Monday, September 17, 2007
ChocolateBet: November 3, 2006
Having enjoyed most Reese's products - usually satisfyingly familiar variations on chocolate and peanut butter - I was curious to try the Reese's Fast Break bar. Unfortunately, I may be getting spoiled by eating all this high-class dark chocolate lately. When I ate this, all I tasted was fat and sugar - and not so much the milk chocolate, peanut butter and nougat. So, I'd have to, reluctantly, give this a low rating.
ChocolateBet: November 2, 2006
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| http://www.bombonesludomar.com/ |
It's time to try some chocolate that at least looks and/or sounds like it might come from outside the U.S.
Most cacao beans grow in areas that lie closer to (above and below) the equator; and these areas are outside of the U.S. -- except maybe Hawaii. Most chocolate is made in non-cacao growing countries. Today's chocolate happens to be from Spain.
Turrones are nougat type sweets, made with honey (or sugar) and nuts, and are often sold before//for the Christmas holidays.
Today's milk chocolate (33.5% cocoa) was a Ludomar brand turron de praline de almendra (Chocolate Almond Turron). This product of Spain was brought to the U.S. by "Forever, Cheese, NY 11106," a company that specializes in imports from Italy, Spain, Portugal and Croatia.In any case, this Spanish chocolate with almonds (almendras) and hazelnut with a hint of vanilla (shown above, far right) was good.
ChocolateBet: November 1, 2006
Newman's Own brand is well respected, and I've enjoyed every product of theirs I've ever tasted. I was hooked the first time I bought their salad dressing (with real olive oil no less).
Their chocolates - some of which look like re-dos of some popular brands -- are wonderful. Their dark espresso bar, which I tried to today is very good. I'll have to sample more of these soon!
Their chocolates - some of which look like re-dos of some popular brands -- are wonderful. Their dark espresso bar, which I tried to today is very good. I'll have to sample more of these soon!
ChocolateBet: October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween. I'm in Santa Cruz. We're going to see David Sedaris (writer, and very entertaining speaker as well) perform. David Sedaris has a dark sense of humor, so this is perfect.
We have dinner in downtown Santa Cruz, and we watch kids and families in Halloween costumes finishing up the G-Rated early evening portion of tonight's celebrations. And after dinner the older, more mature-themed costumes make their debut. Some join us for the evening with David Sedaris.
There is also a cafe called "Chocolate" on one of the main streets of downtown Santa Cruz near one of the bookstores, that sells excellent hot chocolate drinks. I have a "Sofia Italian Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa," which receives a Yum (highest rating) from me.
We have dinner in downtown Santa Cruz, and we watch kids and families in Halloween costumes finishing up the G-Rated early evening portion of tonight's celebrations. And after dinner the older, more mature-themed costumes make their debut. Some join us for the evening with David Sedaris.
There is also a cafe called "Chocolate" on one of the main streets of downtown Santa Cruz near one of the bookstores, that sells excellent hot chocolate drinks. I have a "Sofia Italian Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa," which receives a Yum (highest rating) from me.
ChocolateBet: October 30, 2006
See's Candies
Awesome Nut and Chew Bar
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ N/A - free sample from See's store (when I bought several other items)
Purchased from: See's Candies (store)
I polished off a Sees "Awesome Nut and Chew" candy bar today. It was given to me as a free sample from those nice ladies at the See's Candies store I visited at lunch yesterday.
Apparently there were a few broken bars - this being one. "It would be a shame to see this go to waste," she offered. And, not wanting to be rude I was quick to agree. This was a good candy bar, and a welcome break from the more well-known classic candy bars in the vending machines that I'm often limited to on long work days.
I'm excited, the lease for my San Francisco office space starts this week. I look forward to working up there, and to more chocolate-related safaris in the City.
ChocolateBet: October 29, 2006
I'm finishing the last wonderful chocolate from a hand-picked assortment from Cocoa Bella (San Francisco). Today I polished off a chocolate in the shape of a cocoa pod. After the Cocoa Pod truffle, which is quite good (and visually fairly stunning), and is even colored and textured somewhat to look like the real thing, I decided to move on to a local favorite: Sees candies.
I grew up seeing the Sees white and black candy boxes, and remember their chocolate and caramel suckers as well. In the late 1970s, when I lived on the East Coast, bringing back Sees chocolate to the Wash., D.C., area group I worked with (after picking some up on a visit to California), was always appreciated. Those of us who had grown up on the West Coast really missed great fresh produce, good Haas avocados, sourdough french bread, good Mexican and Chinese food, and local favorites like Sees. Now, much has changed, and you can probably get all these things and more around our nation's capitol city. But, back to Sees...
I drive over to the local Sees at lunch, and they hand me two dark chocolate covered molasses chip candies to try, before I say a word. They're very good. The nice women there even give me a discount based on the company I work for. (I've forgotten to take off my geek badge I was wearing, and they notice.) I buy much more chocolate than I planned, and they load me up with another sample or two when they hear about my chocolate bet. Hmmm.
About the health part, there are indeed components of chocolate, especially dark chocolate that I'm told are healthy. But, there is the fats and sugars that cocoa is packaged with that cause worrisome effects. I'm not actively thinking about readjusting my goal of only gaining a few pounds during this year of chocolate dabauchery; but I'm starting to feel a snugness around my beltline. And I don't think it's my imagination. I'm starting to feel like Morgan Spurlock (sp?) who "starred" in the documentary "Supersize Me." He ate nothing but McDonald's fast food, and decided to up the ante by always saying yes when asked if he wanted McDonald's staff to supersize the burger-and-fries-and-drink and other combos he was ordering. And he documented his weight gain and other ill health effects during this time. I didn't weigh myself before I started this chocolate bet, and the cocoa-fueled portion of my diet is only a fraction of my total intake. However, I'll watch how my clothes are fitting, and will get my blood tested next year, just out of curiosity.
I grew up seeing the Sees white and black candy boxes, and remember their chocolate and caramel suckers as well. In the late 1970s, when I lived on the East Coast, bringing back Sees chocolate to the Wash., D.C., area group I worked with (after picking some up on a visit to California), was always appreciated. Those of us who had grown up on the West Coast really missed great fresh produce, good Haas avocados, sourdough french bread, good Mexican and Chinese food, and local favorites like Sees. Now, much has changed, and you can probably get all these things and more around our nation's capitol city. But, back to Sees...
I drive over to the local Sees at lunch, and they hand me two dark chocolate covered molasses chip candies to try, before I say a word. They're very good. The nice women there even give me a discount based on the company I work for. (I've forgotten to take off my geek badge I was wearing, and they notice.) I buy much more chocolate than I planned, and they load me up with another sample or two when they hear about my chocolate bet. Hmmm.
About the health part, there are indeed components of chocolate, especially dark chocolate that I'm told are healthy. But, there is the fats and sugars that cocoa is packaged with that cause worrisome effects. I'm not actively thinking about readjusting my goal of only gaining a few pounds during this year of chocolate dabauchery; but I'm starting to feel a snugness around my beltline. And I don't think it's my imagination. I'm starting to feel like Morgan Spurlock (sp?) who "starred" in the documentary "Supersize Me." He ate nothing but McDonald's fast food, and decided to up the ante by always saying yes when asked if he wanted McDonald's staff to supersize the burger-and-fries-and-drink and other combos he was ordering. And he documented his weight gain and other ill health effects during this time. I didn't weigh myself before I started this chocolate bet, and the cocoa-fueled portion of my diet is only a fraction of my total intake. However, I'll watch how my clothes are fitting, and will get my blood tested next year, just out of curiosity.
ChocolateBet: October 28, 2006
The trouble with getting a grand assortment of chocolates from a great chocolate shop is that it takes a long time to plough through a whole box. Today, I'm continuing to work through a great assortment box from Cocoa Bella (San Francisco). The small "Capuccino" chocolate is suitable for a dollhouse. A perfectly molded little piece of chocolate is in the shape of a coffee cup, and the filling/topping seated inside looks like foam atop espresso.
I hope to enjoy several coffees soon near my shared office space in North Beach. I feel very fortunate, and obnoxiously happy about this, as I feast off tiny bites of this little chocolate cup.
I hope to enjoy several coffees soon near my shared office space in North Beach. I feel very fortunate, and obnoxiously happy about this, as I feast off tiny bites of this little chocolate cup.
ChocolateBet: October 27, 2006
Today, I tried a Praline Noisette from Cocoa Bella (San Francisco). It was Good.
ChocolateBet: October 26, 2006
Chocolate(s) of the Day:
Another trip to Cocoa Bella chocolate store in San Francisco. I probably could buy 365 different types of chocolates at just this store - and enjoy every one of them.
