Haute Chocolate
The sweet lowdown on Valentine’s default delight By Chris Nuttall-Smith
The humble chocolate is the standard tool in the seducer’s arsenal. Not all chocs are created equal, however; quality and taste vary widely. Skip the Pot of Gold and check out some of these sweet, locally made bonbons.
| Place and Price | Look | Feel | Taste |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soma 55 Mill St. $8.25 ea.  |
The “Black Science” bar is as simple as it gets: a single bar divided into squares, with a decent sheen. Presents almost like Baker’s Chocolate. | Fatty, smooth and rich, but not overwhelming. | Gorgeous layers tease out of the square as it melts: redcurrant and blackberry, then a touch of roasted cashew. Balance of acid and bitter to sweet could hardly be better. The connoisseur’s chocolate bar. |
| Belgian Chocolate Shop 2455 Queen St. E. $7.75 for six  |
Old-fashioned finery. Chocolates feature a cupid relief; finish is high gloss, with just a little pinprick bubbling. | Nice. A thin, rich dark chocolate exterior envelops a sweet, soft ganache that’s just a bit thicker than chocolate pudding. The shell falls apart as you bite—it’s refreshing to eat a chocolate that melts in your mouth, and also a bit on your fingers. | The instant-gratifier of the bunch. Not that that’s a problem. But the taste is big on sweet and fat without much chocolate character. |
| Simone Marie Belgian Chocolate 126A Cumberland St. $1.48 ea.  |
The packaging—gold-leaf boxes, fancy tissue—is a bit much, considering the actual truffle is wrapped in simple red foil and has a dull gloss. | Thin chocolate gives way to creamy ganache. | All raspberry and sweet, with a decent balance between the two. The fruit taste is good—memories of Smucker’s jam—though flattened a little, perhaps by Dutch-process cocoa. That’s just a quibble, though. Share over something bubbly, fun and crisp. |
| J.S. Bonbons 163 Dupont St. $24.75 for 325 g. (average of 14 hearts)  |
Full points for creativity and whimsy. Chocolate hearts are cross-hatched, dotted and swirled with white or dark (and come stacked on their sides in a Chinese takeout box). A sure fix for yet-another-box-of-chocolates fatigue. | Barky. With soft chews of dried fruit, and in some pieces, chunks of nuts. | It’s a good thing we eat with our eyes. These tricks are for kids. |
| Stubbe Chocolates and Pastry 653 Dupont St. $8.75 for six  |
Fleur de bière ganache—simple balls of white chocolate swirled with wisps of dark. | Big and rich. Sweetness sucks the moisture from the mouth. | Cloying. Bring the insulin. |
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