As soon as I hit six, I stopped believing in Santa Claus. All it took was a dose of excited anticipation, mixed with a first taste of coffee in my breakfast milk and the shoes I really, really was hoping Santa would have listened to me about, to bring on a slight case of childhood insomnia. So, I stayed up long enough to watch my parents put together the Christmas tree on Xmas Eve and even saw my Dad eat his share of the cookies I lovingly left for ‘Babbo Natale’ - Santa’s Italian name - which quickly led me to put two and two together. Four, in case you are wondering… Needless to say, my parents got a lot more hints in the years that followed and the big man with the jolly laugh and red suit was quickly forgotten.

But talk about the Easter Bunny and I’ll never give him up! No matter what people say, I will believe in the blessed creature as long as chocolate is made. So, with great joy I bring you some of his greatest incarnations, courtesy of L.A. Burdick Chocolates.

Name him whatever you wish, mine this year - big dark chocolate fellow on the left - is named Bobby D. and I just won’t bore you with the thought process behind that. Lets just say I am proud to be a downtown New Yorker, love films and film festivals and leave it at that! Do share your naming techniques and fabulous finds but most importantly, get yourself a choco bunny, or a whole posse, as seen here right… And N-joy!

Images courtesy of L.A. Burdick

… Just in time for the Holidays! Indeed, the husband-wife team behind the great L.A. Burdick chocolate creations - available till now only in New Hampshire and Massachusetts - have finally (re)opened a NYC location. As much as finally securing the new location may have been a great accomplishment for Larry and Paula Burdick, it is indeed a dream come true for the chocolate lover in me!

I became addicted to L.A. Burdick chocolate when a friend brought me back from their Cambridge Mass. store a small cigar box filled with deliciously minute chocolate bonbons and tiny little chocolate mice with silk tails. It was a Christmas token that truly became a periodic indulgence for me. I began sending these little cigar boxes of heaven to my friends and work contacts and was so taken with their divine taste that few other chocolate companies seemed to ever compare. I was even OK with their shipping costs and being deprived the great pleasure of picking the chocolates in person at their shop. Did it all through the coolness of the internet… Worth it always, since the brilliance of Burdick chocolate lies in their petite packaging, just enough of a good thing to make you yearn for more, never making you feel guilty about the calories, yet always filling your taste buds with delight!

Now, the couple have finally come home to the place where they met and started their chocolate empire. The new location is right in the heart of the Flatiron District and just steps away from the open-air green zone around Madison Square Park. It offers their exquisite selection of chocolate confections and a small cafe where one can sit down and enjoy some tea, a snack and of course, CHOCOLATE! Do check out the discount coupons offered this Holiday Season by the Union Square Partnership, by clicking here. 

So have a wonderful Holiday Season, filled with love, friendship, peace and chocolate!

Images courtesy of L.A. Burdick

If the thought of a perennial chocolate fountain doesn’t appeal to you, the idea of row upon row of shiny chocolate pralines of all flavors bores you and the promise of scrumptious warm waffles drizzled with hot fudge just makes you yawn, then this post is just not for you. But if you are in any way like me and consider chocolate a major food group, not to mention you try to constantly find medical and nutrition experts who will back up your theory that cocoa is indeed a healthy vitamin, no less important than the tart C or the yucky fish oils, then by all means read on.

Although it had been staring me in the face every time I walked by it in my neighborhood, I never ventured inside the Max Brenner chocolate restaurant on Second Avenue until very recently. A few friends I would trust with my life had recommended it and I knew enough about the place to write positive reviews for a few of my chocolate articles. But I never actually found the environment very cocoa-dream-friendly and if you ask me to explain why, I am stunted. It’s not an easy thing for me to be, stunted that is, but to date the Second Avenue eatery is not a favorite spot in my book.

Then I learned that Max Brenner has another location at Union Square, on Broadway right between 14th and 13th street. Now THAT is a spot which makes a girl like me dream big dreams of her very own “Ninny and the Chocolate Factory”! OK, the whole Ninny thing is to make a point and if anyone ever calls me that I promise they will not be able to taste chocolate ever again. Ninny is the word used when Florentine farmers call their piglets at feeding time. No, I don’t advise anyone to venture into dangerous territory by calling me that, ever. REALLY.