Today I try a Ramses, a Pistachio Cup, a dark chocolate covered fig (Yum), and dark chocolate covered pear (Good) and a few others. Most are very good. The shapes and variety of "designs" and flavors are a strong draw at this counter.
Another trip to Cocoa Bella chocolate store in San Francisco. I probably could buy 365 different types of chocolates at just this store - and enjoy every one of them.
Today I try a Ramses, a Pistachio Cup, a dark chocolate covered fig (Yum), and dark chocolate covered pear (Good) and a few others. Most are very good. The shapes and variety of "designs" and flavors are a strong draw at this counter.
ChocolateBet: October 25, 2006
Hershey's
Skor candy bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (39 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar
Cost:
Purchased from: Walgreen's ?
Hershey's Skor* candy bar is somewhat similar to a Heath bar. I'm tempted to say, it's very good for a Hershey's bar. But, the company is moving more into dark and high-end chocolate these days.
The Skor bar is a toffee bar covered in milk chocolate, that dates back to the early 1980s. I'm not sure exactly what the Swedish connection is, but *Skor is Swedish for shoes and the "crown" symbol on the label is also of Swedish origin.
Note: Photo added later, when camera available.
ChocolateBet: October 24, 2006
I ate more chocolate (another 4) today from the assortment box from Cocoa Bella (bought earlier in San Francisco). More Yums and Very Goods.
My dream to spend more time in San Francisco is coming true. I was very fortunate to be able to share an office space with two very creative women in the North Beach area, starting Nov. 1st, 2006. I love this area. It is like a European village, with lots of great people and places and history to discover in the margins. North Beach, an Italian neighborhood, and home to coffee houses, great restaurants, and City Lights bookstore, also shares a very permeable border with Chinatown, and so there is a great mix of activities going on as I walk from the parking garage on Vallejo over and up Stockton toward pier 39 and Telegraph Hill. Wild parrots fly overhead. I chat with, and get to know, some local storeowners: a tailor, a glass shop co-owner, a jeweler. And, I think I saw a great chocolate shop there too.
My dream to spend more time in San Francisco is coming true. I was very fortunate to be able to share an office space with two very creative women in the North Beach area, starting Nov. 1st, 2006. I love this area. It is like a European village, with lots of great people and places and history to discover in the margins. North Beach, an Italian neighborhood, and home to coffee houses, great restaurants, and City Lights bookstore, also shares a very permeable border with Chinatown, and so there is a great mix of activities going on as I walk from the parking garage on Vallejo over and up Stockton toward pier 39 and Telegraph Hill. Wild parrots fly overhead. I chat with, and get to know, some local storeowners: a tailor, a glass shop co-owner, a jeweler. And, I think I saw a great chocolate shop there too.
ChocolateBet: October 23, 2006
While in San Francisco yesterday, a friend and I discovered Cocoa Bella chocolate store in an urban mall/shopping center just off Market St. They carry a dazzling assortment of chocolates - different shapes and sizes and colors. I selected an assortment, with the assistance of a helpful employee, who was also willing to pose for a photo. We sampled the first of this assortment today, and I successfully limited myself to just four pieces.
ChocolateBet: October 22, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
Godiva
Dark Chocolate Key Lime truffle
Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1. g.) (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: ?
Purchased from:
Godiva's dark chocolate key lime truffle was very good.
A Sunday shopping trip up in San Francisco for bed linens (or other homewares you can't afford at an upscale department store) with a friend is made a bit nicer when followed by a small indulgence such as this.
Godiva
Dark Chocolate Key Lime truffle
Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1. g.) (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: ?
Purchased from:
Godiva's dark chocolate key lime truffle was very good.
A Sunday shopping trip up in San Francisco for bed linens (or other homewares you can't afford at an upscale department store) with a friend is made a bit nicer when followed by a small indulgence such as this.
ChocolateBet: October 21, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
Organics
Organic Blackberry Ice Cream Bar with Dark Chocolate Coating
Weight: 3 fl. oz. (89 mL) bar / 9 fl. oz. (266 mL) total package of 3 bars
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Chocolate-covered ice cream bars bring back fond summer memories, as does black raspberry ice cream - which we were once (atypically) allowed to eat in cups and cones in our back yard, in bare feet, when we were growing up -- probably during a heat wave one summer. I still remember how good it tasted.
So, it is no surprise perhaps that, I really enjoyed the Organics brand of Blackberry Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate (coating) frozen ice cream bars that my daughter and I were sampling this evening. They were very good.
Organics
Organic Blackberry Ice Cream Bar with Dark Chocolate Coating
Weight: 3 fl. oz. (89 mL) bar / 9 fl. oz. (266 mL) total package of 3 bars
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Chocolate-covered ice cream bars bring back fond summer memories, as does black raspberry ice cream - which we were once (atypically) allowed to eat in cups and cones in our back yard, in bare feet, when we were growing up -- probably during a heat wave one summer. I still remember how good it tasted.
So, it is no surprise perhaps that, I really enjoyed the Organics brand of Blackberry Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate (coating) frozen ice cream bars that my daughter and I were sampling this evening. They were very good.
ChocolateBet: October 20, 2006
I'm in the airport, heading toward my assigned gate, waiting to fly home from a business trip. I decide I have just enough time to get some ice cream at an airport concession/food stand. I order a cup, a single scoop size, of Bud's Mint Chip ice cream, and am handed an enormous, heaping scoop in a white styrofoam cup. It threatens to melt and overflow, even before I find a place to sit down with my suitcase. I can't help but think to myself, "No wonder Americans are so overweight." I can only eat about half of this, although it's OK, before dumping it in the trash. Maybe it's also because it's warm outside and also because I've been eating road food for the past few days, and am just over-stuffed.
ChocolateBet: October 19, 2006
Target
Choxie - Peanut Butter Big Bites
OK
Weight: 1.31 oz. (37 g.) in total package
Calories: 260 calories in 1 package
Cost: ?
Purchased from: Target, West Hollywood, CA
It's fun to shop in L.A./Hollywood. On my way into Target (store), I did a double-take as I recognized a nice-looking actor from a popular TV series. He smiled back, and looked like he enjoyed the recognition.
I was ducking into the Target store because I'm in between business meetings, and needed a snack, and I had it on good authority that Target had their own chocolate brand.
I bought, and later ate, a few pieces of Choxie chocolate (Peanut Butter Big Bites) from Target. It was OK. But, when you're stuck back in a hotel room, and don't really feel like going out, it's nice to have a quick alternative to room service or walking around a store-free neighborhood after dark.
ChocolateBet: October 18, 2006
Grown-up Chocolate
I'm on a business trip to Los Angeles. Lots of people to talk to while I'm down here. I'm fortunate to have time at the end of the day to meet with Bela, who is a wonderful, creative individual, who shares some great suggestions for places to eat and drink in L.A. We meet at Lola's, and I explain the whole wacky chocolate bet to her. Lola's is well-known for their good-sized martinis, and they offer a great Van Gough vodka chocolate martini (with just the right amount of chocolate shavings on the rim of the glass). I have one of these. A Very Good choice. After drinking our one martini each, we stay and eat a light dinner just to absorb the alcohol buzz. And I get to hear about her fantastic trip to Thailand with friends.
I'm on a business trip to Los Angeles. Lots of people to talk to while I'm down here. I'm fortunate to have time at the end of the day to meet with Bela, who is a wonderful, creative individual, who shares some great suggestions for places to eat and drink in L.A. We meet at Lola's, and I explain the whole wacky chocolate bet to her. Lola's is well-known for their good-sized martinis, and they offer a great Van Gough vodka chocolate martini (with just the right amount of chocolate shavings on the rim of the glass). I have one of these. A Very Good choice. After drinking our one martini each, we stay and eat a light dinner just to absorb the alcohol buzz. And I get to hear about her fantastic trip to Thailand with friends.
ChocolateBet: October 17, 2006
Going into a shop at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, I found a fairly large glass fishbowl, filled with foil-wrapped eyeballs - of the chocolate and peanut butter variety. I bought two, of course, and ate them after horsing around with them at home, making my teenage daughter roll her eyes again. My only frustration is not being able to write down the brand here. These are probably sold in bulk to certain stores. The concept is great. The taste was good. Halloween draws nearer.
ChocolateBet: October 16, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
McDonald's
Hot Fudge Sundae
Good+ - Very Good
No time for an out-of-the-office lunch with co-workers, but time enough for a drive-through window stop at the local McDonald's restaurant. And, I hate to admit it to all my politically correct friends, but their hot fudge sundae it pretty great. I picked up one of those, along with a chicken salad. (Getting the salad almost justifies being able to eat the hot fudge sundae, if you don't think too hard about all the yummy politically-correct Paul Newman's salad dressing you're squeezing out of the packets onto your salad.)
