For the Love Of…..

“I like not only to be loved, but to be told that I am loved.”     - George Eliot


The big holidays are behind us, but that lovely love day is less than a month away. Red and pink hues blanket the stores and "Kay" and "Jared" hit us all over with their bauble ads. The rest is all hearts, flowers, love notes, and.....chocolate!

For those of you planning to shower your love with a box of calories, how 'bout we skip Godiva this year?  Skip Russell Stover and Whitman's this year while you're at it (and maybe every year . . . at least for a Valentine's Day gift).  Show her/him that you actually care and an effort was made! Here’s how. . . 

If you absolutely want to go the way of a box of chocolates, you know it works, and you’re confident in that space, one of the simplest steps up would be Truffles and Bon Bons from Chocolate Bar.  They are handmade, hand-packed fresh and oozing rich flavors like coffee cardamom, caramel, peanut butter & jelly and passion fruit.  A middle-of-the-road 24-piece signature box is $33.   

Chocolate Bar NYC




A step in the fancy direction takes us to La Maison du Chocolat.  Discover the luxury with a 28-piece Coffret Maison Dark and Milk box ($55).  They describe it as a “refined chocolate box,” and it is.  I’d say: exquisite. 

La Maison du Chocolat

If you’re willing to get a tad more creative and sweet, go this route: The Valentine Collection by L.A. Burdick Chocolates ($78). Artfully presented in a wood crate, a selection of this chocolatier’s best hand-crafted pieces – including a pair of their special chocolate mice (!) – are nestled in just so.  Be sure to read the “About Us” section of their website; they really are masters of chocolate. 

(If you think the Chocolate Mice are as quirky and cute as I do, it could be another option for you ($32 or $48))

L.A. Burdick

I have to throw in a plug here for Vosges Haut-Chocolat.  I’ve followed Vosges since their early days in Chicago, got to know some of the folks behind the scenes, and remain a super fan.  Different than a box of chocolates, but nonetheless rectangularly contained, a Mini Exotic Candy Bar Library ($25) would make a fun gift!  A library of chocolate – COME ON!   Throw in a Barcelona Milagro Heart of Love ($4) while you’re ordering online.  Make it Valentine-y. 

Vosges Haut-Chocolat



Shall I keep going???



Maybe you don’t want to gift pieces of chocolate.  How about brownies?  I haven’t met one person who hasn’t loved Fat Witch brownies. I mean, yes, it could be weird to give your lovely a tin that says "Fat Witch" on it, so tread carefully here. Plenty of options, but for Valentine’s Day, I think a great gift would be a “Tin of Favs.”  For $39 you get 2 Fat Witches, 2 Blonde Witches, 2 Walnut Witches, 2 Caramel Witches.

Fat Witch

Or….there’s cake!  And by cake, I don’t mean grocery store bakery section cake (unless that’s your fave, which, that’s cool, too).  No, I’m talkin’ “I’m-going-to-splurge-here-and-prove-to-my-special-someone-that-they-are-so-worth-it” cake. One of my absolute favorite boutiques in Manhattan is a cake boutique: Lady M Confections.  (My absolute favorite cake is their signature Lady M Mille Crepes, but we’re here to talk about chocolate…) And this work of art – the Couronne du Chocolat – can be shipped to you ($75 plus shipping and handling fees)!  It is dark chocolate mousse layered with chocolate sponge, topped with ganache and finished with white chocolate shavings and crumb sidings. Be sure to note their special ordering instructions, which are posted on the website.

Lady M Confections

Finally, what I consider the simplest and most romantic option: Champagne Truffles from Teuscher Chocolates. 

From Teuscher:

Decadent. Exquisite. Unforgettable. There is no question that our most popular truffle is also the world’s finest. A delicate milk chocolate shell wrapped around sinfully rich dark chocolate with a heart of French champagne crème, each one of our Champagne Truffles is a miniature masterpiece. Taste one and you will understand immediately how our signature specialty has seduced customers and critics the world over. Available in any quantity, all year round.

Pair these with a fine bottle of champagne, a hand-written love note, and call it Valentine’s Day. 

Teuscher

Just ideas.  Hope they help!  Now……who’d like to be my secret admirer?  :-)

- E