Chocolate Store Reviews and More

Use the geographic index to stores by location.

Scroll down to the Guide if you are looking for a gift or want to see my picks for best chocolatiers.

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Introduction

I rate stores primarily on the quality and appeal of the finished confections, rather than the quality of the chocolate used. My goal is not to determine the best chocolate but to describe a lot of good chocolatiers so that you can find your own favorite pieces and flavors.

I like strong but not bitter flavors and combinations of flavors. Belgian chocolate is my favorite, but I am open to trying any chocolatier. I generally am not excited by truffles, especially when they are plain chocolate flavors. Instead, I like diverse flavors and textures, all sorts of chocolates with buttercrunch or hazelnut or fruit flavors or caramel or anything else.

The reviews page has full reviews of Fine chocolatiers and notable makers of Standard chocolate. A separate page, my chocolate store directory, contains directory information (address, phone number, web page) for the reviewed stores and many others. The directory does not contain reviews except for some brief comments. Below in this page are guides to selecting a store by category, such as gift giving.

Suggest a Store:

Are you a customer who would like to recommend your favorite shop? Please email me as much information as you have. These are helpful: name of the store, address, phone number, web address, and driving directions. Tell me a little about the store. What do they have that nobody else does? What are their best pieces? Also, please tell me if the store has Fine chocolates you think I should review or Standard chocolates and should just be listed in the directory.

Proprietors: Please do not send samples. I prefer to buy my own. Please mail two copies of your catalog to my home address. With the catalog or by email, please send information such as the above and addresses of your stores or a list of your retailers.

Guide

My Favorites:

Cacao Chocolates is my favorite chocolatier (who mostly makes her own chocolates). The Chocolate Truffle is my favorite shop (which mostly sells other chocolatiers' products) in the US and will supply all your chocolate needs—gifts, special occasions (like wedding favors), elegant truffles when you want something fancy, and all sorts of yummy flavors when you want to indulge a craving. La Maison du Chocolat Artisanal is my favorite shop in Belgium.

A Few Bests:

Best gift: Burdick, Jacques Torres Chocolate, and Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate. Best selection of Fine chocolatiers: Cocoa Bella Chocolates. Best marzipan: Li-Lac. Best hazelnut-chocolate: Lake Champlain. Best extreme gift: Richart. Best peanut butter: Linda Grishman. Best buttercrunch: Vacant since Stephany's closed. Consider Cary's and Munson's. Best Standard assortment: Swan Chocolates. Best truffles (general): XOX Truffles. Best truffles (raspberry and cherry): The Chocolate Garden. Best truffle (one superstar): The Truffle Shop.

Small Gourmet and Artisan Chocolatiers:

Small gourmet chocolatiers deserve the most attention, because they are precious and not well-enough known. Cacao Chocolates in Kittery, Maine, has become my favorite, with innovative new pieces every time I visit. Less than a mile away is Byrne & Carlson in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. San Francisco is booming with Michael Recchiuti making terrific chocolates with good flavors, truffle-specialist XOX Truffles, and Charles Chocolates just across the bay. 70 miles south is Chocolate Visions. We should also keep an eye on Gâteau et Ganache in Palo Alto and Lulu Rae Confections in Oakland. Burdick Chocolate is great for impressive gifts, with locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Walpole, New Hampshire; and Northampton, Massachusetts. Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate makes chocolates that are both beautiful and wonderful tasting. Jacques Torres Chocolate may be too big or well-known to classify as a small artisan chocolatier but is superb. B.T. McElrath deserves more attention. Fleur de Cocoa is hidden in Los Gatos, California. Martine's Chocolates is in New York City. The Chocolate Garden in Coloma, Michigan, makes terrific dark chocolate raspberry and cherry truffles. Swan Chocolates has a large assortment in Merrimack, New Hampshire. In France, try to get to Pedro. Notter School & Chocolate Studio is Orlando's best. Linda Grishman Chocolates makes Fine chocolates and a superb peanut-butter piece and solicits special requests. Other gourmet chocolatiers are: Donnelly Chocolates in Santa Cruz, California; Chuao Chocolatier makes excellent bonbons in San Diego, California; Candinas Chocolatier in Verona, Wisconsin; Li-Lac Chocolates in New York City; Norman Love Confections in Fort Myers, Florida; Telluride Truffle in Telluride, Colorado; Tom and Sally's Handmade Chocolates in Brattleboro, Vermont, with a large assortment of their own Fine designs and some inexpensive novelty chocolates; Vosges Haut-Chocolat in Chicago, Illinois; Harbor Candy Shop in Ogunquit, Maine; Chocolat Celeste in St. Paul, Minnesota; and Schakolad Chocolate Factory near Orlando, Florida.