Rating for the hot fudge sundae: Good - Very good, especially for fast food. (You have to be careful when you open the little plastic top to sprinkle on the tiny package of chopped nuts though, otherwise they will overflow onto your lap. A small price to pay.)
McDonald's
Hot Fudge Sundae
Good+ - Very Good
No time for an out-of-the-office lunch with co-workers, but time enough for a drive-through window stop at the local McDonald's restaurant. And, I hate to admit it to all my politically correct friends, but their hot fudge sundae it pretty great. I picked up one of those, along with a chicken salad. (Getting the salad almost justifies being able to eat the hot fudge sundae, if you don't think too hard about all the yummy politically-correct Paul Newman's salad dressing you're squeezing out of the packets onto your salad.)
Rating for the hot fudge sundae: Good - Very good, especially for fast food. (You have to be careful when you open the little plastic top to sprinkle on the tiny package of chopped nuts though, otherwise they will overflow onto your lap. A small price to pay.)
ChocolateBet: October 15, 2006
Blue Bunny. What a great brand name.
Sweet Freedom Supremes, Turtle ice cream bar; no sugar added. (Hey, I have to take some steps to watch my expanding waistline.) It was good.
Sweet Freedom Supremes, Turtle ice cream bar; no sugar added. (Hey, I have to take some steps to watch my expanding waistline.) It was good.
ChocolateBet: October 14, 2006
Godiva
Milk Chocolate with Almonds and Toffee bar
Yum
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: ?
Hello again, Godiva.
Godiva makes the best "candy bars" around. I'm not even sure I'd put them in the same category with traditional candy bars.
Then again, there is more and more high-end competition in this category this year as candy makers are hoping to capture buyers in the (what I assume is more) lucrative dark and high-end specialty chocolate market segments.
Back to Godiva. Today I had their Milk Chocolate with Almonds and Toffee bar. It was a definite Yum (highest) rating. They didn't even need to resort to dark chocolate to get there. The whole 1.5 oz. bar was gone in a flash.
Note: Photo added later, when camera available
ChocolateBet: October 13, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Kandy Brights
"Solid Milk Chocolate" Candles (yes they really light up)
OK - Good - great concept
Weight: 7 g. for 1 / total box/package of 8 candles was 2 oz. (56 g.)
Cost: $5.99
Purchased from: Diddam's (party supply store), in Palo Alto, CA
Tonight I got together with a great friend to celebrate being 50ish. Well, it's a month after my actual birthday, so it's stretching the whole birthday month concept a bit far....Or, is that possible? Welcoming and planning for the new 50s era is worth celebrating in excess I think.
We enjoyed a fantastic meal in Half Moon Bay - a city on the coast/Pacific Ocean, south of San Francisco - at Cetrella's restaurant. This whole area used to be, arguably, best known for its agricultural and marine bounty. An old farmer's market building/site was transformed into a very nice high-end restaurant a few years back, and they still keep that tradition alive by specializing in local produce and ingredients. We had a very helpful waiter who suggested pairing certain wines with foods, and he was spot on.
We had a creme caramel dessert, which we topped with (Kandle Brights) edible chocolate birthday candles that I had purchased recently at Diddam's store (a great place for party supplies). The caramel was very nice, and while the chocolate candles weren't really a feast by themselves, they were such a nice touch. We couldn't resist lighting them, and gnawing on them a bit after we were done. A great evening.
ChocolateBet: October 12, 2006
Hershey
H.B. Reese Candy Co. (a division of Hershey Foods)
Reese's Pieces
Weight: 1.53 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bag
Calories: 220 calories in 1 bag
Cost: $ I don't remember
Purchased from: office vending machine, Sunnyvale, CA
OK, I'm getting to the last of the chocolate candy offerings in the vending machine down the hall at work. Only a handful of choices left, before raiding the machines will be limited to "B5" aka Lay's potato chips.
Incidentally, don't get me started on potatoes as they are also a favorite of mine - and also quite possibly the subject of a future year of eating-themed focus. We once had a potato party at our house. It was great fun. I supplied BBQ chicken, green salad and drinks, and everyone brought something that had potato in it. Some very nice and exotic potato dishes arrived. One person brought their favorite take out french fries, and someone else brought a bottle of (potato-based) vodka. It's been too long since I had a party at my house. Note to self....get a life.
Today, the vending machine selection was...Reese's pieces. OK, they may not taste that great. But,
they remind me of the movie "ET" about a young boy and an alien he gets attached to. In a great, and I imagine profitable, move, Reese's Pieces were used as "alien bait" and this bit of product placement genius boosted sales. Perhaps somewhere in another galaxy, aliens are planning to visit our planet solely to check out these little chocolate and peanut-butter based gems for themselves. Of course, by the time they see the movie, and get here after many light years, we might not be around. But, it's fun to think about. Oh yes, as you probably guessed...movies are another passion of mine.
ChocolateBet: October 11, 2006
Anything that looks like Almond Roca can't be bad. And in fact, Judy's Candy Company - who I believe is the maker of the individually wrapped, somewhat homemade-looking candies that our cafeteria has started stocking at work - makes a very fine almond roca-type candy. I rated this a "Very good."
ChocolateBet: October 10, 2006
Just as a junkie probably becomes overly dependent on a reliable supplier, I am spending a bit too much time in Whole Foods lately. That said, I felt I really should try the 365 Organic brand Chocolate Truffles. Sold in a nice box, I took some home to share - and they were fairly good. My daughter and her friends really liked them a lot.
And speaking of sharing, in order to protect myself from over-indulgence, as well as the sheer joy of sharing a great discovery, I have really been enjoying sharing new chocolate purchases with others this month.
And speaking of sharing, in order to protect myself from over-indulgence, as well as the sheer joy of sharing a great discovery, I have really been enjoying sharing new chocolate purchases with others this month.
ChocolateBet: October 9, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
It's getting closer to Halloween...Or maybe they just keep moving up the date, marketing all the Halloween stuff earlier each year. It must be that time of year. How do I know? More inevitable than red and yellow colored leaves is the return of the pumpkin latte at Starbucks coffee houses, and other pumpkin-related treats.
Today, I visited the Godiva chocolate store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA. Always a good bet for chocolate. I'd, for some odd reason, never made it to this store. I had a Pumpkin Truffle. It was - OK. I guess my expectations were higher, given that I usually really enjoy almost anything from Godiva.
A few years ago, I was attending an animation festival in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada), and the weather had turned chilly (at least for someone who had flown up from California in September when it was still piping hot), and I stopped into a mall by the river there, in between running to different movie venues in town. I was revived by two different Godiva chocolate bars. They were some of the best "commercial candy bars" I'd ever tasted on that brisk fall day.
It's getting closer to Halloween...Or maybe they just keep moving up the date, marketing all the Halloween stuff earlier each year. It must be that time of year. How do I know? More inevitable than red and yellow colored leaves is the return of the pumpkin latte at Starbucks coffee houses, and other pumpkin-related treats.
Today, I visited the Godiva chocolate store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA. Always a good bet for chocolate. I'd, for some odd reason, never made it to this store. I had a Pumpkin Truffle. It was - OK. I guess my expectations were higher, given that I usually really enjoy almost anything from Godiva.
A few years ago, I was attending an animation festival in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada), and the weather had turned chilly (at least for someone who had flown up from California in September when it was still piping hot), and I stopped into a mall by the river there, in between running to different movie venues in town. I was revived by two different Godiva chocolate bars. They were some of the best "commercial candy bars" I'd ever tasted on that brisk fall day.
ChocolateBet: October 8, 2006
Reese's is doing something clever by bringing out special/limited edition versions of their famous peanut butter cup. Today I enjoyed a "Big Peanut Butter Cup with Caramel and Nuts - Limited Edition." As I recall it was a bit messy, but good.
ChocolateBet: October 7, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
Hershey
5th Avenue candy bar
Another old time, venerable brand: the 5th Avenue candy bar with a crunchy peanut butter center. It was good.
Anything that sounds New York City-oriented, I can't help but think fond thoughts. I have roots there, and old family stories. I've enjoyed every trip back there, and every walk around Manhattan. I dragged my daughter back there, as an extension of a school-scouting trip, recently, and we had to visit the top of the Empire State building, and Grand Central Station (where, after failing to hail a cab during rush hour to take us back downtown, and we eventually escaped by catching a pedi-cab), and Central Park - where we rode around in a horse carriage.
