ChocolateBet: June 30, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving - 3 cookies
Aunt Gussie's
Chocolate Spritz (gluten-free cookies)
Very Good - taste homemade (with subtle tastes of almond and vanilla)
Weight: 27 grams in one serving/6 oz. (170 grams) total box
Calories: 140 calories for 3 cookies (according to info on box. This sounds low, but OK.)
Cost: $6.99 box
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

These Chocolate Spritz cookies were very tasty, reminiscent of small chocolate butter cookies I remember eating as a child.

I believe I've now sampled all the Aunt Gussie's gluten-free cookies that have some chocolate in them. I will be on the look-out for other/new flavors in the future.

ChocolateBet: June 29, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
4 cookies (2 servings)
Aunt Gussie's
Chocolate Chip (gluten-free cookies)
Very Good +
Wt: 56 grams/6 oz. (170 g.) total box
Calories: 280 calories in 4 cookies/2 servings
Cost: $5.99/box
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Yesterday, I ate two of Aunt Gussie's Chocolate Chip Almond cookies (gluten-free and sugar-free) version. I liked these a little better. Both flavors are good.

ChocolateBet: June 28, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
2 cookies/1 serving
Aunt Gussie's
Chocolate Chip Almond (sugar free, gluten-free cookies)
Very Good; can't really taste the almonds.
Wt: 29 grams in 2 cookies/6 oz. (170 g.) total box
Calories: 130 calories in 2 cookies
Cost: $6.99 box
Purchased from Piazza's, in Palo Alto, CA

I can't eat wheat/gluten, so it's nice to continue to find gluten-free chocolate-containing items on the shelves of a local grocery store. I didn't see that these cookies were also sugar-free until I got home. (I bought two other flavors of these cookies that were not sugar-free.) The maltitol used as a sweetener doesn't seem to affect the taste, but my stomach is grumbling a bit five minutes after eating these. (Warning label on the box cautions about eating too much maltitol.) I think I'd rather take my chances with a bit of sugar.

ChocolateBet: June 27, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Knipschildt Chocolatier (U.S.)
"Lola" - lavender infused dark chocolate (drk choc square with ~3 lavender buds on top)
Good+ - Very Good
Wt: ~.5 oz.
Calories: ~80 cals.
Cost: $?
Purchased from: CocoaBella, in San Francisco, CA

Need to find receipt to get price.

ChocolateBet: June 26, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Thomas Haas (small square, with smaller square on top; no other markings - This was either "Lychee" or "Passion Fruit w/ Tahitian Vanilla")
Good + - Very Good
Note: I will have to do some research to verify what flavor this was.
Wt: ~.4 oz.
Calories: ~75 cals.
Cost: $ ?
Purchased from: CocoaBella, in San Francisco, CA

ChocolateBet: June 25, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving - 2 bars
Skinny Cow
"Minis" (smaller frozen fudge bars)
Very Good - nice and light on a hot day
Wt: 3 fl. oz. (74 grams) in 2 bars/ 12-1.5 fl. oz. bars or 18 fl. oz. (532 mL) total
Calories: 100 calories for two bars
Cost: $5.99
Purchased from: Piazza's, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: June 24, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Beacon Hill Chocolates
Dark Chocolate Snail w/ filling and finely ground nuts (pistachios)
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (estimate)
Calories: 80 calories (estimate)
Cost: $0 (gift)
Purchased from: (Not sure where this was purchased.)

Today's Dark Chocolate Snail with filling and finely ground nuts (pistachios) had a very nice style/look. The only unfortunate part, by the time I got this chocolate home and ate it, it was no longer as fresh as when I bought it -- a downside of truffles and filled chocolates (vs. bars).

Check the Beacon Hill Chocolates web site for a better picture/image of their chocolates
http://www.beaconhillchocolates.com/

ChocolateBet: June 23, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving (4 pieces/"tires")
Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company, for Mattel, Inc.
"Hot Wheels Crispy Chocolaty Tires" ("You Tear up the Track!)
Good
Wt.: 34 grams/2.4 oz. (68 grams) total
Calories: 180 for 4 pieces/1 serving
Cost: ?
Purchased from: Walgreens?

I purchased this chocolate awhile back -- just after Valentines Day, judging from the heart-shaped packaging. I can't find receipt.

Eating chocolate tires is a bit strange when you think about it; but when you're eating goofy chocolates like this, it's probably best not to over-think things.

