We don't stray off topic too often, but it does happen: I wrote three posts about chocolate back in 2008, and I tried, but mostly failed, to talk about perfume at the same time.* After that I went on eating lots of chocolate but I kept my chocolate talk confined to Twitter where I occasionally announce my bar of the day. Then Jessica told me she was going to do a post about chocolate-scented body products and perfumes, and I figured I'd go ahead and share two recent discoveries. You have to eat to keep up your strength for all that perfume testing, right?
Some time ago I tried a Mo's Bacon Bar (applewood bacon + alderwood salt + deep milk chocolate) from Vosges. Bacon + chocolate is not a taste combination most of us are used to, and I was torn: I either hated it or loved it, and I couldn't decide which, so I kept buying them and eating them. Eventually I decided I hated the combination: it was just too sweet. Then last year they started making Mo's Dark Bacon bar, which uses a 62% dark chocolate instead of the 41% milk chocolate in the original Mo's bar. I'm hooked. It's salty, slightly sweet, and has just enough bacon to give the bar some chewiness, but not so much bacon that you forget that you're eating candy and not breakfast. Wonderful. It hasn't really displaced my all time favorites from Vosges — I especially love the Black Pearl and Calindia bars — and I wouldn't want to eat one every day, but it makes a nice change. Vosges also makes a Bacon Caramel Toffee, and that is next on my list to try.
If you're not used to boutique chocolate prices, you'll probably find the Mo's Dark Bacon bar ridiculously expensive: it's $7.50 for a 3 oz bar. It's the sort of thing that could eat into your perfume budget if you weren't careful.
My second discovery is a bar I could eat every day: Chuao Chocolatier's Panko bar. Panko breadcrumbs are used in Japanese cooking, and according to Wisegeek, they "tend to be lighter, crispier, and crunchier than Western bread crumbs". Chuao's bar also features sea salt, and it's perfect: the 60% dark chocolate is wonderful and the breadcrumbs are just as described — light as air and very crunchy. Think of it as a Krackel bar for grownups. Two other bread-based bars I tried over the past year can't compare: Theo's Bread & Chocolate bar is tasty, but it's not as good (or as light and crunchy) as the Chuao, and Komforte Chockolates's French Toast bar is just too sweet (if you prefer milk to dark though, the Komforte is probably the one you want).
The Panko bar is $18 for a pack of three 2.82 oz bars. A bargain, right? Look for another post about Chuao soon, as I tried some other wonderful things but ate them all up before I could write about them. I'll have to do another order.
* See Chocolates & perfumes, part 1 ~ Dolfin, Chocolates & perfumes, part 2 ~ coffee, cacao nibs and Chocolates & perfumes, part 3 ~ fruits & nuts
This is weird but I am very interested in trying this.
Then do!
Have you ever tried chocolate and corrainder? It was actually very good but when you think of it at first it was like no way.My Dad tried chocolate with ants in it in Mexico.He said he was shocked but when offered it by the host he accepted to give it a try.He said he actually enjoyed it he said it tasted like Nestle Crunch.LOL
Dolfin makes some wonderful spice bars. The cumin one is great, but can’t remember if there’s a coriander.
I was intrigued when you twittered about Komforte Chockolates’s Tortilla with Lime and Salt bar: and I tried it. It was excellent.
It comes as such a great surprise when arriving at the center. I recommend not only for the thrill but as a regular staple.
Gary
That’s another good one! Actually, Kevin sent those to me…I have not yet seen them in a store. My one complaint about the brand is they’re mostly doing milk chocolate, which I don’t like as well as dark, and even their dark chocolate is pretty sweet.
I love all things Vosges! Hubby and I are big fans of the Mo’s Bacon bar, but also the Barcelona bar with the smoked almonds and sea salt, and their toffee, and various truffles. At their store in Chicago they serve cocktails paired with truffles, but we haven’t tried that yet. They also make great hot chocolate, including a lavender infused white chocolate that was ethereal, even though I usually don’t like white chocolate.
The Barcelona bar is another I wish they’d do in dark chocolate…it’s a wonderful bar but I really have a very narrow comfort zone in terms of chocolate concentration — must be around 60-65%.
Are they Chicago-based? I didn’t know.
The bacon/chocolate one is obviously the product of a sick mind! Bacon is so nasty and chocolate is so nice. Why would they do that?
The bread crumb one, on the other hand, sounds delightful. I like these chocolate posts!