Good Gifts:

When you want to send somebody a very nice gift, consider Burdick Chocolate, Jacques Torres Chocolate, or Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate. Other good choices, not quite so expensive or fancy but still very good, are Chuao Chocolatier, and Harbor Sweets. For a beautiful presentation, see Norman Love Confections.

For Yourself:

If you are in San Francisco, Cocoa Bella Chocolates' selection of Fine chocolates from the US and Europe must be your first stop. Try Chuao Chocolatier's bonbons. Swan Chocolates' high-Standard assortment is nicely diverse. Lake Champlain Chocolates has a killer hazelnut chocolate bar. Of course, my favorite The Chocolate Truffle was the source for most of my personal chocolate in New England, and you can also use the chain stores below.

Mild and Light Flavors:

Mild and light flavors are not my favorites, so my reviews favor chocolatiers with strong flavors. If you like mild flavors, I suggest Elisabeth Brussels (in Bruxelles), Lenôtre (in Paris and Las Vegas), and Nirvana (mail order).

Europe:

I cannot cover Europe as well as I can the United States, but I will list a few European chocolatiers here. Côte de France is my favorite in Paris, and you should not miss La Fontaine au Chocolat. Hédiard in Paris is good. I like Café Ströbele in Ulm, Germany. There are some other nice shops in Germany listed in my directory but nothing outstanding. I do recommend the Imhoff Stollwerck Museum in Köln (Cologne). Also interesting in Paris are Jean-Paul Hévin, Dalloyau and Cacao et Chocolat. Less interesting in Paris are Regis Chocolatier and La Marquise de Sévigné. Stores in Bruxelles (Brussels) are covered in the special section just below.

Bruxelles (Brussels, Belgium):

I walked to chocolate stores throughout Bruxelles over three days in May 2003. When you visit, I recommend La Maison du Chocolat Artisanal as your first stop. They have the best overall assortment and a good price. To make sure you get the best chocolates, you can also visit Mary Chocolatier and Wittamer. Another fine store, with mild flavors, is Elisabeth Brussels. That will cover the best of Bruxelles, including Le Chocolatier Manon, whose products are sold at La Maison and elsewhere.

In Grand Place (the main tourist area) is the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate. Stores near Grand Place include Galler, Planetè Chocolat, Godiva, Neuhaus, and Leonidas. However, I was not fond of the first two, and the latter three are readily available elsewhere. Godiva and Neuhaus were overpriced for Bruxelles (where Fine chocolate is cheap). Leonidas was very cheap.

Pierre Marcolini is in Grand Sablon but is bested by Wittamer. If you change trains in Bruxelles and do not have time to leave the train station, you can settle for the selection at Corné Port Royale.

My remaining listings are in the type I describe as Standard, not Fine. Good for the price are Brussels Pralines and Moeder Babelutte, and you might find something at Le Temps du Sucre. Several stores have molded chocolates with multicolor designs, such as fancy rabbits. Those might make nice gifts for children. You can skip Helene de Troies, Valentino, and Lady Pralines.

More Gifts:

Other mail-order chocolatiers are Candinas Chocolatier, Chocolat Celeste, Mendocino Chocolate Company, Moonstruck Chocolatier, and Dilettante. To go right to the top in gift-giving, use Richart. Near Richart is La Maison du Chocolat. All of these are more interesting choices than Godiva, Fran's, or Ghirardelli.

