427830 Sat Aug 04 00:34:40 -0700 2007 15 10 Florida 0 2813003 Well I missed Kee's shipping season, and spending $30 to overnight a box a chocolate, starts to add up. Also overnighting isn't a guarantee that the chocolates won't melt. (Madame Chocolat, who idea of insulation are 2 loose fitting sheets of styrofoam.) Of course there's Romanicos. But I wanted to try some new places. So does anyone know a good place for artisanal chocolate? I'm looking for truffles and molded chocolates, but will settle for chocolate bars. Here are some place's I've found JoAnna's Marketplace Knipschildt Chocolatier Small, Medium, and Large Chocolate Boxes (Bought a box about 2 weeks before expiration date, chocolate had bloomed, and thought is was due to the temp in the store, double checked the website and it has a 4 month shelf life. Yikes! The boxes go bad on the Aug 7th, so they may get a new shipment later this month Fran's Chocolates 7pc Gray Salt Dark Chocolate Caramels (Sold OUT!!, I got the last box) Fran's Chocolates 7pc Milk Caramels Fran's Chocolates 6pc Dark Chocolate Imperiale Truffles Fran's Chocolates Nuts & Caramels Assortment These are in retail packaging and not in the nice gift boxes like on the web. Epicure Market Charles Chocolate Bar (They only had 1 bar left, not sure what flavor but I think it was a blue cover.) Marie Belle White Chocolate Sorbet Bar Mandarin and Strawberry Marie Belle Tropical Fruit Caramels (Not sure what flavor they have) Neuhaus Chocolates (They have boxes and a mini counter, so you can choose individual pieces.) Wild Oats Market Vosges Haut-Chocolat Barcelona Exotic Candy Bar - Hickory smoked almonds + fleur de sel gray sea salt + deep milk chocolate Goji Exotic Candy Bar - Tibetan goji berries + pink Himalayan salt + deep milk chocolate Woolloomooloo Exotic Candy Bar - roasted & salted macadamia nuts + Indonesian coconut + hemp seed + deep milk chocolate Naga Exotic Candy Bar - sweet Indian curry powder + coconut flakes + deep milk chocolate Fresh Market Theo Chocolate Origin, Nib Brittle, Bread and Chocolate - Chocolate Bars Sat Aug 04 00:34:40 -0700 2007 112306 Auger 1 2817586 Though not an extensive selection. Try World Market (I knew it as Cost Plus in Cali) in Pembroke Pines. I've gotten Vosges there before. Mon Aug 06 09:05:16 -0700 2007 2813003 12101 lax2mia 2 2818199 while on the subject, anyone know where to find artisinal cheese in so flo?! Mon Aug 06 11:30:56 -0700 2007 2817586 109417 LesleyEats 3 3049780 Epicure Market on South Beach has a pretty good cheese selection. Sunset Corners in South Miami does as well. When I was at the Wild Oats in South Miami / Gables their selection was also decent Fri Oct 19 10:26:40 -0700 2007 2818199 35525 Frodnesor 3 3049812 The Cheese Course in Weston - worth the drive if you like hard-to-find stuff treated well (not suffocated by shrink wrap like all the grocery-type stores) New Whole Foods just opened in Coral Gables, big selection but a still a serial cheese suffocator. Fri Oct 19 10:37:27 -0700 2007 2818199 15138 YosemiteSam 1 2818402 Whole Foods' truffles are pretty good, too. In years past they didn't carry them during summer months, but this year they have had them. There is a small kiosk in the newer wing of the Aventura mall that sells exotic food items, mostly caviar from Russia, truffle oil, etc. They carry Leonidas chocolate, from Belgium. I love Vosges. I was just in Vegas for business and HAD to stop by their store to buy some truffles for myself and my running buddies. The woolooomooloo and dulce de leche flavors are unbelievable. Mon Aug 06 12:22:43 -0700 2007 2813003 10745 diablita FL 1 3050661 Chuao Chocolatier opened on the Mile in Coral Gables - a chain from California, they're highly reputable and uses top-rated chocolates from the world-famous cacao-producing Chuao region of Venezuela. Fri Oct 19 13:45:59 -0700 2007 2813003 101012 mialebven 2 3051686 When did this happen? I didn't know they opened. I've had a little bit of interest in trying them, but was discouraged by the deception in their name. The last I heard Amedei had a stranglehold on all Chuao chocolate. "Chuao is one of the only places where a chocolate maker could buy, at one stroke, 9 to 10 tons of uniformly excellent cacao. Until recently, that chocolate maker was Valrhona. Today every last kilo of cacao from Chuao goes to Amedei. Alessio went around to the brokers and negotiated directly with the farmers' cooperative, offering