Ha…we shall have to agree to disagree. A good applewood smoked bacon is one of my favorite foods in the world!
Some time ago someone sent me a link to a store that sells actual bacon dipped in chocolate. Can’t remember where it was though.
I think your chocolate tastes are probably quite a bit more sophisticated than mine. Dagoba Lavender Blueberry is about as exciting as I get.
Oh, I doubt it — Dagoba makes some wonderful bars! And I’m not at all a chocolate snob in the way I’m a perfume snob. I couldn’t care less about single origin estate chocolates, and I don’t like very dark chocolate at all — my threshold is around 70%. So most of the really serious chocolate blogs are writing about things I won’t eat.
There are… chocolate blogs?! I need to find me those. 😀
Oh yes! Not quite so many as perfume blogs, but still, there are quite a few of them.
Yeah, here I am thinking, Why would anyone do that to bacon? Why? Bacon is *perfect* just as it is! LOL. (I do love my dark chocolate, though. I really do.) Here in Portland at Voodoo Doughnut they have a bacon maple bar. I haven’t tried it, and have no intention of doing so. I always thought I was an adventurous eater, but apparently I have limits. And they start at all things mixed with bacon.
Miss Kitty – I was driving on a long road trip and in a weird mood one day and decided to try the McD’s McGriddle thingy with bacon and egg [it’s sorta like a maple flavored pancake sandwich – like I said, weird]. But I really liked it. 😉
You should really try the Maple Con Bar! I hate bacon with chocolate, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved that doughnut! That being said, the Lemon Chiffon Crueler will always be my favorite : )
Ooh – I love maple syrup with my bacon so I’d probably go for that bacon maple bar!
Ha, I have two friends who went to Portland recently (separately even; they don’t know each other) and both raved about Voodoo Doughnut. One friend raved about the Grape Kool-aid and the other, their bubblegum. That maple bacon one sounds mighty good….
Panko is one of my pantry staples and I can totally imagine it in a crispy chocolate bar! Num. The chocolate review is a fun diversion! Now, if you only loved and wrote about red wines, I’d have no need for other blogs. LOL
YES! Chocolate, perfume, and wine! What else in the world do we need?
Amen sistah.
Tea! That’s my other addiction.
That’s a healthy addiction too – all those antioxidants in tea.
Well, amen, but you left out the bacon. 😉
😀
Bacon tea? That stuff is the best. 😉
I love Mo’s Bacon bar. Santa left me a dark chocolate one in my stocking this year. My hubby jokes that because I grew up in Iowa on a farm I am duty bound to eat anything with bacon! My other favorite weird bacon item in “Baconnaise”. Yes, that’s right bacon flavored mayo! Fabulous on a sandwich. Made by a Seattle company I don’t remember their name right now. They also make bacon flavored salt. Salt originally made for the troops in the middle east because pork products were banned. The salt has no real bacon, but the mayo does.
Oh, I could really go for some of that Baconnaise right now…
That baconnaise sounds so good! Most of the time, try to stay away from bacon out of consideration for my arteries, but, truly, if I knew I had three days to live, I think I’d spend them eating bacon! 😉
Alas for me, the bad economy did away with my only sources of really good chocolate…both closed down. If it’s not sold at my grocery or Target store, I’m out of luck. The panko one sounds wonderful… I’d tried a bread and chocolate from another brand, but wasn’t terribly impressed with it, despite the promising combination. I’m consoling myself with a bag of Cadbury’s mini eggs…best I can do.
My local Target sells Lindt bars with sea salt bits. It’s good and reasonably priced. See if your store has it.
Yes!!! I just discovered those Lindt bars. Really good, and reasonably priced.
Their sea salt one is too sweet for me…I like it w/a slightly darker chocolate. The orange one and the chili pepper one are yum, though!
Target often has another one of my favorites: Chocolove w/ crystallized ginger. Much more reasonably priced too: around $2.50.
Mmm – that sounds good.
I’ll have to look for that one. I had one w/ginger once, from Whole Foods, but can’t remember the brand, and can’t be bothered to go back to WF.
That does sound good. I love the dark chocolate covered ginger from See’s. And the ultimate for me: candied orange peel coated with good dark chocolate!
You’ve got me interested in the panko one. And I love the sound of the sea salt/chocolate combos.