ChocolateBet: June 22, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Rick's Ice Cream
"Computer Chip" (chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and orange flavoring)
Good + - Very Good
Wt: ~ 1/2 cup
Calories: ~ 280 (estimate)
Cost: $2.25 for 1 scoop in a cup
Purchased from: Rick's Ice Cream, in Palo Alto, CA

Tonight was a nice warm summer evening; great for going out and sampling some ice cream. Rick's has just recently added on so that there is a seating area as well. People used to spill over on the sidewalk; it's nice to have a place to sit down and enjoy what you're eating.

ChocolateBet: June 21, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Dreyer's
Dibs - Nestle Crunch
(Bite-sized ice cream snacks)
Good+ (I like them better when they're not 100% frozen, i.e. just slightly warmed/melted.)
Wt: 4 Fl. Oz. (118 mL)
Calories: 370
Cost: $2.95
Purchased from: Easy Foods Company, in Mountain View, CA

Chocolate Items
I'm continuing to eat chocolate ice cream/frozen items this week, as it's been very hot. The last few days the daytime high temperatures have hovered around 100 degrees. The warm nights have been wonderful, the kind where you really want to be walking around outside somewhere with other people. Climate affects culture. Tonight a friend and I discovered a store called "Therapy" with some humorous items, such as this clever magnet....posted here. The label fits I guess :-).

ChocolateBet: June 20, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Haagen-Dazs
Banana Split (ice cream)
Very Good
Wt.: 1/2 cup (108 grams);1 pint total
Calories: 280 cals. per srvg.
Cost: $3.00 (sale)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: June 19, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Haagen-Dazs
Baileys (Original) ice cream
Very Good - Yes, it does taste like Baileys. (This gave me a slight high feeling. I'm not sure if it was the processed cocoa powder or not; I sometimes get the same feeling from certain instant hot cocoa mixes.)
Wt: 1/2 cup (98 grams); 1 pint total
Calories: ~ 260 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $3.00 (sale)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: June 18, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

3 pieces
Dove
Dove Miniatures - Flavor Collection (frozen)
1) Milk Chocolate with Vanilla Ice Cream - Very Good
2) Double Chocolate - Good + - VG
3) Cherry Royale - Good + - VG
Wt: ~2 oz. (53.4 grams) in 3 pcs./12.0 Fl. Oz. (355 mL) total box of 16 pieces
Calories: 180 calories for 3 pieces
Cost: $3.99 (sale price)
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: June 17, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Annabelle Candy Co.
Annabelle's Look! ("Rich Chocolate Covered Nougat with Peanuts")
Very Good
Wt: 1.5 oz. (42 grams)
Calories: 190 calories
Cost: $?
Purchased from: (shop in Burlingame that may have gone out of business)

Annabelle is a local San Francisco Bay Area brand; the company is based in Hayward, CA.

This Annabelle's Look! -- a chewy, chocolate covered peanut nougat bar with smidge of honey and molasses --exceeded my expectations.

Note: this bar was not gluten-free; it did contain a small amount of flour.

ChocolateBet: June 16, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Hawaiian Tropic Zone (Chef = David Burke)
Warm Flourless Chocolate Souffle Cake w/ a small scoop of hazelnut ice cream and strawberry sauce (on plate)
Very Good +
Wt: ~ 4 oz. (estimate)
Calories: ~400 calories (estimate)
Cost: $10.00 (pricey, but good)
Purchased from: Hawaiian Tropic Zone, in the Planet Hollywood Hotel/Casino, in Las Vegas, NV

Note: I also had a taste of a cheesecake lollipop, which is another of the chef's specialty items. The whole dessert menu looked great actually. I wouldn't mind coming back to try more of these some day.

ChocolateBet: June 15, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Jean-Philippe Patisserie (Jean-Philippe Maury is the chef.)
Chocolate Covered Strawberry with (chopped) Hazelnuts
Very Good + - nice big, sweet strawberry, good chocolate
Wt: 60 grams (estimate)
Calories: 180 (estimate)
Cost: $4.00
Purchased from: Jean-Philippe Patisserie, in Las Vegas, NV

There are a few different kinds of chocolate-dipped strawberries to choose from in this shop - along with many other very tasty looking crepes, pastries and cakes, gelato, etc. This patisserie is located in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, and also features a 27-foot chocolate fountain behind a plexiglass-type wall. (Approximately 2,000 pounds of melted white, milk and dark chocolate are kept warm enough so that they flow down different levels of the fountain.)