And yes, we definitely spent time on Fifth Avenue, window shopping mostly. And I think we visited a Godiva store after that, later in the day.
Hershey
5th Avenue candy bar
Another old time, venerable brand: the 5th Avenue candy bar with a crunchy peanut butter center. It was good.
Anything that sounds New York City-oriented, I can't help but think fond thoughts. I have roots there, and old family stories. I've enjoyed every trip back there, and every walk around Manhattan. I dragged my daughter back there, as an extension of a school-scouting trip, recently, and we had to visit the top of the Empire State building, and Grand Central Station (where, after failing to hail a cab during rush hour to take us back downtown, and we eventually escaped by catching a pedi-cab), and Central Park - where we rode around in a horse carriage.
And yes, we definitely spent time on Fifth Avenue, window shopping mostly. And I think we visited a Godiva store after that, later in the day.
ChocolateBet: October 6, 2006
Hershey's
Extra Dark - Pure Dark Chocolate
Good
Weight: .6 oz.? (guess)
For anyone that even dabbles in the occasional chocolate, it probably has not escaped your notice that Hershey is a big name in chocolate.
Years ago, I took my young daughter on lot of factory and behind-the-scenes tours. One such trip involved a visit to the local sewage treatement plant, complete with a personally guided tour by a city employee, who warned us at one point to stand back from the metal railing -- not because we were in danger of falling into a tank, but perhaps because there was some possibility of sludge backsplash. I guess I was hoping to encourage her curiousity about life. Having a child also gave me a change to relive my own childhood, or parts of it I found fun at least. An excuse to go see animated movies. Hurray! Eventually my daughter figured out that the sewage plant, in retrospect, was only sort of interesting, and a little disgusting. And she rolled her eyes up into here head every time I suggested we go see a new movie. "It's animated, isn't it?" she would groan. However, one trip that I hope she remembers, is one we took to Oakdale, CA, to tour the Hershey plant.
I remember the two of us looking down into cavernous rooms with large conveyer belts - that carried a dizzying volume of little chocolate pieces, that eventually ended up (I think) in a little chocolate store at the end. By this time, we knew that my daughter was allergic to peanuts, so we were careful to steer clear of products that had nuts. Other than that cautionary note, it was great fun.
More recently, Hershey has diversified into higher-end dark chocolate. Today I had a small, individually wrapped, piece of Extra Dark, Pure Dark Chocolate (just to emphasize this wasn't the traditional milk chocolate bar I guess). It was good. I look forward to trying other items in their newer lines.
My fantasy is that I find some way to travel to the Hershey chocolate spa in Hershey, PA, before this whole chocolate-eating-year ends.
ChocolateBet: October 5, 2006
Snickers candy bar - regular version with peanuts. Good.
Another childhood, long-time, reliable standard. The venerable Snickers bar received only a "Good" rating - probably only because I've come to like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate over the years.
I used to be more equal-opportunity-oriented when it came to chocolate. However, I've become more of a snob I fear. When I started doing this chocolate bet last month, I vowed that white chocolate just wouldn't do (unless combined with other "better" or "real" chocolate) for this list. I'm probably being unfair to white chocolate, because it is not totally fake chocolate from what I can tell. It usually has cocoa butter in it. Ah well, my apologies to white chocolate for now. Maybe if it was wrapped up in a Snickers bar? Naw. Definitely not. Although some combination like this probably exists somewhere - some white chocolate yeti in a powdered sugar snowstorm holding out a Snickers bar with beseeching (sp?) eyes. Perhaps I'll run into it out there.
Another childhood, long-time, reliable standard. The venerable Snickers bar received only a "Good" rating - probably only because I've come to like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate over the years.
I used to be more equal-opportunity-oriented when it came to chocolate. However, I've become more of a snob I fear. When I started doing this chocolate bet last month, I vowed that white chocolate just wouldn't do (unless combined with other "better" or "real" chocolate) for this list. I'm probably being unfair to white chocolate, because it is not totally fake chocolate from what I can tell. It usually has cocoa butter in it. Ah well, my apologies to white chocolate for now. Maybe if it was wrapped up in a Snickers bar? Naw. Definitely not. Although some combination like this probably exists somewhere - some white chocolate yeti in a powdered sugar snowstorm holding out a Snickers bar with beseeching (sp?) eyes. Perhaps I'll run into it out there.
ChocolateBet: October 4, 2006
Chocolate of the Day: Post (Kraft)
Post Cocoa Pebbles (cereal)
Good +
Weight: 13 oz. (368 g.) in total box
Calories: 110 calories in 3/4 cup (30 g.) serving
I wonder who first thought about making a chocolate cereal?
I think this must have happened in the early 1900s when there seemed to be some experiments with putting cocoa powder into hot wheat mush-type cereals. Later, in the mid-1900s, General Mills and a few other big cereal tycoons brought the first cold cereals to market, and everyone went cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
As children we were encouraged to eat Cheerios and other, plainer standards -- but we loved the sweet cereals. Chocolate-cereal-fueled Saturday mornings were the best. The kids ran amuck in the kitchen, making their own cereal and toast and orange juice, and watched cartoons on TV, until they were driven from the house -- under threat from the parents that they would have to do chores if they stuck around the living room much longer.
While there were other things to squabble about, no one worried about kids spending all day outside in the neighborhood, bicycling around. We visited friends, rode to the library, to the movie theater to catch a 50-cent matinee, to the lunch counter, to the dirt fields (there was still open land back then) to hide under willow trees and inspect caterpillers, lizards and other living things. Chocolate-fueled, we explored the limits of the known kid world. (Years later, when given an art class assignment to draw a product/object, I produced a larger than life replica of a Cocoa Puffs box.)
So, in honor of this great breakfast tradition (or memories of), this morning I stuck my spoon into a bowl of Post Cocoa Pebbles cereal -- made with rice, and one of few cold cereals left that didn't have wheat or gluten in it. I made due with the hydrogenated vegetable oils, and all the sweeteners. And, you know what, it tasted pretty darn good. Cocoa Pebbles receives a Good plus rating.
ChocolateBet: October 3, 2006
I was happy to escape our office building today. I went out to a restaurant in downtown Sunnyvale, CA, (isn't this a great name for a city?) with two colleagues. And, I had, for dessert, a very nice triple chocolate mousse cake with strawberries.
It's so nice to leave my cubicle for a lunch "outside" every once in awhile.
It's so nice to leave my cubicle for a lunch "outside" every once in awhile.
ChocolateBet: October 2, 2006
2 bars
Cocoa Via (Mars)
Crispy Chocolate Bar(s)
Very Good
Weight: .71 oz. each x 2 bars = 1.42 oz. total
Calories: 90 x 2 = 180 calories for 2 bars
Purchased from: Walgreens, (Sunnyvale or Santa Clara?), CA
These Cocoa Via chocolate bars are very satisfying - in a way that I find difficult to describe. It's as if the folks at this Mars division managed to concentrate the right cocoa blend and mouth feel with whatever those good substances are in chocolate that make us feel so great, into a perfect little chocolate product.
As I've commented previously (Sept 18, 06), I have this concern about whether the company's somewhat unique marketing approach (putting these boxes of 5 individually-wrapped Crispy Chocolate Bars in the health foods section of stores) will work. Consumers may or may not be ready to look for their chocolate in the health food section. So I'm trying to sample these bars while they're around. I've even stockpiled a few boxes, just in case.
ChocolateBet: October 1, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
Ben & Jerry's
Coffee Heath Bar Crunch
Yum
I'm back to ice cream and chocolate again. Another great combination that can get combined with so many others....
Today's choice: Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch
Yum (highest rating). Enough said.
Ben & Jerry's
Coffee Heath Bar Crunch
Yum
I'm back to ice cream and chocolate again. Another great combination that can get combined with so many others....
Today's choice: Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch
Yum (highest rating). Enough said.
ChocolateBet: September 30, 2006
Today's chocolate was another chocolate from the Whole Foods chocolate counter. I have always enjoyed certain tastes paired together. Lemon and dark chocolate seem to work well. I had their dark chocolate covered lemon square - which was very good.
I always get a craving for a small espresso with a lemon peel in it when I eat something with dark chocolate and lemon. There is something magical that happens when you put a lemon peel in an espresso. Two bitter tasting things seem to take the edge off each other and something wonderful happens in the process.
I always get a craving for a small espresso with a lemon peel in it when I eat something with dark chocolate and lemon. There is something magical that happens when you put a lemon peel in an espresso. Two bitter tasting things seem to take the edge off each other and something wonderful happens in the process.
ChocolateBet: September 29, 2006
Back to the Whole Foods chocolate counter...where I happily consumed a dark chocolate toffee square. This was very good.