What an unusual place to find a review of my favorite chocolate company! I am with you, Robin, on the dark chocolate bacon bar, but I DID like the milk chocolate version too. Expensive, but well worth it in my opinion. Now…has anyone found a bacon note in a fragrance yet? I have been looking for this…
I have read several reviews from people who like me prefer dark to milk, but say they prefer the milk version of Mo’s Bacon bar.
Surprised Demeter doesn’t make a bacon scent, but don’t think they do.
Robin, I love me some Mo’s bacon chocolate bar! To tell the truth I’m glad it’s so expensive, otherwise I’d be big as a barn. I like the sounds of that bacon flavored salt and Baconnaise Kelly Red mentioned. Gotta check them out.
Jon Stewart is always going on about Baconnaise…I haven’t tried it. But I would.
Oooh, these sound so good, But $75 shipping to the UK? I’ll have to stick to Lindt.
Ouch! I’d stick to Lindt too. But I bet you can get Dolfin much cheaper than I can!
I read a review of a bacon flavored lip gloss on MUA and just couldn’t bring myself to find it intriguing. Likewise, I do love chocolate and am quite fond of bacon, but I don’t know what I’d think of the two together. We actually have a few good gourmet shops here and I’ve seen the bacon bars, but neither my sweetie or I was brave enough to give them a go yet.
I’m usually a Michel Cluizel fan (their milk chocolate is fantastic) but was also really impressed with the Vosges Fire bar with dark chocolate, cinnamon and chilis. I tried a Theo Coconut and Curry bar a couple weeks ago and still don’t quite know what I think about it. It was definitely unique, and I wanted to think Thai or Indian food paired with mole while I ate it, but it’s still two thirds uneaten and I find it quite the puzzling experience. I love florals in chocolate, pastries or tea, and try to be adventurous with chocolate, but I suppose I’m still a newb and it might take a while.
For cheap thrills, I do love Ferrero Pocket Coffee and Yogurette, though, and wish they were more widely available rather than just online. I adore coffee and love the blend of chocolate and strawberry. They’re total comfort food for me. And I actually like Rocher, though I can’t eat them without thinking of the awesome ad…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs7gAxsfK5U
Theo generally uses a really high percentage of chocolate, so their bars are a bit more bitter than I like. Pocket coffees are AWESOME though!
Robin, your post reminded me of a drink I tasted this week at a local bartenders’ vodka drink competition. Worst of them was made with Godiva dark chocolate liquor, Godiva white chocolate liquor, vodka, and bacon infused simple syrup. The bartender then dropped in a 1/4-slice of cooked bacon. Disgusting. I think she might have had a good idea, but the execution was a disaster. I could see a chocolate drink flavored with bacon, but I think it would work better with a much lighter touch. Less chocolate, less bacon. Turned out it was heavy, sickeningly sweet, extra salty…enough said!
I too am a dark chocolate lover, but haven’t ventured into taste testing multiple brands and flavors yet. Discovered Lindt’s dark bar with sea salt as I mentioned above. Makes me want to try other salted bars. Current favorites are Whole Foods’ brand dark organic chocolate bars. I like the plain, but they also have coconut, mint, and almond (?). Other one is Green & Black’s 70% dark.
Do you have a Cost Plus World Market anywhere near? That was always my go-to for yummy chocolates (their store brand sea salt one was really good). Alas, due to the economy, they shut down every store in my state, so I’d have to drive a good 4+ hours to find one.
Yeah, the Cost Plus near us closed, too. Best we have for good chocolate selection is Whole Foods…which ain’t bad.
Oh, just reading that made me feel ill!
Try Green & Blacks Maya bar, it’s wonderful.
I will try it! Thanks, Robin.
“I tried some other wonderful things but ate them all up before I could write about them.” Mwah ha haha! Loved that line.
Love dark chocolate, particularly with “stuff” in it. Local selection is limited, though.
It seems that chocoholics [I’m married to one] always prefer dark chocolate. I like milk chocolate and there’s a company out of San Francisco, See’s, that makes really delicious milk chocolate candies.
V: See’s is throughout California and they’re the cutest old fashioned sweets shops. Seriously, let me know if you ever need a supplier for a box or whatever.
I like milk and dark chocolate almost equally. A few weeks ago I was in heaven drinking red wine with some crunchy Lindt dark chocolate flavored with strawberry (subtle) and black pepper.
Now THAT sounds good!
Joe – that’s awesome, thanks!
Sounds like a feast fit for heaven!
Just FYI, correction: the strawberry/pepper chocolate was Hachez, a German brand.