ChocolateBet: June 14, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
2 "sticks"
Pieterman (Holland)
King-Lion - 10 quality sticks (cocoa "cigarettes")
Good+; these are better than I thought they'd be, and they're a bit of fun
Wt: 5 grams for 2; 25 grams (7/8 oz.) total "pack" of 10
Calories: ~31 cals (estim. - no calorie info listed on pack)
Cost: ?
Purchased from: ? possibly candy shop in Burlingame that may have closed.

Hmmm. I need to find my old receipt for this one.

This year I've planned several chocolate-related theme weeks. I contemplated doing a "chocolate and smoking" week. But, I couldn't find enough chocolate or cocoa cigars, cigarettes and matches in time to get this started today. I don't smoke; but I do eat chocolate. These Pieterman "cigarettes" are skinny milk chocolate sticks wrapped in white papers. So the chocolate inside looks a bit like tobacco. (See image above and to the right.)

Re: other brands of candy cigarettes...
After doing a Google search on Pieterman, I found this web page (see link below).
http://cardhouse.com/a/candy/foreign/f43.htm
You can scroll through a wide variety of images of candy/cocoa cigarettes from different parts of the world.

ChocolateBet: June 13, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving/round bar
Colts Chocolates
Colts Bolts Chocolate Peanut Butter and Almonds
Good + - Very Good
Wt: 2 oz. (56 grams)
Calories: ~300 (not marked)
Cost: $ (~1.95? - have to double check/find receipt)
Purchased from: ?, in Burlingame, CA last year*

*Note: I think the little candy store where I bought several items in Burlingame last year (2007) may no longer be in business, or may have been "replaced" by Powell's Sweet Shoppe - which opened a Burlingame location in early 2008. This little place had the same idea as Powell's - and lots of candy and chocolate items from decades past, ice cream, and other novelties.

TCHO chocolate
TCHO is a chocolate manufacturer with technology/Silicon Valley roots.

I stopped by the TCHO office (www.tcho.com) in San Francisco, CA, late this afternoon after a meeting. I parked the car and walked along the wharf area until I found their office, and opened the door to see if anyone was in. (I had stopped by earlier a few months back, and their office was closed.) I opened the door which immediately caused a small wind tunnel effect. And the two people I met there (Louis Rossetto and a woman - sorry I didn't want to further bother you by asking for your card) very generously tolerated my interrupting them (likely during non-visiting hours).

My intention was to say that I thought what they were doing was great. However, while I was there Louis very kindly offered to let me sample some nibs and chocolate they have in beta test phase. Very interesting, very pure flavors. Thank you to the folks at TCHO for the impromptu visit, and I look forward to hearing more about your chocolate factory - the only pure manufacturing plant actually in San Francisco from what I gather.

ChocolateBet: June 12, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

12 pieces
Cadbury
Snaps (milk chocolate thins/curves)
Good +
Weight: 39 grams for 12 pieces/thins/curves; 117 grams in total box
Calories: 197 calories (estimate) in 12 pieces
Cost: $9.95 (expensive in the U.S.)
Purchased from: Cottage of Sweets, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

ChocolateBet: June 11, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Masterfoods
Bounty (dark chocolate, coconut candy bar)
Good + - Very Good
Wt: 57 grams (~ 2 oz.)
Calories: ~268 calories for 2 pieces/1 bar or pkg.
Cost: $2.95
Purchased from: Cottage of Sweets, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

When I eat a combination of chocolate and sweetened coconut like this, I always tend to want to eat this with some raw, or toasted unsalted, almonds on the side. Maybe it's to cut the sweetness a bit. (I do the same thing with certain flavors of rich, sweet ice cream.) I'm not sure why. But, it works.

Chocolate and Health News
Last night I listened to a public radio program ("Forum" with Michael Krazny) about chocolate. (Thanks to James and Preeta who told me this was being aired.) One listener called in with a question about heavy metal contamination of chocolate. News to me; but apparently cocoa can be exposed to lead and other metals, in the cultivation, fermentation, processing and transportation phases. One of the radio guests (Timothy Childs from TCHO in San Francisco I believe) mentioned that this was true, and that they tested their cocoa for metals.

Interesting. Here is something else to test my blood for after all this chocolate eating I've been doing. On balance, as noted last year, my blood lipid and sugar profiles improved after eating chocolate every day for the first year. I haven't been tested for lead or other heavy metals (those metals that are at least 5 times heavier than water and generally considered toxic in large enough quantities). Other than the fact that too much chocolate might interfere with bone health/calcium absorption (oh yes, and result in weight gain and other bad things from extra sugar and fat calories that might be consumed), this is the only other bad thing I've heard about eating chocolate every day. So, just call me a lead guinea pig I guess!