ChocolateBet: September 28, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
Ben and Jerry's
The Gobfather ice cream
Good - Very Good (with added nuts)
While I have thought that it might be good to save the ice cream-related chocolate entries until next summer - so I don't run out, I decided this just is not possible or practical. There is no certainly, after all, about what tomorrow might bring. Eat dessert first, and all that...
So, in keeping with that thought, today I had some Ben and Jerry's The Gobfather ice cream. This I rated Good-Very Good - especially with some extra nuts on top. Ben and Jerry are based in Vermont (or at least their ice cream headquarters are as far as I know). My daughter and I, while on a school scouting trip recently, traveled to Vermont, and I had hoped we would have time to stop in and pay them a visit. However, it was not to be. (We did, however, discover Lake Champlain Chocolates on this trip in the hotel gift shop, and I'll write more about them later.)
One bit of excitement on this trip, we parked next to a long, black chauffer-driven limousine -- a stand-out at the fairly modest hotel where we were staying. Sure enough, movie starlet Scarlett Johansson popped out of the limo to kiss a young man good-bye (who was probably her brother or cousin) while we were dragging our suitcases into the hotel lobby a few feet away. So, this was a small consolation for not being able to visit some local ice cream celebs.
Ben and Jerry's
The Gobfather ice cream
Good - Very Good (with added nuts)
While I have thought that it might be good to save the ice cream-related chocolate entries until next summer - so I don't run out, I decided this just is not possible or practical. There is no certainly, after all, about what tomorrow might bring. Eat dessert first, and all that...
So, in keeping with that thought, today I had some Ben and Jerry's The Gobfather ice cream. This I rated Good-Very Good - especially with some extra nuts on top. Ben and Jerry are based in Vermont (or at least their ice cream headquarters are as far as I know). My daughter and I, while on a school scouting trip recently, traveled to Vermont, and I had hoped we would have time to stop in and pay them a visit. However, it was not to be. (We did, however, discover Lake Champlain Chocolates on this trip in the hotel gift shop, and I'll write more about them later.)
One bit of excitement on this trip, we parked next to a long, black chauffer-driven limousine -- a stand-out at the fairly modest hotel where we were staying. Sure enough, movie starlet Scarlett Johansson popped out of the limo to kiss a young man good-bye (who was probably her brother or cousin) while we were dragging our suitcases into the hotel lobby a few feet away. So, this was a small consolation for not being able to visit some local ice cream celebs.
ChocolateBet: September 27, 2006
Apologies to my normal, wheat-eating friends...I'm continuing with more gluten-free/wheat-free cookies with chocolate in them today. Today I had two gluten-free chocolate chip cookies (from Whole Foods). These were a "Yum" (highest rating), and tasted very much like "real" wheat-flour based cookies. (My boyfriend and others could not tell the difference, and volunteered to eat more if help was needed.) I hope they will continue to find that the market is big enough to keep making these.
ChocolateBet: September 26, 2006
I ate a wonderful, small, light chocolate cookie (a Chocolate Macaron) from Miette bakery in San Francisco (back to the SF Ferry building again). Yum. I highly recommend it. These Macarons (that come in different flavors - like rose geranium and hazelnut as I recall), are especially wonderful for those of us that can't have wheat/gluten, but I think anyone would enjoy these. Apparently these are very popular - rightly so.
ChocolateBest: September 25, 2006
I'm back to working on my Whole Foods chocolate stash again.
Today's chocolate is a "dark chocolate toasted pistachio" item. It is very good. I was so happy to find the new Whole Foods chocolate counter, that I whipped out my disposable camera to take a photograph. I was soon told that this was a no-no, and a woman (who I'm guessing was a manager there) appeared and asked me, politely, what the heck I was doing there. I tried to explain the whole chocolate bet thing. She didn't really look sold on this concept, and a trace of concern remained on her face during the entire conversation.
Note to self: be aware that some places are probably concerned about intellectual property theft - of their designs, display cases, and perhaps other product/marketing attributes I haven't even imagined. I live and work in silicon valley, so I should have been more sensitive to (or more clueful about) these concerns I suppose. There may indeed be big money or maybe even some form of national security at stake here.
Digression...Influential figures have gotten involved in matters of state and chocolate before. I remember reading about an official in the Catholic Church a few centuries back (when chocolate was still sort of newly arrived in Europe from the New World) making a ruling on chocolate and Lent. You didn't have to give up chocolate for Lent, because it was considered a beverage (still at that point, and hadn't evolved into solid form yet). Or maybe this isn't exactly right, but something like this made someone's history notes somewhere.
Today's chocolate is a "dark chocolate toasted pistachio" item. It is very good. I was so happy to find the new Whole Foods chocolate counter, that I whipped out my disposable camera to take a photograph. I was soon told that this was a no-no, and a woman (who I'm guessing was a manager there) appeared and asked me, politely, what the heck I was doing there. I tried to explain the whole chocolate bet thing. She didn't really look sold on this concept, and a trace of concern remained on her face during the entire conversation.
Note to self: be aware that some places are probably concerned about intellectual property theft - of their designs, display cases, and perhaps other product/marketing attributes I haven't even imagined. I live and work in silicon valley, so I should have been more sensitive to (or more clueful about) these concerns I suppose. There may indeed be big money or maybe even some form of national security at stake here.
Digression...Influential figures have gotten involved in matters of state and chocolate before. I remember reading about an official in the Catholic Church a few centuries back (when chocolate was still sort of newly arrived in Europe from the New World) making a ruling on chocolate and Lent. You didn't have to give up chocolate for Lent, because it was considered a beverage (still at that point, and hadn't evolved into solid form yet). Or maybe this isn't exactly right, but something like this made someone's history notes somewhere.
ChocolateBet: September 24, 2006
I'm still joyously working on my chocolate stash from a birthday-related trip to San Francisco recently. Today, I'm eating a Scharffen Berger dark chocolate truffle (purchased in one of the great shops in the SF Ferry Building). It's very good.
A few years ago I went on a tour through the Scharffen Berger chocolate (factory/plant?) over in Berkeley, CA, with some great creative friends. That same day, we also stopped at a reptile emporium, a coffee shop, a shop that carried lots of rolls of beautiful hand-made papers, some with detailed Asian prints, and other Berkeley and UC Berkeley-related haunts. I seem to remember trying some sake somewhere as well. It was a very enjoyable day out.
The chocolate tour part of the day was great. The Scharffen Berger folks started the tour with a small lecture that talked about the sources of and making of chocolate. They passed around cocoa nibs to taste (nice crunchy, nutty taste), and pictures of cocoa pods growing from trunks of trees, and in various stages of being cut open - with the seeds being harvested, fermented, roasted, etc. We then got to walk around the plant - and from what I can remember, we saw vast kettles of molten chocolate, and machines spinning, stirring, clanking - performing different functions in different rooms. The smells were intoxicating. There were jokes about oompa-loompas lurking around corners of the factory, a reference to the little people that had appeared in the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I recommend this tour if you're in the San Francisco area and they are still offering this tour to the public. Best to call ahead though. I think you need reservations.
A few years ago I went on a tour through the Scharffen Berger chocolate (factory/plant?) over in Berkeley, CA, with some great creative friends. That same day, we also stopped at a reptile emporium, a coffee shop, a shop that carried lots of rolls of beautiful hand-made papers, some with detailed Asian prints, and other Berkeley and UC Berkeley-related haunts. I seem to remember trying some sake somewhere as well. It was a very enjoyable day out.
The chocolate tour part of the day was great. The Scharffen Berger folks started the tour with a small lecture that talked about the sources of and making of chocolate. They passed around cocoa nibs to taste (nice crunchy, nutty taste), and pictures of cocoa pods growing from trunks of trees, and in various stages of being cut open - with the seeds being harvested, fermented, roasted, etc. We then got to walk around the plant - and from what I can remember, we saw vast kettles of molten chocolate, and machines spinning, stirring, clanking - performing different functions in different rooms. The smells were intoxicating. There were jokes about oompa-loompas lurking around corners of the factory, a reference to the little people that had appeared in the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I recommend this tour if you're in the San Francisco area and they are still offering this tour to the public. Best to call ahead though. I think you need reservations.
ChocolateBet: September 23, 2006
Yesterday, when I was going ga-ga over the new Whole Foods store in my neighborhood, I bought a few different chocolates to take with me, from their chocolate counter/area. Today, I'm eating another small, but elegantly-crafted chocolate -- their Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cup. It is very good.
I'm also really enjoying this whole turning 50 years old thing. Good things are happening. I'm doing some good things for myself. Getting some long overdue things done for myself. The fifties will be a great decade I think.