But back to the Max Brenner at Union Square. It’s a veritable factory of good times in there. The way the room is set up is very festive and bright. It has some “Dora, the Explorer”-type graphics on the walls and the tables have this old Soda Fountain shop atmosphere to them. The waiters are cheery, friendly and have this elf-like quality that makes it all seem very Willy Wonka, so much so that my friend C. and I had a hard time looking ours in the face, for fear of a spontaneous laughing fit. The place has a full chocolate shop in the front, where boxes of bonbons are available, alongside cocoa body creams and bubble baths, boxed teas and hot cocoa mixes. It’s a chocolate lover’s paradise, in every possible way.

I walked away from my own first experience there very satisfied. Of course, the temptation to try every single item in the place is soon replaced by the reality of their impossibly extensive menu. But I highly recommend the Chocolate Chai and the Profiteroles, which come filled with pastry cream, are served alongside chocolate and vanilla dipping sauces and garnished with a small dish of miniature crunchy waffle balls dipped in milk chocolate. Salivating yet? No… Then how about a beloved chai tea, but with an extra bit of panache added by mixing in some yummy cocoa? I think that has done the trick for sure. If not, have you checked your pulse lately?!

Now finally, an explanation for the title. You see, Mr. Brenner himself - first name Oded, not Max - is bald and a pastry chef. He started the original business - Handmade Chocolate - with a partner named Max Fichtman, hence the combination of the names in the title of the joint. And the concept behind the restaurants? To simply take chocolate to the… Max!

Image courtesy of Jason Perlow - Off The Broiler

Let me preface this by writing that I am a big fan of cherries. I will go to any lengths to get the “primizie” - what we call the very first crops of the season in Italian - and I typically never watch my wallet when it comes to this wonderful fruit! But as wonderful as the real things are, this week’s Chocolate Corner entry is absolutely divine. Think the wonder of Morello cherries - the best of the best, those dark purple ones that just burst in your mouth - mixed with a special cream liqueur and housed inside a thick dark chocolate shell. Got it yet?

Then you must be already looking for the link to the place where you can get some… In NYC, it’s quite easy. Just go to Leonidas on Madison Avenue and grab as many as you want. Their prices aren’t too bad for such delectable, heavenly bonbons. Otherwise, order a package - 1 lb is $36 - from Caviar & More, online. Either way, try this out and you’ll be sure to thank me!

And I am not talking about those impossibly hard and bitter cocoa nibs either!

Gnosis Chocolate is a company founded by holistic healthcare professional, Vanessa Barg, in March 2007. According to Ms. Barg, 80% of Americans have a magnesium deficiency, which makes us all more vulnerable to PMS, diabetes, joint problems and heart disease. Well, cocoa, particularly raw cocoa, is really high in magnesium, hence, solution to the problem!!!

But you know I would never mention anything good for you on my Chocolate Corner if it didn’t taste good as well! And Gnosis chocolate bars - personal favorites include Lemon Berry Rose (with real rose petals and sweetened with agave nectar) and Orange Blossom, with almonds - do taste amazing. Otherwordly. Fantastically fragrant. Well, you get the picture.

Available online, as well as at your local health food joint, this in one treat that you can truly feel good having!Va

One of my alltime favorite chocolate places in NYC has taken some time off for the month of August. So Verē Factory Fridays will not be possible during this month, but will resume in September. Stay tuned to this site for more info, and in the meanwhile, shop online at the Verē website.

Try a new Starbucks Vivanno© frozen drink, with bittersweet cocoa, a whole banana and fiber. By my calculations, you can’t have it better than this! It’s having your cake, eating it and feeling good too!

Top image courtesy of Verē Chocolate, bottom image courtesy of Business Week online

This week’s Chocolate Corner is short and sweet. I recently re-tried Trader Joe’s French Truffles, which come 24 in a box and cost next to nothing. I think they go for $2.99 a box, but don’t quote me on it, as my brain has been compromised by their incredible taste and texture.