ChocolateBet: June 10, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Nestle
Lion (candy bar)
Good + (tastes a bit like a Nestle Crunch bar wrapped around some additional ingredients)
Wt: 55 grams (~1.7? oz.)
Calories: 277 calories for 1 bar
Cost: $2.95
Purchased from: Cottage of Sweets, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

(Postscript: This bar contained wheat, lactose and barley malt.)

ChocolateBet: June 9, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece/patty
Bridgewater Chocolate
Peanut Butter Patties (Dark Choc.)
Very Good
Wt: ~1.1 oz.
Calories: ~ 170 cals.
Cost: $2.28 for 1 patty/piece
Purchased from: CocoaBella Chocolates in San Francisco, CA

Chocolate Related Art
A few blocks away from CocoaBella, the shop where I purchased this chocolate, is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). While walking through the museum exhibits, I couldn't help but take note of a pair of molded sculptures (called "Lick & Lather") by Janine Antoni. The first bust (of the artist?) was made of chocolate and the second almost identical bust was made of soap. They seem to have stood up rather well given that they were made some years ago.

ChocolateBet: June 8, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Texas Brags - Price Fine Chocolates* (Texas)
Pecan Brags (Milk Pecan Brags - milk chocolate, pecans, caramel )
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 grams) total in small box
Calories: 135 calories (estimate - no calorie info available)
Cost: $3.49 for 1 oz. box
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

*Note: Manufactured by Cocoa Factory, in Fort Worth, TX

ChocolateBet: June 7, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

3 pieces/1 serving
Starbucks Chocolate
Espresso Truffles (dark chocolate)
Very Good - nice blend between espresso and coffeette (sp?) coffee candy from childhood taste.
Wt: 36 grams/4.2 oz. (120 g.) total package
Calories: 180 calories for 3 pieces
Cost: $5.99/total pkg.
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: June 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

4 pieces/1 serving
Brown and Haley
Roca Buttercrunch, Dark Toffee Thins (60% Cacao)
(Buttercrunch Toffee with Almonds and Dark Chocolate)
Very Good
Weight: 40 grams in 4 piece serving/2.8 oz. (79 g.) total box/package
Calories: 210 calories in 4 piece serving
Cost: $2.49 for total box/pkg.
Purchased from: Fry's Electronics, in Palo Alto, CA

These Roca Buttercrunch Dark Toffee Thins from Brown and Haley were similar to their Almond Roca brethren, but with no chopped nuts on outside; the dark chocolate was nice.

ChocolateBet: June 5, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 cookies
Glutino
Chocolate Dreams
Very Good - especially for gluten-free
Weight: 26 grams for 2 cookies/4.4 oz. (125 grams) total box
Calories: 133 calories for 2 cookies
Cost: $ ?
Purchased from: ?

These chocolate Cream Sandwich Cookies from Glutino (made in Germany) were very good, especially for gluten-free baked goods. Although, this qualification is starting to change, as gluten-free items improve over time.

Glutino makes wheat-free, gluten-free, egg-free and related specialty foods. 

ChocolateBet: June 4, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 servings (6 cookies)
Glutino
Vanilla Dream Bites
(Gluten Free Vanilla Cookies with Chocolate Cream)
Very Good + - especially for wheat-free
Wt: 60 grams/7.0 oz. (200 grams) total box
Calories: 300 calories
Cost: $ ?
Purchased from: ?

ChocolateBet: June 3, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Russell Stover
Raspberry Caramel
(from "Nut, Chewy and Crisp Centers" assortment box)
Very Good+
Wt: 16 grams for 1 pc./24 oz. (l lb. 8 oz.) or 680 grams in total box
Calories: 80 calories for 1 pc.
Cost: $2.50* (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

And, with today's entry, I have tried all the different chocolates in this Russell Stover assortment box. On to the next type of chocolate!

ChocolateBet: June 2, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Russell Stover
(from "Nut, Chewy and Crisp Centers" assortment box)
Coconut Cluster
Very Good
Wt: 16 grams in 1 pc./24 oz. (1 lb. 8 oz.) or 680 grams in total box
Calories: 80 calories for 1 piece
Cost: $2.50* (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: June 1, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Russell Stover
Almond Cluster
(part of a "Nut, Chewy and Crisp Centers" assortment box)
Good+
Wt: 16 grams
Calories: 80 cals. for 1 piece
Cost: $2.50* (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA