TravelWright

Chocolate in New York Wordle

Bittersweet in New York

Chocolate has become incredibly fashionable over he last few years and it seems that every major city in the world has its share of chocolate boutiques. New York is no different and it seems that a new chocolate shop opens almost every month somewhere in the city. These shops range from the tiny boutique specialising in handmade chocolate to the larger establishments, which offer a range of chocolate products.  There is, as with coffee before it, a trend towards the stronger/darker chocolates and of course we now have single estate chocolates being produced in South America and Africa.  These chocolates offer subtle flavours that reflect their origin and processing. There is also a trend towards the savoury with salt, chillies and other herbs and spices being used to introduce the chocolate connoisseur to the finer subtleties of the world of chocolate.

My Top 5 Chocolate shops in New York:

Jacques Torres has two stores in New York where customers can watch chocolates being made on the premises. The interior of the Jacques Torres shop is designed to look like you're inside an enormous cacao pod - the shops sell a range of chocolate products at a moderate price.

Jacques Torres Chocolate
66 Water Street
Brooklyn Heights
NY 11201
+1 (718) 875-9772

Chocolate Haven
350 Hudson (at King Street)
West Village
NY 10014
+1 (212) 414-2462
www.jacquestorres.com

Black Hound is a small shop in the East Village that offers customers simply packaged small batch hand made chocolates as well as other chocolate goods such as cakes and cookies. One of the shops specialities is its Chocolate Almond Bark, which brings together dark bitter-sweet chocolate, and almonds to fill the mouth with subtle, yet complex flavours

Black Hound
170 2nd avenue
New York
NY 10003
+1 (212) 979-9505
www.blackhoundny.com

Li-Lac Chocolates was first established in the West Village in 1923 and offers chocolates in a range of memorable shapes such as the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.  The current fashion in a number of chocolate houses is for Chocolate bars with nuts and or fruit. This is a speciality of Li-Lac and they offer a wide range of flavours embedded in dark, milk or white chocolate. A particular favourite of mine is the Dark Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars with sell for $2 each.

Li-Lac Chocolates
40 Eighth Avenue
Greenwich Village
New York
NY 10014
+1 212 924-2280
www.li-lacchoclates.com

Maison du Choclat has been long seen as one of the best chocolate establishments in New York. Its speciality is a Rocher Praline that combines a nutty exterior with a encased in dark smooth chocolate combined with a fine milk chocolate truffle. When you walk through the door you could be in Paris where the shop owners originate and the staff are mainly of French origin, which reinforces the view. A new branch of the shop has recently opened in the Rockefeller Centre.

La Maison du Chocolat
1018 Madison Avenue
New York
NY 10021
+1 212 744-7117

30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York
www.lamaisonduchoclat.com

Richart Design et Chocolat is a very high-end chocolate house which originates from Lyon France which has been established since 1925 when the current owner’s father, a master chocolatier established a chocolate shop in Lyon. Many of the chocolates are still made in France and brought in to the New York shop on a weekly basis. The shop sells a wide range of flavours but some of the savoury chocolates are my favourites, which can be sampled in a Chocolate Exploration box that brings together a wide palette of flavours – although at a cost of over $60!

Richart Design et Chocolat
7 E 55th Street
New York
NY 10022
+1 212 371-9369
www.richart-chocolates.com

Solaia Resteraunt Revue - Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich

Solaia is one of the many restaurants on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich and is situated a few hundred yards from Greenwich Railway Station towards the bottom of the Avenue.

We have dined in most of the Restaurants in the area over the past 6 months and this is our current favorite. The food is usually of very high quality, the wine on most nights is half price (some work out at less than $25 a bottle) and the staff and service is great.

On Sunday evening we popped in for Dinner around 7pm and it was quite quiet, although it had apparently been very busy at lunchtime as it was Mothers Day. We had the Beet and Goats cheese salad which is always great and I had the Arugula salad with a lemon dressing. These appetizers are ones I can keep going back to as they are simple and very tasty.

For the entree I had the Steak which is served with red onion marmalade and a finely chopped potato, onion and bacon mix. The Steak was cooked superb and the mix of tastes is very memorable. My wife had the Artichoke and Bacon Risotto which I have to say was cooked to perfection. As a trained chef I know how difficult it can be at times to get the right consistency for a great Risotto and they managed it with this.

We chose a 'cheap' bottle of Pino Grigio at $45 which was reduced to $25 which was sharp, dry and had a smooth aftertaste - a very good wine for this price - especially on the Avenue where prices for wine can go into the hundreds of dollars.

An added bonus is that on Wednesday evening they have live jazz - it is advisable to book for this as the restaurants gets very busy!

Nice atmosphere...great food, good wine list. We met the owner who was very personable. Overall the service was friendly and the cheese plate was delicious.