What’s your favorite? I’ve heard raves about their chocolates, and just this week saw they’ve set up a stand inside the MOA. It looks like it may be there only for Easter…
I haven’t had See’s in a few years since I stopped working @ Ethan Allen – one of my co-workers used to bring them in for me! Can’t remember all of their varieties – but I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like! 😉
California Brickle – nobody else in my family has ever gotten to try it. It’s kind of like a Heath bar.
Boojum, I just posted this above, but my two faves from See’s are the dark chocolate covered candied orange peel and the candied ginger coated in dark chocolate. Oh, wait, I have a third favorite: the dark chocolate marzipan is YUMMY!
Looks like our chocolate taste overlaps more than our perfume taste… haven’t had See’s, but orange/orange peel and ginger are some of my faves, with OR without chocolate.
H: I’ll need to try those from See’s. Dark chocolate & orange in all combinations is one of my favorites.
I was just scrolling on down when I saw “marzipan.” I looove marzipan. My step-sister used to work at a mom-and-pop candy store and she brought me dark chocolate/marzipan and dark chocolate/mint almost weekly. Yum.
I have been in love with Vosges for years. The lovelist gifts and treats for yourself.
Yep!
Talking to yourself again, R? 😀
LOL…I so frequently do.
“It’s the sort of thing that could eat into your perfume budget if you weren’t careful.”
So true! I don’t even consider myself a huge chocolate lover! but there’s a UK website called Chocolate Trading Co (hope it’s okay to mention) which stocks a nice selection of high quality brands and it’s the easiest thing to end up with £50 worth of chocolate in your basket *sigh*
William Curley is an English chocolatier who does some unusual flavours (rosemary & olive oil, wasabi, etc). Not sure about bacon, though! 😀
Ok to mention, also ok to link! We have a couple of great online chocolate shops here. Chocosphere is my favorite, but the shipping isn’t cheap, and you can’t ship in hot weather.
Obviously, we can’t get any of these in the UK. 🙁
When I was a child, I used to always crave something salty after having a sweet or a piece of chocolate and would ask my mother for a small slice of ham or saucisson or an olive. I’d forgotten about that. LOL!
One of my favourite chocolate is Rococo Lavender: it is so clean-tasting and lightly fragrant. It’s really wonderful.
I don’t know that brand! Dagoba in the US makes a chocolate with lavender but it wasn’t as wonderful as I hoped.
It’s a British make – very refined and delicate : http://rococochocolates.com/lavender-organic-dark-chocolate-artisan-bar.html
There’s also the lavender from New Tree (they’re Belgian, I think): http://www.newtree.com/page.php?p1=289&language=en-US
Everything from them is absolutely delicious.
It’s all luxury stuff. All right as an occasional treat. I can’t afford it every day.
I love Rococo’s violet sweets!
What lovely packaging!
A recent NPR Studio 360 program on reinventing Valentines Day featured a romantic bouquet of bacon roses for men! LOL
That would work in my house!
Fun post!! Love it. Luckily, my local Cost Plus has a good selection of Chuao, Vosges, Lindt, and other chocolate (including a ton of British Cadbury product — Fruit & Nut is still a favorite of mine).
I don’t buy a lot of chocolate though, and one bar usually lasts anywhere from one week to six months… just a square or two now and then suffices most of the time, especially with dark chocolates.
I’ve been curious about that bacon bar for a long time, but now I’ll HAVE to try the dark version, which does sound better. I like the idea of bacon because salty-sweet is a grat combo. I love bacon topped with maple syrup.
The Panko, I’m not sure about, though I love rice-crisp bars. My favorite Chuao is the Spicy Maya.
I think you should do choco day one Saturday per month or every other month!
Waaaah, that was the store that closed here. I now have to drive 4 hours, instead of 4 miles, to get to one. 🙁
Oh, sorry. And seriously, if you have any favorite things from there you ever want, I’d be happy to ship a care package.
As for See’s, my fave is their boxes of mixed ‘Nuts & Chews’: all nutty, caramelly, nougaty stuff. They also make chocolate covered toffee logs of which I could probably eat a whole box in one day (I love butter toffee). IF MoA just has a kiosk though, they’ll probably only have prepackaged sampler boxes. I’m not a huge fan of cream-filled, but their orange cream is one of my faves also.
Mmmm! And speaking of chocolate covered toffee, I like gold old Almond Roca. All of this discussion is really putting me in a great frame of mind for our evening that will be spent @ a friend’s for dinner and her desserts, which are 4 star pastry chef worthy. We’re bringing the fine wine.
