433346 Mon Aug 20 19:56:04 -0700 2007 1 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2864433 I decided to catch up on the latest in "haute" chocolate bars, having relied too much on the TJ's-Chocovic crutch lately, and some research (thanks to seventypercent.com) made me feel like Rip van Winkle. I learned that the new kid on the block and contender for the best chocolate made in the US is Amano, in Orem Utah. Since Amano seems to have emerged from nowhere, finding an Amano bar or two (they've produce three, so far) became my top priority, along with possibly a new-to-me Domori or something else recently ascended to seventypercent.com's top 10 list. Though I have little interest in flavored bars, as a public service I did a quick Zotter's census at the two stops I made, first at Chocolate Covered on 24th St., then at Fog City News, downtown. Zotter's: I spotted 17 varieties at Chocolate Covered (they previously had more) and 12 at Fog City News. Jack Epstein at Chocolate Covered said that Zotter's had temporarily stopped taking new orders, as they are re-tooling and planning on making their own couverture. Chocolate Covered was completely out of Domori bars except for some tasting squares, which may have been a blessing in disguise as I was able to pick up a sample of 5 Domori issues I hadn't tried before without spending a king's raqnsom for full-sized bars. CC also had no Amano bars. That left me with a budget for a couple of other ineteresting purchases, a Chuao from Bonnat (France). There's been some perplexity as to how Bonnat got their hands on Chuao beans, since Amedei supposedly has exclusive access to the Chuao plantation. The other find was a Cuban Trinitario bar from from Pralus (also France), of interest because a Cuban-bean chocolate is technically illegal in the US, and the CC people told me they probably wouldn't be getting any more... At Fog City they had a single Domori straight chocolate bar (Porcelana), and a couple of flavors: one with salt and one with peperoncini (what are they up to?) and two of the three Amano offerings. I bought one (a 70% Ocumare) because they were pricey, 8 bucks for a stingy 56 g (2 oz.) bar and I had already busted my budget. Overall, based on visiting both the same day, I'd compare the two by saying that Chocolate Covered, while almost as pricey, has a significantly larger selection and friendlier staff. Chocolate Covered 4069 24th St San Francisco, CA 94114 Fog City News 455 Market St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Sorry, "Link to a place" doesn't work with my browser. Mon Aug 20 19:56:05 -0700 2007 10255 Gary Soup 1 2866240 Glad to hear you liked Chocolate Covered, I've always found Jack to be very nice and very knowledgeable -- and opinionated -- about his chocolate. Tue Aug 21 10:58:02 -0700 2007 2864433 14494 bernalgirl