64787 Tue Nov 30 17:18:33 -0800 2004 29 2 Los Angeles Area 0 348419 Kidlet and I are on a quest for the perfect chocolatier. Saw Recchiuti chcolates at Whole Foods and bought an assortment. My daughter and I are in agreement -- blech, yuck, phlooey! You bite into a third rate taste of chocolate, (what have they done to destroy that flavor?) and end up with an aftertaste of herbs. According to the printed label, these chocolates have green & black tea, tarragon, peppercorn, star anise, bergamot oil, etc. -- all lovely ingredients on their own, but gosh-darn nasty tasting blended in chocolate. Tue Nov 30 17:18:33 -0800 2004 0 Sandra W. 1 348430 That is very bizarre...I think they are the best chocolates around. Maybe the box was old? Tue Nov 30 17:43:40 -0800 2004 348419 0 Clare K. 1 348431 So, I'm curious... What are your favorites so far? I'd love to try them out. Tue Nov 30 17:43:54 -0800 2004 348419 0 Rick 2 348502 Took a trip up north last month. Woodhouse Chocolates in Napa were amazing. Link: http://woodhousechocolate.com/home.asp Tue Nov 30 21:33:08 -0800 2004 348431 0 Sandra W. 1 348443 Near LA but not here - I've liked the passionfruit filled chocolate from Chuao in encinitas that a friend brought me recently http://www.chuaochocolatier.com/index2.html and the zebra truffle thing from Trufflehound's in Ventura. Main St. Tue Nov 30 18:12:01 -0800 2004 348419 0 Jerome 2 348521 totally second Chuao Chocolates. They are based out of San Diego and have the most delectable bon bons and truffles. They also have a killer spicy hot chocolate made from actual chocolate (vs cocoa powder). Try their cocoa nibs, too. Ingredients sound odd, but totally addictive! Their website is www.chuaochocolatier.com. You can order online and get it FedExed to you we were just in SF and bought a box of Recchiuti Chocolates from their stall at the Ferry Market. So far, not bad, although if I'm eating flavored chocolate, I like a little more kick. Scharffen Berger is making bon bons now (also got a box at the Ferry Market in SF). I thought theirs were more flavorful with deeper chocolate than Recchiuti's. My all time fave (and luxe) chocolate is Voges Haute Chocolates out of NYC. Very expensive and decadent, but outstanding chocolate and very creative flavors. Stuff I'd never think of. website is www.vosgeschocolate.com. Out of the above, I vote for Chuao (best price for high quality) and then Voges (high price for high quality and creativity). Wed Dec 01 00:20:35 -0800 2004 348443 0 daantaat 3 348532 Aw, phooey. They were selling Chuao chocolates at Legoland (where we took PayOrPlay Jr. this weekend) but I hadn't heard about them before and didn't buy any. Now, based on these glowing reviews, I am regretful. Can you get them anywhere in L.A.? Wed Dec 01 00:58:14 -0800 2004 348521 0 PayOrPlay 4 348588 I just re-read daantaat's post and noted the reference to Scharffen Berger bon bons for sale in S.F. Although the standard Scharffen Berger bars are pretty much ubiquitous down here, I haven't seen anything like these specialty products in L.A. (And, for that matter, I don't even see them on the Scharffen Berger website, although I might just be looking in the wrong place. Anyway, I try to avoid mail ordering chocolate because I always end up ordering, and eating, too much.) So, in addition to any local store than sells Chuao, I'd appreciate hearing about any local outlets that are selling the Scharffen Berger bon bons or other unusual S-B products. Wed Dec 01 15:01:49 -0800 2004 348532 0 PayOrPlay 5 348593 PayOrPlay, I have seen quite a few S-B products at Peet's Coffee and Tea stores. I have not yet seen the bon bons, but Peet's may be worth a call. Good luck..... JEFF Wed Dec 01 15:38:21 -0800 2004 348588 0 Jeff Rose 4 348677 Good question, I don't know if you can get Chuao Chocolate in LA. However, I suspect that if you email/call them, they could give you the info. We live in SD and make regular