I haven’t seen that around lately and wondered if my stores just stopped carrying it, or if it had vanished… that’s good stuff.
I can see it now… soon I’ll be swapping perfume for chocolate. Who needs money? We can go back to old-fashioned bartering and trading. 😀
For some really amazing chocolates, try Harbor Candy Shop in Ogunquit, Maine. They have an online shop, too. Best boxed chocolates I’ve ever had…better than Godiva and See’s IMO!
I do miss Cost Plus 🙁
If you like bacon with syrup, you really might like the regular milk chocolate Mo’s bar.
I agree with you Joe – I’d love to see a chocolate post at least monthly. Or alternate tea and chocolate every few weeks. What fun. Although as an avowed bacon hater, I have to admit my stomach did lurch at the thought of chocolate and bacon!
I, for one, love your chocolate and tea posts, and you definitely don’t need to sneak in perfume for me. (Although enjoyed the body fragrance post by Jessica – love the look of those Villaness soaps.) I do think Vosges is originally based in Chicago, though I could be wrong. I did *a lot* of damage at the Chicago Vosges store when I went there last year with the Posse girls, Anita (Musette) and Shelley F (ScentSelf). Later, they wouldn’t let me into the Art Institute because I had too much chocolate in my backpack; I always wonder exactly what they thought I was going to do with it that would endanger the art…
Like you, my fave Vosges is the Black Pearl bar. I also like the Red Fire bar and both of these are available at my local Whole Foods – where they cost $14 CAD!! A rare indulgance since I came back from Chicago, for certain. My favorite truffle is the Rooster, with Taleggio cheese, and the Raps, with horseradish and lemon, are good, too. I’ll have to try the Dark Bacon Bar, since I thought the Mo’s was close to enjoyable, but too sweet. And I must seek out the Panko, which sounds awesome. Looking forward to your other discoveries….
That’s so funny…too much chocolate to enter the museum!! Did you get to go in at all — would they let you store it somewhere?
Robin, I love your chocolate posts! And I’m so glad to see that you’re aware of Chuao, because I adore their Firecracker bar–chile, salt, and pop rocks–and really meant to send you one. I can’t imagine what happened to the bar that was sitting on my desk…*blush* My husband brought the first one home and gave me a piece without telling me what it was and it made me laugh and laugh, but then I had more, and a bit more, and a bit more — because it really makes so much sense. The heat from the chiles is like an intensification of the salt, and the poprocks are like a techno version of the spice. The whole thing is fantastic.
I have not tried the Firecracker! But the Chinita nibs is one of my all time favorites. And they have 2 new ones coming that sound wonderful: one with honey, and one with coconut & spice.
P.S. Tried the Theo bread crumb bar the other day at my co-op and was intrigued but unimpressed. The Panko sounds better. Chocolate and bread is a classic combination, but I think I like it better just that way–a bar of perfect chocolate, and a fresh baguette…the anti-Atkins paradise.
Or a baguette w/Nutella. Mmmm.
The Theo is a dense bar, and I think the chocolate is probably better, but it just isn’t the kind of chocolate I like.
Someone gave me a Mo’s the other day – loved it! Plus I had been talking about chocolate-dipped bacon with someone the day before. So it is definitely a taste sensation. I like the whole choco-salt combo, anyway.
Now, there is a place here called Pirate Cat Radio that makes bacon lattes. They render bacon fat until it is this creamy stuff, which they add to the latte for a smoky burst. Anthony Bourdain tried one on his show once – thumbs up. I don’t drink coffee but would love to have at least a sip of that. I think otherwise they only serve vegan food.
I think people who don’t like bacon have just never had really really good bacon. There’s nothing like it – I have known people who were vegetarians except for bacon.
Oh yes, I’ve also known vegetarians who eat bacon. So do Jews! 🙂 I was raised Jewish and somehow bacon always got the exemption from my Grandmother!
That Baconnaise is vegetarian, right? 😉
Bacon latte! I would try that.
I’ve tried the Vosges bar milk chocolate bacon bar and I was underwhelmed. I didn’t find that the chocolate and the bacon blended well together. There wasn’t much bacon in, but when I did get a piece that was all I tasted. My brother made chocolate covered bacon for Christmas, which I liked even less. I love chocolate and bacon, but don’t like them together.