OK, so taste: imagine a field of gooey fudge, where sugar cane has been planted all around and cinnamon stick trees - hum… do those exists? - grow wild. That should get you acquainted with the taste.

Texture: lets see… There is a lovely first surprise of softness, which can be adjusted by placing the truffles in the fridge, a must during the humidity of a NYC summer. But the great surprise is the actual crunch of the sugar, cane sugar, which accompanies you until the very last bite, or suck - if you eat chocolate the proper and legal way it should be enjoyed.

I suggest checking out your local TJ for some of those heavenly truffles. But don’t wait for the weekend… They tend to run out, at their ridiculously low price!

Image courtesy of Vox

When something delicious comes my way in life, I have to share it. So, when I recently went to visit my injured friend at her home in midtown, I was compelled to buy some cupcakes from Bruce’s Bakery, just a block away from her. We then talked, laughed and ate together, remembering why it’s so amazing to have friends in one’s life.

Anyway, everyone, it seems, is making cupcakes these days: Magnolia - featured in the series “Sex and the City” - Buttercup Bake Shop, Cupcake Cafe, my local neighborhood bakery - Something Sweet - and even Trader Joe’s. But Bruce’s have a twist, a gimmick… The frosting is freshly applied, to order, when you have chosen the flavor you desire. So, the lovely shopkeeper Michelle applied dense and gooey chocolate frosting to the chocolate cake cupcakes I picked out and off I went with my booty to my friend’s. But I am MOST definitely going back. For the “Brown Bonnet”, which is a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting, then dipped in melted chocolate, and for the Oreo Top, which needs no further explanation. Try out this delicacy in NYC, on First Avenue and 57th Street. Or check out Bruce’s Bakery online. N-joy!

It’s only fair that I should eventually combine my love of Bombay with my passion for chocolate. And the idea that my favorite brown gold is available in the city of my dreams, just awakened in me the forever latent desire to hop on the next Continental direct flight to Mumbai and go have me so CHOCOLATE! If you are already there, or are planning a trip soon, try out these posh locales.

Theobroma - Cusrow Baug, Colaba Causeway - For ten varieties of moist brownies (see the image top left for confirmation!) courtesy of Kainaz Messman. The price, a mere Rs. 30 and up (US equivalent, less than US$1!) Phone: 022-22873778. Oh, and now they’re in Bandra too, right off of Linkin Road!

Cooper’s Chikki & Fudge - Opposite Railway Station, Lonavala - For gooey chocolate fudge, sold by the pound. But word is, the stuff is always sold out by 2 p.m., so this is a chocolate treat for early birds! It’s also not exactly a “central” location, but worth the journey. Retails at Rs. 600 per pound, equivalent to US$15. Phone: 02148-72564.

Mocha - Outlets all over India, for more info click on Mocha - For its signature “Chocolate Avalanche” with fudge, ice cream, mousse, chips and sprinkles. I would have named it “Chocolate OVERLOAD” but that’s just me… Anyway, it retails at Rs. 145, which translates as less than US$4.

Alright, all that’s left for me to write is… N-joy!

My lovely friend Valerie recently forwarded to me an email from NYC chocolate factory Vere. Handmade, gluten-free and very low sugar, their chocolate is a great way to indulge without feeling guilty afterwards. Typically open on Fridays, from noon to 6 p.m., for chocolate tastings, a factory tour and purchases directly from the source, they have now added a new Thursday “Vere Vino” event.

On May 8th and 22nd, as well as June 5th and 19th, from 6 to 7.30, the general public is invited, for a fee of $50 per person, to attend wine and chocolate tastings. On those occasions, a great Spanish Rioja will paired with brownies and almond clusters, Veuve Clicquot will be paired with truffles and a Sandeman Port will pair up with Vere signature caramels. Plus, at the end of the evening, everyone will be given a little goodie bag of Veve chocolate products. To RSVP contact erika@veregoods.com or call 1.866.410.VERE.

For more info on the various products, Val’s favorites are their fleur de sel caramels, check out Vere Online .

N-joy!