favourites of the lot, but I'm not sure those boxes have them. BTW, I remember trying some really expensive single origin chocolates - $7 a bar - that a friend got from Formaggio south end, forgot the branch, black wrapping, from a Spanish company iirc, sort of very good but not outstanding when one considers the price. Been able to get the outstanding Dolfin chocolates (Belgian) at Formaggio south end, some of my favourite chocolates with fanciful but cohesive flavourings. I love the green anise. Seen the less adventurous chocolates from Dolfin at Bread and Circus on Prospect Ave in Cambridge. Also Belgian and excellent but easy to find basic chocolate is Cote d'Or. Seen them at Christina's and a bunch of other places. You might also consider posting a query on mail order chocolates on the General Topics board. It'll potentially expand the possibilities. Thu Feb 24 23:54:24 -0800 2005 809187 0 Limster 2 809207 This is a pretty comprehensive list, but I'll chime in with a few other. LA Burdick's in Harvard Square for various chocolate treats. Marty's Liquor's, in Newton on Washington St. has a selction, and the lowest prices around by far, on some high-end chocolates in bulk format. For everyday noshing, I prefer the Callebaut chocolate chips they sell for about $4.00 a pound. They come in different percentages of cocoa from 52% to 70%, and doing a taste test of them can be fun as well. They also sell Valrona in broken pieces of the 10 kilo bar. Limster, you should take a drive to Providence and check out Garrison's Chocolatier on Hope St. They have chocolates like Richart, but sound like more of what you'd like. Very exotic ingrediants, beautiful preparations, small and expensive (about $1.50 per for a small bite). But very high quality. Fri Feb 25 10:41:20 -0800 2005 809193 0 winedude 3 809215 And Garrison chocolates is run by an artisanal chocolatier, Andrew Garrison Schotts -which ups my level of hope for that tempered 'snap'. Drew did a demo at the Boston Finales a couple of years ago, I talked with him at a French Cluniary Institute conference last year, and he's the real deal. I still haven't made it to the Providence shop (wanted to stop by on our way back from Pepe's Pizza in New Haven!) but just reading his seasonal flavor changes makes me think road trip. Link: http://www.garrisonconfections.com/ Fri Feb 25 11:49:03 -0800 2005 809207 0 pastrytroll 3 809248 I'll be talking to some of my pals who drive about a trip up to Providence soon. Many thanks! Fri Feb 25 18:26:17 -0800 2005 809207 0 Limster 2 809227 I'm so with you on the Guaranda at Trader Joe's. Such great flavor, I prefer it to others in the series. Nice hints of citrus and only 100 calories for 2 pieces. I find that I enjoy it more than many of the expensive European brands. Fri Feb 25 13:48:32 -0800 2005 809193 0 MB 2 809239 Limster, The $7 per bar chocolate that your friend picked up were Maglio chocolates from somewhere in Italy. I agree that they are good but the price is a bit much. Fwiw, the gentleman at FK tried to steer me towards picking up Maglio's candied fruits over their chocolates. Fri Feb 25 16:03:37 -0800 2005 809193 0 fragolino 3 809249 Cool - thanks for pointing out the Maglio. Did you get the candied fruit in the end? And forgot to mention Cardullo's in Harvard Sq as another possible source of good chocolates. Fri Feb 25 18:29:38 -0800 2005 809239 0 Limster 4 809292 I did pick up a package of the candied fruit but am not generally a fan. Theirs was of good quality but like with the chocolate I wouldn't go out of my way to get it. Sat Feb 26 17:50:32 -0800 2005 809249 0 fragolino 2 809286 second the chocovic (though i'm of criollo persuasion myself). but the price is right for both:$1.79 for 85 grams. at the other end of the price scale is my absolutely favorite indulgence: fran's bittersweet thins (mint or plain, i prefer mine straight). $8.49 for three or so ounces -- 25 individual thins -- one is enough (a good thing at those prices). the only place i've seen them locally is at pemberton farms om mass ave in north cambridge. Sat Feb 26 17:08:21 -0800 2005 809193 0 lynn 1 809250 mrchocolate.com JacquesTorres......yum, one is all you need.....soo good! Fri Feb 25 18:48:07 -0800 2005 809187 0 slyfox 1 809274 Suggest that you head over to Serenade, in Brookline Village. Great shop run by extremely nice people who, in my opinion, make the best dark chocolate in the area. Sat Feb 26 12:04:15 -0800 2005 809187 0 Elzoe