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!