Small Nice Shops:

I have a fondness for the small proprietor, so here are some shops in the Standard type that rise above the crowd a little. They are not worth a special trip, but stop in when you are nearby. Amy's Provisions in Ayer, Massachusetts, has a good, unusual Rye Crunch Bar. Elk Candy Company in New York City has marzipan rolls, a personal favorite. Stowaway Sweets in Marblehead, Massachusetts, has a large selection of unusual pieces. In Orlando, Florida, Farris and Foster's Chocolate Factory is fun. In Scottsdale, Arizona, Seven Sisters Sweet Shop's chocolates have character. Varsano's is an overlooked shop in New York City. Chocolate By Design has a few above-average and unusual pieces. The Chocolate Dipper dips their own fruits at several Boston sites.

Landmarks, Famous Chocolatiers, and Chains:

Chocolaterie Bernachon in Lyon is world-famous. Marshall Field's in Chicago offers chocolates from several fine chocolatiers. Bernard Callebaut descends from the family that started Callebaut chocolate, now owned by Toblerone. Everybody knows Godiva, and Neuhaus and Leonidas are similar. Ghirardelli is a San Francisco landmark, but they were bought by Lindt & Sprüngli. See's Candies is a better San Franciso treat. Fran's is a Seattle landmark. Munson's Chocolates is a Connecticut chain with a terrific buttercrunch.

Advice to Chocolatiers

• Label your chocolates. Consumers want to know what they are biting into. Give at least a description of each piece, and illustrations as soon as you can, and pictures if possible.
• Weigh your product. A surprising number of my orders weigh less than the claimed amount. This is unlawful and senseless. Most chocolatiers are not selling a commodity, so the cost of the materials is not worth cheating consumers. They are selling craftsmanship at a premium price. Make sure your weight claims are truthful.
• Offer postal service shipping. UPS is not good at residential delivery. Do not confuse the service UPS provides you with the poor service UPS provides your customers. It is frustrating to pay for two-day service and receive a package in seven days because UPS' delivery and pick-up hours are incompatible with working people. I prefer the US Postal Service.
• Offer inexpensive shipping. Your chocolates are only astoundingly fresh when you make them, not when they arrive overnight. Because they do not arrive astoundingly fresh, they are not worth an astounding overnight shipping cost. Often two-day shipping is not worth its cost either. Let your customer choose regular shipping. Because your products have a short shelf life, you need to get them to stores quickly. However, when you ship directly to a consumer, you have more slack. Also, show shipping costs before a customer has to enter personal information (except, of course, the ZIP code or other location where the product will be shipped).
• Make ordering simple. Let customers place one-time orders without registering. I have over 100 passwords to manage; I do not want more.
• Do not spam. Do send informative email about an order. Do not send any sort of advertising unless the customer explicitly requests it and you confirm their email address by getting a confirmation response to a test message. No tricks, no default "yes" answers.
• Use simple web pages. Fancy features cost you customers because they break in different browsers. Chocolate web pages must have pictures, but keep them to a reasonable size. See Donnelly's web site for an excellent example and consider using their web designer, Santa Cruz Web Design. Give the following guidelines to your web designer:
  • The web pages must work with HTML as specified by W3C and not rely on any specific features of Internet Explorer or other web browsers.
  • The web pages should avoid cookies and must work without cookies except for ordering.
  • The web pages must work without Java, Shockwave Flash, or other plug-ins.
  • The web pages must work if the user is using ad- and nuisance-filters such as Web Washer.
  • The web pages must not play sound without explicit consent of the user.

Links

If you would like to know where chocolate comes from, here is a superb page. There is also information at the Exploratorium's chocolate exhibit. Also, scientists find that chocolate is good for you here and here.

If you would like to bake with chocolate, try the recipes in Death by Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers. Here are a few recipes. Hank Friedman publishes truffle recipes he creates.

© Copyright 1996 by Eric Postpischil.