I'm also really enjoying this whole turning 50 years old thing. Good things are happening. I'm doing some good things for myself. Getting some long overdue things done for myself. The fifties will be a great decade I think.
ChocolateBet: September 22, 2006
Today I venture into a new Whole Foods Market near where I live. I am awed by the huge-ness of the store, and its array of good foods I can eat. They have multiple kinds of wheat-free bread, that actually tastes very good and very bread-like. I am looking for a sun-dried tomato and garlic bread that I found at a Whole Foods store (a short drive and a few cities away) last year, that I chopped up and made stuffing out of for last thanksgiving. But, eventually, I work my way through the aisles (and I do find the bread) - to the chocolate counter. Yes, they have one here, and I'm excited that they may become one of my regular local stops.
I pick out a Tiramisu Cup. It tastes wonderful. This is the best chocolate I've had in awhile.
Here's where I start getting analytical, which I'm prone to do. Sigh...Later on, I realized this tiramisu piece of joy came after a few days of vending machine chocolate foods, so maybe it tasted better relatively speaking...But no, this was pretty great. It also started dawning on me that my rankings of chocolate I was writing down in my spreadsheet to track all this was somewhat subjective - Yuck to OK to good to very good to yum! OK, not very scientific, but this seemed sufficient for what I was trying to accomplish. But, I started thinking. There must be lots of factors that influence whether one chocolate item is consistently "good" or "very good" over time. Factors might include how hungry you are, what you've just eaten, how fresh the chocolate is, where the cocoa beans came from.... Hmmm. I decide to table these thoughts. I'll research this later, and will try to make comments where I can on this spreadsheet. And I won't think too much about this right now. Just enjoy the Tiramisu Cup... Yes indeed.
I pick out a Tiramisu Cup. It tastes wonderful. This is the best chocolate I've had in awhile.
Here's where I start getting analytical, which I'm prone to do. Sigh...Later on, I realized this tiramisu piece of joy came after a few days of vending machine chocolate foods, so maybe it tasted better relatively speaking...But no, this was pretty great. It also started dawning on me that my rankings of chocolate I was writing down in my spreadsheet to track all this was somewhat subjective - Yuck to OK to good to very good to yum! OK, not very scientific, but this seemed sufficient for what I was trying to accomplish. But, I started thinking. There must be lots of factors that influence whether one chocolate item is consistently "good" or "very good" over time. Factors might include how hungry you are, what you've just eaten, how fresh the chocolate is, where the cocoa beans came from.... Hmmm. I decide to table these thoughts. I'll research this later, and will try to make comments where I can on this spreadsheet. And I won't think too much about this right now. Just enjoy the Tiramisu Cup... Yes indeed.
ChocolateBet: September 21, 2006
Another busy day at the office. Time to hit the vending machines for a chocolate-related snack. This time I contemplate the choices more carefully, as I realize if my reliance on machine-supplied chocolate food items continues, I'll run out of items within a week or two. Hmm. I jangle the coins in my hand. I check to see if any new interesting state quarters have come out recently, and to see if I have any. (The U.S. govt/mint is issuing one quarter for each of the U.S. states over a period of a few years.) I'm collecting those at home on a little cardboard fold-up map that I bought at the drugstore.
I select the Snickers with ALMONDS, and not peanuts. Yes, I decide, this is definitely a different item than the Snickers bar with the traditional peanuts. I'm sure it must have a different bar code or sku in someone's accounting book somewhere. I'll eat the regular Snickers bar later this year. I eat this candy bar while reading email messages about budgets, expenses, partners, and other work-related topics at my desk. I am a cube drone today, with an occasional thought about needing to set aside some time to be more creative at home...to counteract the drone-ness I think.
I select the Snickers with ALMONDS, and not peanuts. Yes, I decide, this is definitely a different item than the Snickers bar with the traditional peanuts. I'm sure it must have a different bar code or sku in someone's accounting book somewhere. I'll eat the regular Snickers bar later this year. I eat this candy bar while reading email messages about budgets, expenses, partners, and other work-related topics at my desk. I am a cube drone today, with an occasional thought about needing to set aside some time to be more creative at home...to counteract the drone-ness I think.
ChocolateBet: September 20, 2006
Another busy day at work. And no time for lunch....Not a good pattern here. But, hey, I can eat out of the vending machines again today. I'll just use this as an opportunity to mow through the generic packaged chocolate-laced candy bar brands that we all know and love.
Today, I'm eating a 1.75 oz. bag of peanut M&Ms. There is comfort in going with something that is very consistent and well-known. They are not disappointing. I decide to count the number of M&Ms in the bag. I get 19. I (am embarrassed to admit) sort them into different color piles on my desk and have to be careful they don't roll off the pile of papers on my desk that I'm balancing them on. I smile as I look around to see if someone can see me doing this. Nope. I eat the dark chocolate-brown colored ones first, followed by the red ones, the blue ones, and then the orange ones. Then I finish up with the green and yellow ones. Why do I do this? Who the heck knows. Is it a vestige of some obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) behavior from ancient hunter-gatherer times? Is it leftover from post Halloween night candy-sorting circles with siblings and friends on living room rugs that went on the 1960s american suburbs every year? Who knows. Who cares. I enjoy my M&Ms. And then the phone rings...and the action items swirl back to the forefront of my brain...and it's back to work.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 bag
M&M/Mars?
Peanut M&Ms
Very Good
From: vending machine at work
Today, I'm eating a 1.75 oz. bag of peanut M&Ms. There is comfort in going with something that is very consistent and well-known. They are not disappointing. I decide to count the number of M&Ms in the bag. I get 19. I (am embarrassed to admit) sort them into different color piles on my desk and have to be careful they don't roll off the pile of papers on my desk that I'm balancing them on. I smile as I look around to see if someone can see me doing this. Nope. I eat the dark chocolate-brown colored ones first, followed by the red ones, the blue ones, and then the orange ones. Then I finish up with the green and yellow ones. Why do I do this? Who the heck knows. Is it a vestige of some obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) behavior from ancient hunter-gatherer times? Is it leftover from post Halloween night candy-sorting circles with siblings and friends on living room rugs that went on the 1960s american suburbs every year? Who knows. Who cares. I enjoy my M&Ms. And then the phone rings...and the action items swirl back to the forefront of my brain...and it's back to work.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 bag
M&M/Mars?
Peanut M&Ms
Very Good
From: vending machine at work
ChocolateBet: September 19, 2006
Chocolate of the Day:
Godiva
Belgian Dark Chocolate Mint ice cream
Very Good
Godiva chocolate ice cream....What is not to like about this?! Today, I'm eating a scoop of Belgian Dark Chocolate Mint ice cream in a cup. And it is very good.
Godiva
Belgian Dark Chocolate Mint ice cream
Very Good
Godiva chocolate ice cream....What is not to like about this?! Today, I'm eating a scoop of Belgian Dark Chocolate Mint ice cream in a cup. And it is very good.
ChocolateBet: September 18, 2006
Cocoa Via (Mars)
Chocolate Covered Almonds
Very Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.4 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 140 calories
Purchased from: Walgreen's (Sunnyvale or Santa Clara?, CA)
I searched the local Walgreen's drug/department store, and the local supermarket, looking for Cocoa Via chocolates. I had a coupon from a magazine. They are being marketed with some health benefits in mind (e.g. "Promotes a Healthy Heart"). I like this idea. It's another great justification to eat chocolate.
Cocoa Via chocolates are surprisingly good. This brand may or may not make it, as the company (Mars) is trying something that is sort of a hybrid marketing approach - or maybe they're trying to decide...Should they put these chocolates in the health/diet bar/granola bar section, or in with other high-end chocolates? I had a hard time finding them initially.
I'm trying the Cocoa Via chocolate-covered almonds first. They were very good. It looks like they have at least three other kinds that I can try that don't have wheat in them. (There's that pesky no-wheat/gluten requirement again. But, I digress....)
ChocolateBet: September 17, 2006
This is great. I'm going with a good friend up to the Ferry Building in San Francisco for more birthday month celebration. Her birthday is this week. Hard to believe neither of us has spent much time up here, given that we both appreciate good food, and flowers, and the city in general. We've both been suburban-bound for a bit too long. We drive up there in a Porsche convertible which she has use of this weekend, and put the top down and fly up and down the hills of San Francisco. This is fantastic.
The shops in the Ferry Building are great. We sample cheeses, and of discover miette bakery and lots of great chocolate shops. I start counting the different types of chocolate I am seeing just in this building...Yes, I think eating 365 different kinds of chocolate will be no problem this year. We end up being able to squeeze into the Asian-themed Slanted Door restaurant at the corner of the Ferry Building (looks out over the Bay), by eating at the bar. Very good food.