routine stops at their store in the UTC mall, which has gradually become busier and busier since they opened. :-) Wed Dec 01 23:53:39 -0800 2004 348532 0 daantaat 3 348673 Try Jaques Torres' cocoa powder (they're in New York.) Bought tins of it last year for holiday gifts. Everyone loved it. Link: http://jacquestorres.com/ Wed Dec 01 23:36:17 -0800 2004 348521 0 Sandra W. 3 348689 I adore Chuao. I've tried Vosges (Naga bar is good, the rest is overpriced, although creative, imo), Maison du Chocolat, Burdick's, Martine's, Recchiuti (very disappointing), Kee's Chocolates, etc., but Chuao is my favorite overall -- I don't like quite a few of their pieces, but the passionfruit caramel, strawberry balsamic caramel, banana brown sugar caramel, almond truffle, and rio caribe are delicious. I'm also a fan of Teuscher's champagne truffles. Not a fan of Chuao's hot chocolate, though. I've tried it twice in the store and each time it's been watery and lackluster. Thu Dec 02 01:00:38 -0800 2004 348521 0 emily 4 348926 buy a bag of Chuao's hot chocolate and bring it home to make. we make it with milk, even though it says you only need water. the milk totally gives it body and depth, which water really can't do. we've done it with both nonfat and lowfat milk. lowfat milk really starts getting decadent with the texture! Fri Dec 03 01:58:59 -0800 2004 348689 0 daantaat 2 348618 That passionfruit heart is my favorite Chuao piece. That's an easy combo though. I haven't found a passionfruit chocolate piece that I've hated yet. I'm not really a big Chuao person otherwise. Wed Dec 01 17:14:50 -0800 2004 348443 0 jschyun 1 348460 I have had most of the Recchiuti chocolates you mention fresh from their stall in SF and found all of them outstanding. Never tried the ones they carry at WF. If you want comparable chocolates in the LA area try JIN PATISSERIE on Abbot Kinney. Tue Nov 30 19:12:18 -0800 2004 348419 0 Marco Polo 2 348621 After a recent trip to Jin Patisserie (thanks guys for the tip) I tried most of the chocolates and found I liked the lavender and passionfruit ones the best and the black sesame one the least. The others I tried didn't really make an impression on me, either bad or good. Wed Dec 01 17:18:04 -0800 2004 348460 0 jschyun 1 348462 I've never had Recchiuti but I do like the chocolates made at Cacao Cafe in Long Beach, that do feature the aformentioned flavors. I thought that the bergamont was the best. Otherwise, I prefer nonadulterated bars of high cacao chocolates like Valrhona and such. Tue Nov 30 19:17:17 -0800 2004 348419 0 Panoz 1 348477 I was intrigued by the description of these chocolates that I've never had before, so I actually perused their website (linked below). Nice looking website w/ amazing looking confections IMO--talk about haute chocolate!! These may be a little more designer for my taste (I'm more Old Navy than Dolce & Gabbana), but I will probably have to buy a few to sample when I'm in SF next. Actually, the pates de fruits look very appealing... BTW, if you go to "retail partners" under "locations," you will notice that Whole Foods is not listed as one of their "preferred retail partners." Not sure what that really means, but the listed partners look more like high-end places. Link: http://www.recchiuticonfections.com/cgi-bin/chocolate/home/index.html Tue Nov 30 20:08:26 -0800 2004 348419 0 Carb Lover 1 348599 I agree and have been sorely disappointed by Recchiuti. My favorites are XO truffels from San Francisco. Locally, I like Picholine chocolates at Virgil and First Street. I love their plain chocolate truffels, but they have lots of variations as well. Wed Dec 01 15:50:56 -0800 2004 348419 0 sku 1 348613 The Recchiuti chocolates I've purchased at the Ferry Terminal market have been excellent. A gift box I recieved that was purchased locally was unimpressive. Locally, I like plain truffles and dark chocolate covered marizipan from K and champagne truffles from