28 days of hot chocolate

Step right up. It’s Hot Chocolate Festival time!

For the next 27 days, you can sample something different from City Bakery’s annual deluge of fun, funny, inspirational and always delicious cocoa flavors.

 

You can get it with a homemade marshmallow to stay.

Or take it to go.

I’m especially keen for banana peel (today and the 23rd), caramel (the 3rd), bourbon (8th), black rum & cinnamon (22nd) and the ode to the polar bear (27th). What about you?

If it's cold, it must mean hot chocolate

It's winter, for sure. The days are short and, now, cold. Which means, times for City Bakery hot cocoa.

I was all too happy to indulge in my first cocoa of the year with Mademoiselle Lindsey.

Have you had your first cup of the season? If so, where??

20th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival

I missed meeting Bennie for a cup of banana peel hot cocoa yesterday. But I got to City Bakery’s Hot Chocolate Festival kickoff Wednesday morning—the 20th anniversary, no less—and indulged in sunken treasure hot cocoa—little extra bits of sweetness and chocolate at the bottom of your cup (miam).

No surprise, it was rich and decadent and the perfect way to start my day (and have you ever tried dipping a banana into your cocoa? Breakfast of champions, I tell you).

Here are my top five flavor picks for the remainder of the month:

• Bourbon hot chocolate (Friday the 10th)
• Caramel hot chocolate (Saturday the 11th)
• On a peanut butter barge hot chocolate (Saturday the 18th)
• Ode to the polar bear hot chocolate (Wednesday the 22nd)
• Chinese cinnamon hot chocolate (Saturday the 25th)

Find the full flavor roster and pick your favorites, here.

Old-fashioned at Angelina

Did you know that you can now get Angelina’s chocolat chaud, in a bottle, to go? C’est vrai.

But moi, I’ll take mine in the tea room. With the other tourists. Sipping my chocolat à l’ancienne l’Africain in unhurried happiness.

It is so thick and rich and indulgent that I could forgo dessert (and how often does that happen??).



The vanilla bourbon millefeuille and ginza natsu.


The strawberry-pistachio religeuse and the raspberry lavender Olympe.


Even the signature Mont Blanc (as cool looking as they are, I’m just not a fan).

Oui… the chocolat chaud was really all I needed.

Chocolat chaud season

Of course it was wonderful to share chocolat chaud with Sylvia and Lionel last month. But one must indulge in Angelina every season.

Ann and I were on the fast track to have pitchers of le chocolat Africain. But then Ann had an idea: should we step up to Jean-Paul Hevin’s new cocoa salon? And see if he was worthy of Le Figaro’s top nod in the city?

Absolutement!

No stranger to this master chocolatier’s phenomenal quality and creativity, I was all too eager.

From the pitcher…

…the pour…

And the verdict? Delish.

Not too thick or chocolaty. Not too rich or sugary. The perfect temperature and a beautiful afternoon treat. But for me, not top-top in this competitive city.

But I’m also not opposed to go back, maybe sit at the counter and watch the chocolabarista at work, mixing in beautiful flavors of matcha, ginger or raspberry.

February Tour: In the heart of chocolate darkness

Before I moved to Paris, I had only a vague understanding of the city’s layout and, more important, its sweet spots. Now I can feel (and taste) my way around. And whenever I have to do an errand in the first arrondisement, I prepare myself for lusting after things I can’t afford on rue St-Honoré, but taking solace in the fact that I can at least splurge on something sumptuous: chocolate—in solid or liquid form—at one of city’s, nay country’s, best chocolatiers.

Let’s start with the old master. Nestled between the luxury boutiques flaunting fine lingerie and crazy haute talons, Michel Cluizel (201, rue St.-Honoré) has been making chocolate since 1948, though his daughter Catherine now manages the store. Among the delights for you to discover: a wall-mounted fountain spewing molten chocolate, giant bowls filled with truffles and macarolats (a chocolate version of the macaron) and 99% cacao chocolate bars. Pas mal!

Further up the street is Jean-Paul Hévin’s modern and refined tea salon/chocolate shop (231, rue St-Honoré)—top 3, if not my very favorite, chocolatier. Dainty macarons and pretty cakes welcome you along one wall (or you can indulge upstairs in the tranquil salon de thé), but the bonbons are hidden in the back. With cocoa sourced from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Madagascar, and ingredients like cinnamon, caramel and champagne whipped into the dark chocolate ganache, they’re nothing if not sublime.