to pay off their debts and triple the previous price for their beans. "By the time Valrhona realized, it was gone,"" Food and Wine, May 2006 If you carefully read Chuao's website, "Named after the legendary cacao-producing region of Chuao in central Venezuela" and "Chuao Chocolatier is named for the region to reflect our mission: to produce the highest quality premium chocolate using only Venezuelan chocolate varieties" No where does it say it uses Chuao beans. Amedei Chuao chocolate is very expensive a 50g/1.75oz bar costs $12. One pound costs $108. If anyone is interested in buying Amedei Chuao, don't buy it from their Us site or their Amazon site. Shipping time is about 6 days and their have a problem keeping the chocolate from melting, unless its cold outside. Instead order from Chocosphere.com, I'm sure there are probably other places, but thats the only place I know. Also I went back to JoAnna's Marketplace again and they didn't have Knipschildt Chocolatier or Fran's Chocolates. I think they may have stopped selling them. Food & Wine, May 2006 http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-worlds-best-chocolate Fri Oct 19 22:46:08 -0700 2007 3050661 112306 Auger 3 3051835 Oh, thank you for the update! Apparently I'm behind in the chocolately news! :-) Chuao opened within the past month, only very recently. I hope they're able to live up to the standards they've vouched to aim for - but we are blessed to have so many chocolate stores here. I just wished one carried Amedei now! Has anyone tried Patchi Le Chocolat in Dadeland Mall? That store is supposed to be a good international chain but I haven't tried them yet. I did a google search, and it seems like there's another one in Doral, but that might be an error. Sat Oct 20 05:14:47 -0700 2007 3051686 101012 mialebven 4 3390457 I thought with V-day coming up, it would be a good time to revive this thread. Has anyone tried Chuao or Patchi? Comparision of the two? Which would be more appealing for the ladyfriend to get on the 14th to munch on with some champagne? Tue Feb 12 12:58:33 -0800 2008 3051835 117906 mikek 5 3392414 Chuao is alright. I'd rate it just a little above Godiva. Due to the more complex flavors. Patachi, I tried them when they opened, I wasn't impressed. Also every thing is wrapped, so you don't know what your going to eat, until you open it. Also Whole foods and Wild Oats have some stuff from Knipschildt and Vosges Haut-Chocolat. I didn't like the Knipschildt I tried before, but it was close to it's expiration date. I bought a small sample and was dissapointed again. From Vosges, they have Chocolate Flaming Hearts and a Caramel Toffee Heart Box. (Wild Oats in Pinecrest). I haven't tried these pieces, but I did buy them. I do like their bars though. Since I haven't tried them, I can't actually rate it, but I'd probably put it at 2.5 1. Godiva G (Aventura Mall only) Haven't tried, but their created by Norman Love 2. Romanicos 3. Chuao 4. Godiva 5. Knipschildt 6. Patchi Wed Feb 13 01:55:14 -0800 2008 3390457 112306 Auger 6 3392496 Went to Romanicos yesterday and they have a nice selection for Valentine's day. They let me try their champagne truffle which is filled with dulce de leche. It was delicious! I opted to buy from their Aphrodite collection, which comes with interesting flavors and is pretty to the eye. An added bonus, their chocolates are handmade, right here. Wed Feb 13 04:42:18 -0800 2008 3392414 29995 miachef 7 3393368 I'm not too crazy about their chocolate collection. The other casing is a bit too hard, and the jells for their filling are ok. I prefer their truffles instead. Wed Feb 13 09:32:49 -0800 2008 3392496 112306 Auger 5 3393578 I'm not a fan of Patchi's dark chocolates (far preferred to milk) but their milk, especially with pistachio is very very good. Wed Feb 13 10:15:15 -0800 2008 3390457 124704 Icantread 1 3394246 I recall, but could be mistaken that you could by chocolate at Caccao Wed Feb 13 12:39:03 -0800 2008 2813003 50328 tpigeon 1 3443715 Kee's has a shipping season? When is/was it? DCer going down to Miami in a few weeks - so far all the websites I've found for chocolate places in Miami have been dissapointing. So far Chuao and Romanicos seem to be the only ones even remotely worth checking out (not a fan of "European" chocolates). Any other places to try (including other artesianal non-chocolate places)? Thu Feb 28 09:27:36 -0800 2008 2813003 23552 wahoooob