Teuscher. Expensive. Honorable mention to Jin. I've only had them once but they were quite good. I think the newly opened Woodhouse in Napa has an excellent price to quality ratio. Pretty packaging too. Wed Dec 01 17:06:23 -0800 2004 348419 0 JudiAU 2 348643 I used to be a fan of Teuscher, but I don't know, lately it seems to me that others are coming up with better, cheaper alternatives. However, that is not to say that Teuscher is bad. I travel to SF a lot, so if someone is really desperate, I'd be willing to hand carry some stuff back to L.A. for them. Make the request on the yahoo groups site for the L.A. board. Wed Dec 01 19:15:47 -0800 2004 348613 0 jschyun 3 348655 It is very hard to calculate the expense of chocolate. I will say that I am going to weigh the chocolates I bought today at K. Small bag, $25. Wed Dec 01 20:28:29 -0800 2004 348643 0 JudiAU 4 348714 Yeah, it is hard. Personally, I like K. better than Teuscher, but then again, Teuscher has much more selection. That store on Highland is the nicest Teuscher store I've been to. I'll call it even and say they're both expensive. K's truffles are my favorite. $25 for a small bag, but then she gives out a lot of free samples too. I've tried most of her stuff, but I still favor the truffles when I'm in town. Thu Dec 02 11:19:54 -0800 2004 348655 0 jschyun 5 348732 K's use of free samples is pretty brilliant. They are very generous and I always ending up buying chocolate. Thu Dec 02 12:29:51 -0800 2004 348714 0 JudiAU 1 348681 Totally agree. Recchiuti is a poser, IMHO. He uses Guittard chocolate for "couverture." So does See's, but somehow it tastes better on See's. Here in SF, I like Sharffen Berger for locally made chocolate, and XOX (in spades!) for confections. Thu Dec 02 00:13:51 -0800 2004 348419 0 Gary Soup 1 348798 Has anyone tried Leonidas (Belgian) chocolates here in the US? I bought a bunch of Leonidas over in Belgium, and my friends and family LOVED them. Same great quality here? Anyone familiar? Looks as though they sell these delectables at a few places locally, which I highly recommend (so long as they're almost as good as the ones purchased over in Belgium). Link: http://www.leonidas-chocolate.com/wheretobuy.html Thu Dec 02 15:26:25 -0800 2004 348419 0 Sunshine Girl 2 348810 As the website shows, there are a few Leonidas outlets now open in L.A., including one near the Santa Monica Promenade. I thought the chocolates were OK but not as refined as Teuscher nor as satisfying as See's; the hot chocolate, however, is terrific, a definitely positive alternative to all the darned coffee around there. Thu Dec 02 16:03:26 -0800 2004 348798 0 PayOrPlay 3 348834 Hmmm, maybe what I got in Belgium was just superior by the fact it was in Belgium...either that or the Belgian ales were affecting the palate. Thanks for the insight. Thu Dec 02 17:23:10 -0800 2004 348810 0 Sunshine Girl 1 348841 In my search to find this K's chocolate shop and where it is located, I found a great article from Los Angeles Magazine that lists and describes some of the chocolate makers and retailers around town. Thought you all might enjoy (also lists addresses and locations for some of the chocolatiers mentioned in postings). Link: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1346/is_2_47/ai_82322708/pg_2 Thu Dec 02 17:32:34 -0800 2004 348419 0 Lalaland 1 348859 My fave is gone but maybe someone here has info - there was a company on Third near the beverly center (next to B&L) called Bit Of Sweetland. They were Hungarians and supposedly had fled in 1956 with the recipe book for the chocolates from Gerbeaud's (aka vorosmarti, gerbeaud again). They closed (sadly, they were great, confections like Lehar, figaro, the krokant etc) and opened a wholesale place in Camarillo called Jerbo i believe. They sold through bullocks. And now that closed. Anyone here have info on where they might be today??? Thu Dec 02 18:45:03 -0800 2004 348419 0 Jerome