Skip to main content

Walking Chocolate Tour of San Francisco

By
As a pre-birthday celebration, I booked a chocolate tour for the littlest foodie in the family. So, on Sunday we drove up to the City for some sweet family time...


The Good
Our tour guide, Michelangelo, was very funny and very well-informed about chocolate history. And - best part! - he let me know about some other chocolate must-trys in the City that weren't included in the walk. I love locals' tips. We'll definitely head back up and check out those other spots another time.

The Not-So-Good
The first two stops on the tour itinerary were actually closed. I wasn't sure if it was because of the holiday - or because it was Sunday (and, perhaps, Michelangelo doesn't usually do Sundays), but our guide seemed genuinely surprised.

Chocolate Tour of San Francisco Itinerary

Fog City News: This was closed.

NewTree: This was also closed.


Spicely Organic Spices: This was our absolute favorite stop on the tour - so much so that D changed his planned dessert course for his birthday dinner party. He curated a 12-chocolate tasting with deliciousness from here. Can you say "saffron white chocolate"? "Sage-Lavender-Orange"? Yep. Those are just two of his choices.

Ghirardelli's: A San Francisco institution not to be missed. However, no real tasting here except for the standard seasonal square that anyone would get if they walked in to the store.


Minamoto Kitchoan: A boutique full of Japanese-style sweets for tea ceremonies. I would never have walked into that store on my own. So, it was good to be introduced to it this way. D loved the texture of the treat; R and Jake were fascinated by the lacquered foods on display.


Chocolatier Blue: Berkeley-based chocolatier sells his gorgeous confections out of an old Tiffany store. They look like jewelry...sort of. We tried a gingerbread (that's the heart) and sugar plum (looks like a sapphire). Gotta say - gorgeous but way too sweet for my tastes. I prefer my chocolate unadorned, or - at the very least - subtly infused.

CocoaBella: We were all chocolated-out by the time we got to the last stop. Again, this was a boutique with some very pretty chocolates and confections. I love that they were arranged geographically. You could buy chocolates from around the world!

We had a good time and, I think, it was well worth the Groupon price I paid for it. But I do not think it would be worth the retail price of the tickets. But I was inspired to do my own chocolate tasting tour with some of those other stops Michelangelo mentioned. Cannot wait to try the cacao pulp smoothie at Dandelion. Maybe for Jake's 40th. Coming soon...
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

By
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir
15 comments
Read more

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

By
This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t
5 comments
Read more

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

By
If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce
1 comment
Read more