The selection at Pierre Hermé’s 4 rue Cambon boutique is more limited than at rue Bonaparte, but don’t despair. While you won’t find towering cakes like the Plenitude or Isaphan, you will find all the incredible macarons and chocolates your heart might desire.

Finish off the decadence by sitting firmly on your butt at Angelina’s (226, rue de Rivoli). You might have to battle some tourists and none-too-friendly waitresses for a seat, but a pitcher of their chocolat Africain more than makes up for it. It’s rich and chocolaty, smooth and velvety, thick enough to coat your tongue, and almost thick enough to stand a spoon up in it. It’s, oh what’s the word… heaven?

Oh cruel day of missing City Bakery

Lemon, chili pepper, ginger and even cinnamon… I can accept that I’ve missed the first few days and flavors of City Bakery’s annual hot chocolate festival.

But missing today’s flavor? Banana peel? It’s like gently dying somewhere deep inside.

Brown and white and absolutely sublime

You really haven’t had hot chocolate until you’ve had hot chocolate in Paris. Not to be a snob, but it’s sort of true.

I was reminded of this on my most recent visit to Jacques Genin.


This chocolatier/salon de thé is as exquisite as they come. It’s just a year old; a grand and beautiful space in the Haute Marais, with pristine tarts, millefeuilles and éclairs.


Like the space and pastries, the service is, as the French say, nickel (“neeeee-quelllllle”).

The chocolat chaud is served in Villeroy & Boch porcelain….

And the thick creaminess of the melted chocolate is just beautiful against the stark white china…

Until…

Until, carnage!


We obliterated our individual pitchers of chocolat, leaving irrefutable proof of a lovely afternoon spent.

Angelina, Angelina

In New York, the debate over who has the best hot chocolate is almost as fierce and divided as that of the best chocolate chip cookie. (Is it Jacques Torres or City Bakery? Neither?—MarieBelle, you say?)

In Paris, the best can usually be summed up in one word: Angelina.

This 1st arrondisement salon de thé is indeed a tourist trap. But it is well worth dealing with the fanny-packers—not for the Mont Blonc, a dome of sweet chestnut flavored meringue and cream, and definitely not for the service, which makes you feel they’d rather be home, filing their nails. But simply for a pitcher of le chocolat Africain, the house’s specialty hot chocolate.


Smooth and velvety, it’s thick enough to coat your tongue, but not so thick that it sticks to your teeth (an important line not to be crossed). It’s rich and chocolaty, and served warm, not hot—another distinction that’s important to me. I don’t like my hot chocolate to be scalding.



Served in china, with a side of pure whipped cream, it’s the perfect way to warm up on a rainy spring day. And a decadent way to get your day’s chocolate quota.


226 rue de Rivoli
1eme

Sweet Freak scoop: Hot Chocolate Festival comes a day early

Just as I was reminding Alex that we're six days out to City Bakery's month-long Hot Chocolate Festival, I got a message from Maury: the festival not only starts a day early, but is staying open late to celebrate.

The 17th annual festival kicks off this Saturday, the 31st, at the normal opening hour of 7:30 a.m. But just in case you're too busy shopping sales, catching the Oscar nominations, taking in Marlene Dumas at Moma, or sleeping off Friday night's soirées, City Bakery will remain open until midnight in celebration of the festival. That’s 16 ½ hours of decadent hot cocoa, followed by a month of experimental flavors like banana peel, beer, ginger, caramel and, Maury's favorites, bourbon and vanilla bean.

What's more, they're introducing "Lights Out Hot Chocolate" this year. Every day at 3 o'clock, the mezzanine lights go off and the candles get lit creating not only a moody way to sip your cocoa, but also a sweet way to save energy. How do you like that, Mr. President?

3 West 18th Street between Fifth and Sixth Aves
212.366.1414

Manhattan's best 5 cups of cocoa

Because it's snowing in New York. Because it's the holiday season. And because it's one of the silver linings of winter: these are the hot chocolates you don't want to miss.

Jacques Torres
When you walk into Chocolate Haven Soho, the heavenly scent of chocolate is all around you. Belly up to bar and order my personal favorite: the peanut butter hot cocoa.

Vosges
That their cocoa is called "drinking chocolate" and served in elegant glassware is telling. I like to change it up at Vosges and get the Bianca Cocoa: white chocolate with vanilla, lemon myrtle and lavender.

