Chocolate Delights in New York

My original plan for my birthday in New York was to do a dessert crawl of some sort. However, things changed and I never got round to doing it. But, I did make up for the non-existent dessert crawl by making a couple of stops at 2 Chocolatier shops while in New York.

First up, Chocolate Pizza from Max Brenner. The first time I'd ever heard about this chocolate pizza was when Aaron Sanchez mentioned it in a pizza-themed The Best Thing I Ever Ate. There is something about watching a foodie/chef talk about their favorite food that mesmorizes me and get those salivary glands going. Yeah, I desperately wanted to try this pizza.

Made with white chocolate, milk chocolate and lightly-toasted marshmallows in place of cheese, this pizza is a real sugar rush. The chewy, fresh marshmallows were sprinkled generously over the sweet chocolate base, with chunks of slightly-melted chocolate dispersed throughout. While the toppings of this pizza sang sweetly to me, the pie itself was a sore spot. Although the pie was made with real pizza dough, I was not impressed with the hard piece of cardboard that supported the above sugar overload. It tasted like it had been made hours before and had a dense quality to it. Perhaps had this chocolate pizza been made fresh, I would not have to accuse Aaron Sanchez of tricking me! This was not the best pizza I ever had.

Up next, was a visit to Jacques Torres for some hot chocolate. Wicked Hot Chocolate to be more exact- hot chocolate with a hint of Ancho and Chipotle peppers. After a stressful day of touring NYC with French winemakers and producers, nothing sounded quite as lovely as a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

The combination of the Ancho and Chipotle peppers in the hot chocolate made for a feisty drink. The chocolate had a deep bitter quality to it and I adored the heat of the peppers hitting the back of my throat. I swoon. But as good as the Wicked Hot Chocolate was, I will say that I did get a chocolate overdose by the last drop of my small cup.

Oh! And did I mentioned that Mr. Torres, Mr. Chocolate himself was in his store while I was there? Cool beans huh? (Sorry, I apparently get star struck with chefs!?)


Details:
Max Brenner
841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
212-388-0030

Jacques Torres Chocolates
350 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
212-414-2462