PARIS
Côte de France is an elegant little shop. Price: €33/lb. in 2003.
25 Avenue de l'Opera / Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 42 61 41 46.
3 Avenue Mozart / Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 42 88 17
79. Near La Muette station.
12 Rue d l'Isly / Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 43 87 54 81.
5 Place des Ternes / Paris /
France. +33 (0) 1 47 63 29 20.
116 Boulevard de Montparnasse / Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 43 20 21 48.
16 Rue Dufrenoy
/ Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 45 04 28 31.
La Fontaine au Chocolat
La Fontaine au Chocolat is an irresistable store, for appearance and
for chocolate.
Type: Fine. Price: €38/lb. in 2003. Conclusion: A must in Paris.
201 Rue Saint-Honoré / 75001 Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 42 44 11 66. North of the Louvre.
Hédiard
Type: Fine. Price: €37/lb. in 2003. Conclusion: One of the better stores in Paris.
Store: 21 Place de la Madeleine / 75008 Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 43 12 88 88.
Lenôtre
Good Paris choice for delicate flavors.
Store: 44 Rue d'Antenil / 75016 Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 45 24 52 52.
Store: 15 Boulevard de Courcelles / 75008 Paris
/ France. +33 (0) 1 45 63 87 63. At Villiers station.
Store: Paris Las Vegas (Bally's) / 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South
/ Las Vegas, NV 89109. 1-702-946-7000.
La Marquise de Sévigné
Type: Fine. Price: €30/lb. in 2003. Conclusion: Just average
for fine Paris chocolate.
Store: 32 Place de la Madeleine / 75008 Paris / France. +33 (0) 1 42 65 19 47.
Best hot chocolate in the world can be found in Paris.
Right behind the Louvre on Rue du Rivoli is Angelina's. Try the
African Hot Chocolate, it's not to thick, but deliciously rich. The deserts here are great too.
BRUXELLES
La Maison du Chocolat Artisanal
Superb shop with assortments of fine chocolates from several chocolatiers.
Type: Fine. Price: €11/lb. in 2003
in Bruxelles. Conclusion: My favorite shop in Bruxelles.
Store: Rue Marché-aux-Herbes 67 / 1000 Bruxelles / Belgium. +32 (02) 513 78 92.
Store: Grasmarkt 67 / 1000 Bruxelles
/ Belgium.
Around Grand Place and area surrounding it Chocolatier Mary, located a few blocks behind the
cathedral. Excellent chocolate!! Chocolatier Mary has held a Royal Warrant from the Belgium Royal family since 1942.
Also Pierre Marcolini across the street in the Grand Sablon area. Larger commercial companies
with several outlets are Neuhaus, Leonidas and Galler - all good. Godiva
isn't bad either but is becoming quite homogenized having been bought up by some large American food corporation. Forget about
a visit to the Museum of Chocolate in the Grand Place - it isn't worth the money.
UK
Thortons Chocolate
When in the UK you must make a stop a Thorton's Chocolates.
VIENNA
Manner Store in Vienna
The Manner Company has openend a store in Vienna on a corner right
next to St. Stephen's Cathedral. They make yummy wafer cookies with cream filling (the ones covered in chocolate are luscious).
They also make a hazelnut and chocolate "wurvel" (cube) that is delish!!
SWITZERLAND
The Best Chocolate in Switzerland
Confiserie Hanselmann in St. Moritz has outrageously
delicious Champagne Truffles. They also sell a lovely little gift box called "Skiers", containing 3 each of milk and dark
solid bars with nuts. Yummy!
ITALY
Chocolate to die for
The hot chocolate at Cafe Rivoire in Florence.
For any of you that decide to go to Luca, which is a beautiful town in the Tuscan region. There is a chocolaterie, called
"chocolat", just like the movie by the same name. It is run by an American and it is decorated like
the store in the movie, you even get a sample like in the movie.
European Chocolate Festival
Every October, Perugia in Italy's Umbria
region hosts the annual European Chocolate Festival. It is really quite a treat. Perugia is also home to the Perugina chocolate
company, makers of the Perugina Baci. Both the festival and the Baci are not to be missed.
CIOCCOLATERIA RAVERA
via Cavour, 15
12062 Cherasco (CN) Italy
Tel +39 0172 488395
Fax +39 0172 488395
ROME
Confetteria Moriondo & Gariglio (via del Pie' di Marmo 21-22, tel.: +39 06.6990856)
TORINO
Tourinot di Gobino. Very famous are the Tourinot gianduiotti and the Tourinot Maximo. Guido Gobino
via Cagliari 15/b, Torino +39 011 2476245)
CHERASCO
Mauro Riccardi presents the "baci di Cherasco". Riccardi il cioccolato (via Marconi 24, Cherasco
(CN) +39 0172.488536)
GENOVA
Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano (via Soziglia 74 r., Genova, tel: +39 010 2474574)
Viganotti (vico dei Castagna 14/r, Genova, tel.: +39 010 2514061)
NAPOLI
Gay-Odin (via Vetriera 12, Napoli, tel.: +39 081.417843)
BARCELONE
Traditional hot chocolate with churros at Els Quatre Gats, where Picasso used to enjoy his hot
chocolate.
Museum of Chocolate: Museu de Xocolata
ATHENS
Emely's (Ag. Ioannou 43, Ag. Paraskevi, +30 2106081337)
Karra (Pinelopis Delta 30, Neo Psichiko, +30 2106713541)
Irene Pappa (Thiseos 57, Ekali, +30 2106229226)
Upper Class (Karageorgi Servias 9, Syntagma square,(centre of Athens) +30 2103220546)
Le Chocolat (Karageorgi Servias 3, Syntagma square (centre of Athens) +30 2103252010)
How to taste the chocolate:
The best thing is to taste it with empty stomac.
If the chocolate
is perfect conserved, you have to put it in the ideal temperature which is between 19 and 25 °C for an hour.
Then you have
to keep it in your mouth for several instants so as to release and reveal the initial flavours.
Then you have to masticate
it several times so as to discover the secondary flavours, leaving it to touch the palate, so as to taste the whole spectrum
of the flavour.
Come gustare il Cioccolato:
La cosa migliore è gustare il cioccolato a stomaco vuoto.
Se
il cioccolato è perfettamente conservato, occorre un'ora perché
si porti alla temperatura ideale, tra 19 e 25 °C.
Bisogna
tenerlo in bocca per alcuni istanti perché rilasci e riveli i suoi
sapori primari.
Poi bisogna masticarlo alcune volte
per scoprirne gli aromi secondari, lasciando che si attacchi al palato per provare, finalmente insieme, tutto lo spettro dei
sapori.
