ChocolateBet: August 11, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 pieces
Kee's Chocolates
1.) Black Sesame - Very Good +
2.) Thai Chili - Good + - Very Good
3.) Lemongrass Mint - Not good
Weight: ~1.4 oz. (40 grams) for 3 pieces (estimate)
Calories: ~210 calories (estimate) for 3 pieces
Cost: ~$6.75 for 3 pieces (inclu. NYC sales tax)
Purchased from: Kee's Chocolates in (SoHo area of) New York City, New York

I loved the small macaroons from Kee's Chocolates I ate yesterday, and was looking forward to trying these chocolates. The Black Sesame was very nice, with a dark ganache filling and a coating of toasted black and white sesame seeds. The Thai Chili chocolate was also good; the chili flavor was very subtle. Unfortunately, the Lemongrass Mint, leaf-shaped chocolate tasted off, with a slight ammonia-ish or cleaning fluid flavor. I'm looking forward to trying Kaffir Lime and Pignoli (pine nuts) chocolates tomorrow.

ChocolateBet: August 10, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
6 tiny macaroons
Kee's Chocolates LLC
Assortment bag of 6 tiny macaroons
1.) Rosewater Lychee - Very Good + - Yum
2.) Jasmine Green Tea (chocolate filling) - Good + - Very Good
3.) Raspberry (chocolate filling) - Very Good - Very Good +
4.) Kaffir Lime (chocolate filling) - Very Good + - Yum
5.) Cassis (chocolate filling) - Good +
6.) Passion Fruit (chocolate filling) - Very Good +
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 grams) for one bag of (6) assorted flavors
Calories: ~ 175 calories for bag of 6 (estimate)
Cost: ~$6.00 for 1 bag
Purchased from: Kee's Chocolates, in SoHo area of New York City, New York

I love chocolatiers who experiment with new flavor combinations. And Kee's offers the most wonderful flavor selection of macaroons (macarons) that I've seen to date. My three favorites were: 1.) Kaffir Lime (with chocolate filling); 2.) Passion Fruit (also with chocolate filling); and 3.) Rosewater Lychee (no chocolate in the filling). The kaffir lime and passion fruit were not overly sweet, and I could really taste the authentic fruit flavors. The tiny size of the ones I bought in the assortment bag meant I was able to taste more of them, which was great. (Note: Images above belong to Kee's Chocolates, and are from Kee's website.)

ChocolateBet: August 9, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

3 pieces

La Maison Du Chocolat

1.) Champagne Cognac - Very Good + - Yum

2.) Jolika (pistachio infused almond paste) - Very Good; a bit sweet

3.) Rocher Noire - Very Good +

Weight: ~ .65 oz. (18.4 grams) for 3 pieces

Calories: ~ 95 calories for 3 pieces

Cost: ~$3.87 for 3 pieces (including NYC sales tax)

Purchased from: La Maison Du Chocolat, in Rockefeller Center, New York City, New York

Barring a trip to Paris, New York was the closest I could get to trying La Maison du Chocolat chocolates in person. (There are no other locations in the U.S.)I like champagne truffles; if this fact were ever in question, I think this champagne cognac truffle put this to rest. (Alas, I have no image for this truffle). I also really liked the Rocher Noire (pictured above).

We also had the opportunity to take a brief walk through 30 Rockefeller Center, where this shop was located, where "30 Rock" the television show takes place -- well at least the exterior shots. No Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) or other celebrity sightings to report.

ChocolateBet: August 8, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces

Jacques Torres Chocolate

1.) Chocolate Peanut Brittle - Very Good - Very Good +

2.) Caramel Nut Noire (dark choc) - Very Good

Weight: ~.65 oz. (18.4 grams) in 2 pieces

Calories: ~98 calories in 2 pieces

Cost: $3.26 for 2 pieces (including NYC sales tax)

Purchased from: Jacques Torres Chocolate, in New York City, New York

We took the subway to visit Jacques Torres downtown location. We could peek through a window to see production going on, and it also had a sit-down area inside where customers can relax and enjoy beverages, chocolates, chocolate-covered breakfast cereals, ice cream, and other treats. The two individual chocolates (above) were both quite nice. I only had room to try one or two flavors of ice cream or sorbet. The white chocolate ice cream with raspberry and lime and the watermelon sorbet were both very good. My only regret was not being able to sample the chocolate-covered Cheerios (because I can't eat wheat).

ChocolateBet: August 7, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

2 macarons
Bouchon Bakery
1 Caramel macaron - Yum (fresh)
1 Chocolate macaron (small) - VG+ (pre-packaged as part of an assortment)
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 grams) (estimate)
Calories: 160 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $4.75 (estimate) for both macarons
Purchased from: Bouchon Bakery, in New York City, New York

The Caramel macaron was excellent, and tasted light and fresh. The Chocolate macaron was also very nice; however, it was part of a pre-packaged assortment of different flavors (and perhaps a few hours older than the fresh Caramel batch). I shouldn't quibble; these really were great, especially after a long day and walk around New York City. I ate these macarons as an appetizer before dinner. Sorry I don't have a picture of them; all I have is the bag they came in (above).

After dinner, we walked down Broadway to Times Square. Adult-oriented businesses from a few decades ago have been replaced by lots of big, splashy video screens and some large candy stores. We visited M and M's World (Mars), which is across the street from the Hershey's store (appropriate given the rivalry between the two companies). And they seemed to inspire each other to new Las-Vegas-strip-style heights, with large product-related decorative pieces inside and out, and lively interiors. M and M's World was stocked with unique flavors and colors of M and M's in long vertical, clear plastic tubes that stretched up into the M and M ether in this three-story World. I bought and tried a few coconut peanut M and M's, making this my second chocolate for the day. See below for information.

5 pieces

M and M's (Mars)

Coconut M and M's

Good + - Very Good

Weight: .25 oz. (7.1 grams) (estimate)

Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate)

Cost: $5.88 total for .40 lb. (includes NYC sales tax)

Purchased from: M and M's World, Times Square, New York City, New York

Last, but not least, thank you to RK Chin, the creator of the New York City Chocolate Guide (Manhattan). This map was very helpful in planning chocolate-related stops for this weekend trip to New York. One or two chocolate stores may have closed since the last version of this guide/map was updated, but it provided a helpful look-at-a-glance for different places that make or sell chocolates.

Note: Because of certain limitations, I was unable to use the ampersand symbol on this site. So, I spelled out the Mar's candy name: M and M's.

ChocolateBet: August 6, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Earth's Chocolate
The Love Bar
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.35 grams)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate in New York

The ingredients listed for this chocolate bar included organic cacao butter and cacao powder, organic (raw) agave nectar, organic yacon powder, organic tocotrienols, organic whole bean vanilla powder, and Himalayan pink sea salt. This organic bar sounded like a healthy chocolate choice; and it tasted pretty good too.

ChocolateBet: August 5, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 package
Senor Murphy
"Chamayo Red Chili Pistachio Bark"
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (84 grams) total package
Calories: 450 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.25 ($1.75 per ounce)
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

The roasted pistachios in this dark chocolate bark were nice and crunchy. This chocolate from New Mexico was also hot and spicy. If you try some, have some milk or ice water standing by.