We started first at High Rise Bread Company. I've been here for lunch and they have delicious homemade soups. After we all had a square of Tazo Chocolate (delicious, interesting texture and did I mention delicious?!?!) one of the High Rise Bread bakers offered samples of their "chocolate cork". Sadly it was choc full of flour so I couldn't have any but my friends said it was like a super thick brownie. Because there was just so much damn chocolate on this tour I was kind of glad that I couldn't have any of this treat so I could save room for everything else.
Our next stop was LA Burdick. They are best known for their dark hot chocolate. It's so rich that it's like drinking molten lava chocolate. They also have a lovely selection of chocolates including these adorable chocolate penguins. How could anyone want to eat one??
Burdick's hot chocolate is so rich that even a small size cup is almost too much so I was kind of relieved that they gave us a super small sample. If I could run a hot bath of this chocolate and lie in it all day I would die a happy woman :-)
From Burdick's we stopped at Crema Cafe, a place more known for their delicious salads and sandwiches than their baked goods. They offered mini chocolate croissants which judging by how much chocolate my friends managed to smear all over the faces and hands was quite yummy. The cafe gave me a gluten-free cookie with walnuts and caramel. I'll try it once I've recovered from my chocolate coma.
It was right about this point in the tour that I started feeling very loopy - I couldn't stop giggling and the world was slightly spinning. That's right, I was drunk from the chocolate. My brother's girlfriend couldn't believe what a "cheap date" I was. She is one in a long line of many who have remarked on this. I have a low tolerance for hedonistic pleasures. In light of my drunkenness I was pretty relieved that our next stop on the tour was Lush, a soap place. Here we ate a chocolate soap cake!
Just kidding. :-) Lush is all natural and quite a few of their products are made from chocolate. We got to smell everything and try out a cocoa butter soap bar that literally melted when it touched my skin. My skin glistened like I dipped it in butter. I've never spent much time in Lush - overly girly stores really intimidate me - so it was cool to have an intro to all of the pretty and smelly things they have.
Back on the tour we stopped at Finale, a mostly desserts and alcohol place though I'm told they also sell sandwiches and appetizer-y things. Finale was started by three Harvard MBA (?) students so my mind immediately started whirling about all the things I could do with my MBA. Unfortunately in my chocolate haze I was unable to produce any coherent thoughts. We got to try a small slice of their flourless chocolate torte. I made a flourless chocolate torte for Christmas this year (and New Years) and I was eager to compare their torte to mine. The recipe I used didn't have such a smooth outer shell and I think Finale's was slightly drier.
In the name of research (and with the help of one of my tour-mates) I ate most of it!
Finale sells some beautiful cakes - so pretty!
We stumbled out of Finale and on to JP Licks, a local ice cream shop. I love ice cream but I don't love chocolate ice cream. I prefer vanilla with things in it - caramel, chocolate chips, etc. The chocolate ice cream sample was good but since I rarely eat plain chocolate ice cream I didn't have a lot to compare it to. The second sample was pretty amazing. El Diablo ice cream has a chocolate base and a hint of cinnamon when you first eat it. After you've swallowed you can taste a hint of cayenne pepper. Sounds weird, I know, but it was really really good. I've been eating ice cream since birth and I have never ever wasted ice cream. If can't finish my ice cream I can always find someone (or a cat) who can finish it for me. This late in the tour I was hurting and I actually threw the ice cream samples out after a few bites! Horrors!
Cardullo's is a gourmet wine, beer, tea, chocolate shop that has a deli and sells many European products. We got to try two different chocolate bars, both 75% chocolate. One was from southern Africa, the other from South America. The owner explained the difference between the two but I was distracted by how cute he was and the buzzing in my ears from all the chocolate. The one from South America was amazing! The owner passed the bars around and I was pretty surprised to see each one cost $8.99. Yikes!
Our last stop on the tour was Sweet, a cupcakerie. To be honest I am really really glad they didn't have any gluten-free cupcakes. I wouldn't have been able to function. My friends said the chocolate cupcakes (with chocolate frosting) were delicious. The cupcakes looked so pretty in the case!
The chocolate tour was really really fun and I am glad my brother's girlfriend invited me (heck, I am glad my brother couldn't make it!). Is it possible there was too much chocolate?? YES!! I've drank about a gallon of water since the tour and went on a two hour intense walk and am just now starting to shake my chocolate haze. I am gearing up for a healthy, vegetable laden dinner. I can't imagine being able to eat chocolate again for a long long while. Or at least until tomorrow? :-)Postscript: The Boston Foodie blogger was on our tour (the tour was the inaugural chocolate tour in Harvard Square). You can see his write-ups here and here.
I got a cavity just reading this! How fun :)
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