We drive home via Skyline Boulevard - which has, at certain points, views of both the Pacific Ocean far below, and of the peninsula and SF Baylands on the other side. It's getting dark, and a bit cold, and it's probably time to put the car top back up/on; but we put the heater on instead so we can enjoy riding with the top down just a bit further. I open a small chocolate sampler box that I bought earlier at the Ferry building.
The chocolate for today is a chocolate ginger heart. We each had one. It was very good and a great end to a fantastic day in the city. Only I love ginger and anything that tastes like gingerbread, so I'd be happy to see the spicy flavors amped up a bit. I put that on my list to search for something like this.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Richenetti??? (check)
chocolate ginger heart
Very Good
$?
Ricenetti??? chocolate shop, Ferry building, San Francisco, CA
The shops in the Ferry Building are great. We sample cheeses, and of discover miette bakery and lots of great chocolate shops. I start counting the different types of chocolate I am seeing just in this building...Yes, I think eating 365 different kinds of chocolate will be no problem this year. We end up being able to squeeze into the Asian-themed Slanted Door restaurant at the corner of the Ferry Building (looks out over the Bay), by eating at the bar. Very good food.
We drive home via Skyline Boulevard - which has, at certain points, views of both the Pacific Ocean far below, and of the peninsula and SF Baylands on the other side. It's getting dark, and a bit cold, and it's probably time to put the car top back up/on; but we put the heater on instead so we can enjoy riding with the top down just a bit further. I open a small chocolate sampler box that I bought earlier at the Ferry building.
The chocolate for today is a chocolate ginger heart. We each had one. It was very good and a great end to a fantastic day in the city. Only I love ginger and anything that tastes like gingerbread, so I'd be happy to see the spicy flavors amped up a bit. I put that on my list to search for something like this.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Richenetti??? (check)
chocolate ginger heart
Very Good
$?
Ricenetti??? chocolate shop, Ferry building, San Francisco, CA
ChocolateBet: September 16, 2006
I have a very nice birthday dinner with my mom and dad, and boyfriend, at Il Fornaio - a high-end chain of nice Italian restaurants. I had a great chocolate mousse cake that looked pretty flour-less, and a scoop of vanilla with some decaf espresso to go with it. Lovely.
Yes, my actual 50th birthday was last week, on September 11, but I celebrate like to celebrate birthdays all month long. And my nieces and nephews and other friends and relatives are used to getting strange little packages with hand-written notes saying "happy unbirthday, and happy unchristmas..." filled with small random gifts and random times of the year.
Part of my excitement about 50, and probably why I decided to do this chocolate bet, and some other crazy adventures, was that I am feeling less and less bound by responsibility and convention. I have a daughter who will, in a year, be turning 18 and going off to college, and the thought of the increased freedom (although I'll miss her I'm sure), is liberating. I would also love to spend more time in the city - San Francisco. I thought I would live there after I returned from a multi-year stint in Wash, D.C., many years ago, but I ended up in Silicon Valley, living in the suburbs, and while it's been great to have a car and my own driveway to park a car or two... I can't help but get excited about spending more time in a big city again. I start doing a web search of potential chocolate suppliers in the city....Yes, this should be great fun.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Il Fornaio
chocolate mousse cake
Very Good
From: Il Fornaio (restaurant), Palo Alto, CA
Yes, my actual 50th birthday was last week, on September 11, but I celebrate like to celebrate birthdays all month long. And my nieces and nephews and other friends and relatives are used to getting strange little packages with hand-written notes saying "happy unbirthday, and happy unchristmas..." filled with small random gifts and random times of the year.
Part of my excitement about 50, and probably why I decided to do this chocolate bet, and some other crazy adventures, was that I am feeling less and less bound by responsibility and convention. I have a daughter who will, in a year, be turning 18 and going off to college, and the thought of the increased freedom (although I'll miss her I'm sure), is liberating. I would also love to spend more time in the city - San Francisco. I thought I would live there after I returned from a multi-year stint in Wash, D.C., many years ago, but I ended up in Silicon Valley, living in the suburbs, and while it's been great to have a car and my own driveway to park a car or two... I can't help but get excited about spending more time in a big city again. I start doing a web search of potential chocolate suppliers in the city....Yes, this should be great fun.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Il Fornaio
chocolate mousse cake
Very Good
From: Il Fornaio (restaurant), Palo Alto, CA
ChocolateBet: September 15, 2006
I am coming home late from work. I grab a square of old baking chocolate, and dunk it in some Skippy peanut butter that I have spooned from the jar. Yep, a classic combination. Consistently good every time, even if it's eaten very unglamorously standing up, over the counter near the sink in one's kitchen.
I look around, and I start thinking about the best places to go to start buying chocolate. And I get serious about starting a spreadsheet to track all these different types of chocolates I plan on consuming. I want to be able to collect some fun adventures along the way. And, there is no way I'm going to be able to keep this list of what I've eaten in my head.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece old baking chocolate + peanut butter
Brand?
Very Good
I look around, and I start thinking about the best places to go to start buying chocolate. And I get serious about starting a spreadsheet to track all these different types of chocolates I plan on consuming. I want to be able to collect some fun adventures along the way. And, there is no way I'm going to be able to keep this list of what I've eaten in my head.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece old baking chocolate + peanut butter
Brand?
Very Good
ChocolateBet: September 14, 2006
Kar's
Sweet 'N Salty Mix
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) in total package
Calories: 280 calories in 1 package
Cost: $0.75
Purchased from: vending machine at work
Today I was back in my cubicle at work, playing catch-up from my trip. I didn't have time for lunch, so I hit the vending machines. After wandering around to different break-room areas, I found a machine that had something sort of healthy, that had chocolate in it.
Bingo. I go for it. It's Kar's Sweet and Salty Mix (from Kar Nut Products Co.) - a kind of trail mix with chocolate chip/candy-like pieces. Hey, it's great if you're hungry, and it beat most of the alternatives suspended by little roundish wires next to it in the machine.
Note to self: While the world is filled with easy to obtain chocolates now, a few days into this year-long chocolate bet, I suspect at some point I'll need to buy a few days worth of chocolate in advance to carry with me to work, to ensure I can have new types at my fingertips when it's busy at work, like today.
I talked to my good friend, who shares a birthday in September. I tell her about the chocolate bet, and ask her if she wanted in on some birthday and/or chocolate adventures this month. Her reaction was something like "...Are you crazy. A chocolate bet? What do you want to do, gain 10 pounds?" She laughed. But, she's up for some birthday, cocoa-bean related adventures. Bless her for that. (I secretly hope that I don't gain 10 pounds -- but I might be willing to accept a 4-5 pounds for the sake of my year-long cocoa quest.)
ChocolateBet: September 13, 2006
I check out of the Artemis hotel and I take a small airport shuttle van to the airport. On the way, we pick up and drop off some other passengers, and I get to see what appears to be a real windmill off to the left. The adventure-kid in me can now leave Amsterdam happy.
Thanks again to all the great people in Amsterdam I met this week. They very patiently dealt with my lack of Dutch, and made me feel embarrassed a bit for my fellow Americans once again...As almost everyone I tend to meet in Europe (and in most countries I've traveled to) speaks more than one language, and usually some English. Thanks especially to the waiter in the Artemis Hotel restaurant, who very kindly watched me eat dinner, and periodically asked if I needed anything else, as I tried to keep from falling asleep head-first into my soup from jet lag the second night I stayed/ate there. (I tend to be wide awake the first day after rubber-banding through time zones, and then hit a wall sometime later in the second day. Note: to self, please do not schedule important business meetings the afternoon or evening of the second day if possible unless you want to offend people.
OK, on with the chocolate of the day...Sorry, I hope I haven't lost too many of you already with all this diary-tic accounting of my travels in the meantime....So, today, I'm wedged into my KLM airline seat and winging back over the Atlantic, and I'm harvesting my chocolate of the day from a square of chocolate mousse cake. I'm actually fileting off the top layer very carefully with my plastic fork, because I can't have the cake layer underneath -- as wheat/gluten does not so great things to me.
We'll see if I can get to 365 different types of chocolate (without repeating) without eating any wheat or gluten by-products. This leaves out most cookies, cakes, and many other items that have added wheat starch, wheat flour, and the like. But, more on that later. There are already lots of sites and blogs that cover this topic already I'll bet. (Search terms: Celiac Sprue, wheat/gluten intolerance, wheat-free, etc.) Hah, I like a challenge. Of course I'll find 365 different kinds of chocolate without wheat-stuff in it!