Dessert Truck
Insanely thick. Made with Valrhona and Guittard chocolates. Don't expect to drink the whole thing. Even I can't.

City Bakery
If hot chocolate could be landmarked, City Bakery's would be the first to receive the designation. Start training for February's Hot Cocoa Festival by sipping their small portions now. It's habit-forming.

MarieBelle
I was going to give the fifth spot to La Maison du Chocolat. But since this blog is all (or mostly) about NYC, MarieBelle—with a proper cacoa salon, six varieties, and the option for European (made with water) or American (milk) style—gets the nod.

Peanut butter. And some jelly.

I was pretty sure that Violette & Ruby made a pb & j cookie and that Baked had a pb & j brownie. Either one of those would have kicked Hill Country's pb & j cupcake. (Oh my, remember that??)


But, sadly, I was mistaken. Still, I can't get pb&j off the brain. At least there are other rich, savory snack situations. To wit…

Peanut butter sandwich cookies from the Treats Truck and Bouchon Bakery.

Peanut butter brownies at Baked, and peanut butter hot cocoa at Jacques Torres (um, since apparently it's winter already).

Peanut butter cupcake (with a chocolate ganache center) from Sweet Revenge.

And the best ever: City Bakery's peanut butter cookie.

To tart up the nuttiness, there are even jammie treats. Like Chocolate Bar's raspberry jam Retro Bar. And the raspberry brownie from the Treats Truck.

And for the truly gluttonous: fried pb & j at Mama's Mudsliders.

The off season

I so don't need this. Cold hot chocolate from City Bakery.

They couldn't (wouldn't) tell me how it's made, but it's their same hot cocoa, served over ice. And you get about 10 more ounces than you do with the hot portion, which is utterly ridiculous.

3 West 18th Street at Fifth
212.366.1414

Un chocolat

I overhear the nice guy behind the bar: “It’s like drinking melted chocolate.” Say no more; I’m in for a single shot of hot cocoa.

I’m at Michel Cluizel, world-renowned Parisian chocolatier who opened in ABC Carpet two years ago. It’s a relief to have place for top-notch chocolates that’s not Soho or midtown (and dangerously close to my apartment). Especially on a grey December afternoon when you have the day off from work and want to sit and zen out a bit.

The cocoa comes in a dainty little espresso cup. It hardly looks like enough, but it’s made with heavy cream and a blend of five different dark cocoa beans from different plantations, so drinking any more would be obscene. It’s creamy, smooth and refined; sharp, not sugary. Oui, c’est tres bon.

Michel Cluizel is better known for his bonbons than his cocoa though, so I must also indulge in a few of those. I choose a dark chocolate with a crème brulée butter ganache center, a salted butter caramel, and a milk chocolate filled with almond and hazelnut praline (always a sucker for pralines).

It’s a nice treat. But I’ll have to visit the rue Saint-Honoré boutique next week to see if, as I suspect, everything tastes better in Paris.

Haute, Haute, Haute!

The best thing about winter? Duh. Hot chocolate.

Baby, it’s cold outside. But thankfully, it's bustling and warm at The City Bakery. This Flatiron uber-bakery and café is filled with the beckoning scents of fresh baked goods. Unfortunately, it's also filled with New Yorkers looking for a fix of something good — "good," in this case meaning either good for you, or just yum-good.

The Bakery boasts an enormous salad bar tucked in the rear, and it's nothing to turn your nose up at. Parsnip chips, buckwheat noodles, scrambled tofu, and macaroni and cheese are made with greenmarket ingredients, vibrantly colored and decadently dressed. But what's more decadent are the baked goods up front — pretzel croissants, lemon tarts, peanut butter cookies — and a vat of hot chocolate that is so thick, a mini-waterwheel device keeps it stirring so it doesn't coagulate into a solid block of chocolate.

This is the crème de la crème of cocoa.

The chocolaty treat, served in a sturdy white crock and dusted with cocoa, is the most decadent cup in the city. Super thick and rich, it warrants a "wow" and a totally satisfied smile — maybe even a fit of giggles. If you want to be positively sure that it can’t get any better, order it topped with a sweet homemade marshmallow. Is enduring the hustle and bustle and long lines of The City Bakery worth their famed hot chocolate? In a word, yes.

The City Bakery
3 West 18th Street
212.366.1414