My favorite chocolates are the Droste chocolate rounds.My brother went to Amsterdam and brought some back for me. I’ve been in love since then. They used to sell them at my Cost Plus but they stopped carrying them (just like they did with a my favorite snack, a particular kind of honey mustard pretzel bite, BAH!). Fortunately my local grocery store started carrying them, along with a fairly large selection of foreign chocolates (Bounty bars anyone?). I have to stop myself from buying them everytime I go shopping.
Oh, Droste pastilles! I remember them from my childhood. A friend of my parents’ used to work for UNESCO and always brought ‘exotic’ stuff like those lovely chocolates and Earl Grey tea. Things like that. We’re talking Paris in the ’50s. France was just out of rationing. Those were unheard of goodies.
Pastilles! Thanks I couldn’t remember the name.
I used to see those Droste rounds somewhere, maybe Trader Joes? Can’t remember, but haven’t seen them lately.
This is fun. Robin, I love that bit about having to eat the Mo’s bar over and over so that you could form an opinion!
Do any of you like the Ritter Sport bars? I think they’re yummy, especially the hazelnut and marzipan ones.
I like them, but don’t find them special enough for the price.
The marzipan & hazelnut Ritters are easily my favourites too! They’re quite inexpensive here though, I wouldn’t pay premium for them either.
I have not tried them!
I remember shopping with a friend in Central Market and pausing in front of the “candy.” She noticed a bacon/chocolate bar (I don’t know who was its maker) and we marveled at it: “How strange!” “I bet it’s gross.” “We should try it.” “What if we hate it?”
Just then, one of the employees ambled by and said, “Oh, that thing’s great.” My friend wasn’t so sure. So he ripped open one of them and offered us both a piece. My friend didn’t like it (she couldn’t lose face, could she? ;3 ) and I liked it well enough, but I remember thinking, /That’s quite a bit of money for chocolate.” I might have to try it again though. :3
That’s so nice that they let you taste!
I agree; it was very kind.
Mo’s bacon bar + Bacon latte, sure a combo I could kill my husband with….the perfect murder : D
LOL…yeah, maybe not two things you’d want to eat together.
I didn’t realize there were so many perfume launches until I joined onto this blog. Since I have joined I have used this blog and others to research my fragrance purchases and did purchase two fragrances that I love. So I am interested in the launches and say bring them on.
As for a memorable fragrance in the past ten years… None
Please forgive my faux pas. Holding a 1 year old and blogging don’t go.
No worries! If you’re holding a 1 year old, everything else is excused.
The best chocs I’ve had come from a little shop in bruges called the chocolate line – they do normal choc but I don’t buy anything but the ganaches, as they do the funkiest flavours ever – my favourites are laurel, chlorophyll, and fresh mint – the combo of sharp/sweet/herbal greens and dark chocolates is fantastic! They really do taste stemmy, bush-like (can’t think of any other way to describe it) and for the mint, fresh as a bunch you picked from the garden!
Chlorophyll — I would love to taste that!
Just need to give a shout out to the weirdness that is Japan’s LE kitkat flavours – they really do some crazy ones. Wish they were easier to get a hold of. And L’artisan du Chocolat in the UK do a fab matcha choc bar.
I love love love love bacon and like chocolate pretty well, so I thought Mo’s bar would be pretty awesome. When I finally tried one (back in 2008, so I’m guessing it was the milk chocolate one), there was something I did not like about it. Maybe I’ll try the dark one and see if I like that better. And Chuao is based nearby and there is a shop walking distance from my office – maybe I’ll go over at lunch and try the panko bar. My favorite choco combinations are dark chocolate with mint or with cinnamon (and sometimes chili) which is pretty common here in SD as it’s the traditional Mexican chocolate used for hot chocolate. 65% is my max for dark chocolate – my boyfriend prefers 70-80%.
Update! I went and got a panko bar and it is delicious. The texture is amazing and it’s the perfect amount of darkness for me. That shop is so dangerous. I wanted one of everything – a Mexican hot chocolate, some gelato, some bonbons (the individual chocolates), and the bars. While I do think their prices are high ($2.25 for an indiviaul bonbon, $6 for a bar) and some of the combinations seem a bit odd (goat cheese and black pepper?),
they are extremely high quality. Thanks for the review Robin!
Oh, you are so lucky to have them in walking distance!! I do agree the prices are high, but they’re really not as high as some other boutique chocolate brands, and I just think they do the most wonderful bars.
It’s awfully dangerous! And now that I know that bar is so tasty, I’ll be stopping in more often!