Chocolate of the Day:
part of a piece of cake
? brand (KLM Airlines meal)
chocolate mousse cake (frosting/filling)
Thanks again to all the great people in Amsterdam I met this week. They very patiently dealt with my lack of Dutch, and made me feel embarrassed a bit for my fellow Americans once again...As almost everyone I tend to meet in Europe (and in most countries I've traveled to) speaks more than one language, and usually some English. Thanks especially to the waiter in the Artemis Hotel restaurant, who very kindly watched me eat dinner, and periodically asked if I needed anything else, as I tried to keep from falling asleep head-first into my soup from jet lag the second night I stayed/ate there. (I tend to be wide awake the first day after rubber-banding through time zones, and then hit a wall sometime later in the second day. Note: to self, please do not schedule important business meetings the afternoon or evening of the second day if possible unless you want to offend people.
OK, on with the chocolate of the day...Sorry, I hope I haven't lost too many of you already with all this diary-tic accounting of my travels in the meantime....So, today, I'm wedged into my KLM airline seat and winging back over the Atlantic, and I'm harvesting my chocolate of the day from a square of chocolate mousse cake. I'm actually fileting off the top layer very carefully with my plastic fork, because I can't have the cake layer underneath -- as wheat/gluten does not so great things to me.
We'll see if I can get to 365 different types of chocolate (without repeating) without eating any wheat or gluten by-products. This leaves out most cookies, cakes, and many other items that have added wheat starch, wheat flour, and the like. But, more on that later. There are already lots of sites and blogs that cover this topic already I'll bet. (Search terms: Celiac Sprue, wheat/gluten intolerance, wheat-free, etc.) Hah, I like a challenge. Of course I'll find 365 different kinds of chocolate without wheat-stuff in it!
Chocolate of the Day:
part of a piece of cake
? brand (KLM Airlines meal)
chocolate mousse cake (frosting/filling)
ChocolateBet: September 12, 2006
The Beginning of Chocolate Banquet - Chocolate of the Day
I'm still in Amsterdam, wrapping up some business at a technology conference. All I have time for today is to grab a little wrapped square of chocolate from my hotel room. It is branded "Artemis Hotel" and is a nice chocolate.
While I've done a lot of walking this week -- taking various modes of public transportation to and from the RAI conference center (and admiring all the bicycle riders/commuters along the canal-side bike paths - very peaceful really), it's probably wise to keep to smaller chocolate servings, I mumble to myself. I'm not at all sure that this stingy little sentiment is consistent with the "living large" philosophy of my chocolate bet, so I'll have to think about that on the plane ride home to California tomorrow.
It's been great seeing bits of Amsterdam through bus, cab and tram windows. I wish I had time to take a vacation day to go out to see some windmills, and more chocolate of course.
Chocolate has become amazingly global. I wonder how many countries I'll end up being able to "visit" indirectly (only in my chocolate dreams I'm afraid for many of them) this year. For a substance that started out as a foamy drink in a central american jungle, it's come a long way.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece/small square
"Artemis Hotel" (not sure who actually made it)
Artemis Hotel, Amsterdam
I'm still in Amsterdam, wrapping up some business at a technology conference. All I have time for today is to grab a little wrapped square of chocolate from my hotel room. It is branded "Artemis Hotel" and is a nice chocolate.
While I've done a lot of walking this week -- taking various modes of public transportation to and from the RAI conference center (and admiring all the bicycle riders/commuters along the canal-side bike paths - very peaceful really), it's probably wise to keep to smaller chocolate servings, I mumble to myself. I'm not at all sure that this stingy little sentiment is consistent with the "living large" philosophy of my chocolate bet, so I'll have to think about that on the plane ride home to California tomorrow.
It's been great seeing bits of Amsterdam through bus, cab and tram windows. I wish I had time to take a vacation day to go out to see some windmills, and more chocolate of course.
Chocolate has become amazingly global. I wonder how many countries I'll end up being able to "visit" indirectly (only in my chocolate dreams I'm afraid for many of them) this year. For a substance that started out as a foamy drink in a central american jungle, it's come a long way.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece/small square
"Artemis Hotel" (not sure who actually made it)
Artemis Hotel, Amsterdam
ChocolateBet: September 11, 2006
I am in Amsterdam. It's warm and sunny - almost hot for this time of year, and I have just turned 50 years old today. It's Sept. 11, and the first time in about five years, I am not thinking about the anniversary of the whole 9/11/01 debacle in NYC in the U.S. For about five years, I felt it was somehow not appropriate to celebrate my birthday. (Good thing I have always believed in having a "birthday month" and not limiting a birthday celebration to just one day.) I am excited about this coming year. And Amsterdam, I have decided, is a great place to start my Yes,-I-sure-can-eat-a-different-kind-of-chocolate-each-day-for-a-year bet that I've just accepted. An early ancestor with my same last name, apparently headed out to the U.S. back in the 1600s from Amsterdam. So, this is a nice place to start a journey - even if it's just a chocolate one.
After looking at tulip bulbs being offered for sale, boats quietly shooshing by in the canals, a very large pair of wooden shoes on the sidewalk outside someone's shop, and seeing some impressive bicycle parking garages, I duck into a little store to buy some chocolates to take back home to friends and family. (The shopkeeper is very nice and speaks English, and listens politely as I try to explain the whole chocolate bet idea.)
Then, I decide to have a birthday dinner at Haagen-Dazs ice cream store. It is warm for this time of year, and some kind of chocolate-related ice cream sounds good to me. Of course, after I return home, and do a bit of research on the web about the company, I realize I am an idiot - because I've forgotten that this is really an American (not European) company that made up a vaguely Scandinavian-sounding name in the early days of premium ice cream branding a few decades ago. Ah well, I will have to try harder tomorrow to find something more locally authentic. It's tough work, but I am determined to forge on. This year is going to be a blast.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 scoop sundae
Haagen-Dazs
Very Good
$ (translation?)
Purchased at: ? ice cream shop in Amsterdam
After looking at tulip bulbs being offered for sale, boats quietly shooshing by in the canals, a very large pair of wooden shoes on the sidewalk outside someone's shop, and seeing some impressive bicycle parking garages, I duck into a little store to buy some chocolates to take back home to friends and family. (The shopkeeper is very nice and speaks English, and listens politely as I try to explain the whole chocolate bet idea.)
Then, I decide to have a birthday dinner at Haagen-Dazs ice cream store. It is warm for this time of year, and some kind of chocolate-related ice cream sounds good to me. Of course, after I return home, and do a bit of research on the web about the company, I realize I am an idiot - because I've forgotten that this is really an American (not European) company that made up a vaguely Scandinavian-sounding name in the early days of premium ice cream branding a few decades ago. Ah well, I will have to try harder tomorrow to find something more locally authentic. It's tough work, but I am determined to forge on. This year is going to be a blast.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 scoop sundae
Haagen-Dazs
Very Good
$ (translation?)
Purchased at: ? ice cream shop in Amsterdam
What Is the Chocolate Banquet?
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Chocolate Banquet! In the fall of 2006, I accepted a bet that involved eating a different type of chocolate every day for a year. Thus began an interesting year and the start of a cocoa/cocao quest.
I wanted something fun, and I thought a blog format would prod me to do some witty or intelligent writing. Yeah, well, nothing like looking at your own writing and thinking - how on earth would this be interesting to people out there? Witty? Hardly. But, the important thing was to dive in and work with life's ingredients I had available to me. Hmmm. Not enough money to quit my day job and travel around the world or start a charitable foundation, but...I like chocolate! One works with the raw material that one has sometimes.
The blog title "Chocolate Banquet" was inspired by a line from a movie: Life's a banquet, and most suckers are starving to death, to paraphrase Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame." And so, the Chocolate Banquet was born.
- Enjoy
Welcome to the Chocolate Banquet! In the fall of 2006, I accepted a bet that involved eating a different type of chocolate every day for a year. Thus began an interesting year and the start of a cocoa/cocao quest.
I wanted something fun, and I thought a blog format would prod me to do some witty or intelligent writing. Yeah, well, nothing like looking at your own writing and thinking - how on earth would this be interesting to people out there? Witty? Hardly. But, the important thing was to dive in and work with life's ingredients I had available to me. Hmmm. Not enough money to quit my day job and travel around the world or start a charitable foundation, but...I like chocolate! One works with the raw material that one has sometimes.
The blog title "Chocolate Banquet" was inspired by a line from a movie: Life's a banquet, and most suckers are starving to death, to paraphrase Rosalind Russell in "Auntie Mame." And so, the Chocolate Banquet was born.
- Enjoy
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