Monday, November 16, 2015

Oatmega - Chocolate Peanut Crisp bar - Nov. 16, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Boundless Nutrition LLC
Oatmega - Chocolate Peanut Crisp bar
Good
Weight: 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.19 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #12 of Chocolate and Peanuts Theme Week(s).

This Oatmega Chocolate Peanut Crisp bar from Boundless Nutrition LLC (Austin, TX) was pleasantly chewy and had less of the uniform, extruded look of many protein bars.*

This bar was made with gluten-free oats (thank you), and was also made with non-GMO ingredients. It contained only 5 grams of sugar and 14 grams of protein (grass-fed whey protein). The Oatmega bar also contained EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids ("derived from sustainable marine resources").

*Note: I don't expect a protein bar to look like an art bar. Both types of bars are usually carefully crafted by their makers, but with different audiences in mind. One bar may need to look "healthy" and not melt on a hike or during a work-out; and another bar may need to look "pretty" and have volatile flavor elements and texture that need preserving in a cool, dark place. 

The wonderful thing is that chocolate is so versatile there is room for it to exist in many forms. More on this tomorrow, when I talk about how I evaluate chocolates across many different categories.



Fall Chocolate Salon - San Francisco - Nov. 15, 2015

Fall Chocolate Salon 2015 - San Francisco, CA
Sun., Nov. 15, 2015

This year's Fall (6th annual San Francisco) Chocolate Salon was held at a new venue—the General's Residence, in Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

This historic building provided an attractive, multi-room space for chocolate makers, chocolatiers, craft spirits makers, perfumers, vintners and others to display their offerings. (And the views of Aquatic Park, Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay weren't bad either.)

Amano Artisan Chocolate (Orem, UT) was displaying new packaging (and larger bars). I enjoyed discussing single origin bars and new bars with flavor inclusions with founder Art Pollard's two sons.

There were plenty of great Bay Area chocolatiers there. I picked up some velvety Pumpkin Spice Truffles and very tasty Nib Brittle from Neo Cocoa (San Francisco, CA); truffles from CocoTutti; tiny individually wrapped caramels from Kindred Cooks (Campbell, CA); creamy, flavorful chocolates from Alexander's Patisserie (Mountain View, CA); and artful pieces with layered flavors from flying noir (Oakland, CA).

While in search of some smoky and umami flavors, I picked up a bottle of great, complex Bourbon (made from corn and rye) from Raff Distillerie (Treasure Island, San Francisco). What a great aroma; and I'm looking forward to sampling it with chocolates. I also enjoyed the spirits (a crisp Gin with citrus notes; a well-rounded Rhum Agricole; and an Absinthe with French roots) from Sonoma County Distilling Co. (Rohnert Park, CA).

I enjoyed saying hello to Alter Eco (San Francisco, CA) and The Tea Room Chocolate and Tea Co. (San Leandro, CA).

And, after nine years of eating different chocolates, I still love meeting new creative people who are making chocolates. New chocolate conversations this year were had with Firefly Chocolate (Windsor, CA); Endorfin Foods (Oakland, CA); Starchild Chocolate (Willets, CA); Fera'wyn's Artisan Chocolates; and Cowboy Toffee Co. (Oakdale, CA).  






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