Eatyet’s Weblog

In the city there are plenty of places to pay top dollar for chocolate but I refuse to drop the big bucks for anything other than La Maison du Chocolat. They have two stores in Manhattan and more in France, London, and Tokyo. When I went to Paris a few years ago, I didn’t go looking for them; instead I was totally infatuated with Fauchon, which had wonderful pastries but their chocolate wasn’t quite up to par.

The first time I had tasted their chocolates I was in college. My wise and most tasteful friend Tamaki bought and shared a Coffret Maison box and some cake from La Maison (I say cake but it was mostly ganache) with me and some classmates. At first my taste buds were out of tune from copious amounts of the much sweeter Lindt truffles earlier that day (it was college, chocolate was often a meal replacement).  I was in a bit of a taste shock, unable to take in the flavors at first, but the texture was undeniable. It was the smoothest airy creamy chocolate I’ve ever had, and I was soon an addict for life before the day was over. The chocolate flavors were so rich but not bitter and did not have the cloying sweetness that I was accustomed to. I couldn’t go back to the way things were, every chocolate confection I taste would be compared to them.

My personal favorites are their macarons, fruit infused ganaches like the Salvador (raspberry) and Valencia (orange), and their truffles are the gold standard for me. After one Christmas when I treated myself to a large coffret and gaining 8lbs, I learned to enjoy in moderation more (and only a few times a year). So I stay away from boxes, except for the boxes of mini macarons (which are a bargain compared to the chocolates). The shells are perfectly delicate, crisp and chewy, and are filled with their amazing ganache. Flavors include dark chocolate, milk chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, caramel and coffee; a flavor I normally dislike but they made it great.

I don’t klnow what it’s called. It’s a 2 inch wide ball, with a hazelnut filling, rolled in hazelnuts and praline and coated in dark (milk?) chocolate.

No, not a bar of chocolate, but a bar for chocolate. I first visited The Chocolate Bar ( 1835 W Alabama St., Houston, TX 7709 a few years ago when a friend of mine mentioned it to me. Since that one time, I have absolutely loved the place and take anyone who hasn’t been there yet. So, when an out of town friend told me she liked chocolate, I thought what better place to go than The Chocolate Bar.

This place has its own chocolate shop adjacent to the “bar” area where you can find an assortment of chocolates, from seasonal designs to your chocolate covered bon bons. But, I must say my favorite area is the bar area. The walls are a bold purple, adorned with candy inspired movie type posters and randomly placed disco balls hanging from the ceiling. There’s plenty of seating, although it doesn’t seem like plenty on a busy Friday night.

So since we were full from dinner, we decided to share a slice of cake. Do you see how gigantic that happy slice of heaven is? Do you see the bottle of milk behind it? You’ll surely need it to get through your decadent dessert. We decided on a slice of Uncle Darryll’s chocolate cake. This moist, 4 layer chocolate cake had the richest, yet lightest chocolate filling. It was covered with what seems like a chocolate ganache and then topped with toffee bits. It was fantastic. Between the two of us, we still couldn’t finish it.

Besides their different varieties of cakes, they also serve their own home made ice cream. I’ve had it in the past, and I think the one I’ve deemed my favorite is the one with white and dark chocolate bits in it. It was just all sorts of yum, and if it wasn’t so chilly, I probably would have had some tonight. I have yet to try everything on their menu, but one of these days I will. There is also fresh brewed coffee and a killer hot chocolate. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and my trips have always been pleasant. I believe the desserts are moderately and reasonably priced, anywhere from $6.95 and $9.95, for the portion of cake/pie you get. Others may disagree, but I have no problem throwing down for some good old chocolate cake.

The Chocolate Bar is a place “Where every hour is happy hour” (yups, that’s their motto). It truly is. Sitting there and enjoying good chocolatey desserts and good company makes a cold Friday night feel remarkably warm.

–Chelle

Honestly, the only frozen yogurt I’d ever known was TCBY, which I love, but I never really considered it a healthy alternative, because it tasted way too good to be healthy. ha! So tonight, I was driving to the Edwards Cinema off Weslayan & 59, and I saw a sign for berripop frozen yogurt (http://www.berripop.com/index.html). You’ll find it right off the corner of Richmond & Weslayan, in the little center between Chipotle & Collina’s Italian Cafe. Mind you, it’s about 37 degrees outside, and for Houston, that’s kind of chilly. Something frozen wasn’t going to warm me up, but this place looked interesting, so I asked my friend if we could check it out before the movie started. By the way, and so off topic, but 27 Dresses was a really cute movie.

Anyways, it’s a cute frozen yogurt shop with bright green walls, sunshine yellow tables and a variety of frozen yogurts that change daily. The menu seems pretty basic, choose the size you’d like, the type of frozen yogurt you want (pictured above is the original tart), and as many toppings as you’d like, for $.85 a topping. Hey, you even get a deal. Buy 2 toppings and get the third free. There are tons of toppings to choose from..from breakfast cereal like Cap n Crunch to fresh fruits to an assortment of nuts. I chose fresh strawberries and mangos for my first try.

The frozen yogurt tasted more like what frozen yogurt should taste like. The original tart was really light and, as the name states, just a little tart. I totally wanted to try the breakfast foods, but I opted for the fruits and it was fantastic. I enjoyed the fact that eating the tasty dessert didn’t make me feel fat afterwards. Nutritional info is even posted up in the store. 1 oz. frozen yogurt = 24.5 calories. How fantastic is that? They also serve what they call their “Berri Snow”, which is shaved ice topped with the frozen yogurt of choice and then toppings. Then they have a smoothie, too.

I’ll definitely have to take everyone else there. It’s so close to work, and I think this will satisfy my sweet tooth enough. Plus, it’s healthy. Well, healthier than my normal cheesecake ice cream w/oreos mixed in from Marble Slab. ha! Woo for healthy!!

-Chelle

There’s a place down S. Shepherd you’ve probably driven by a dozen times, but may not have realized it was there. Sure, you’ve seen the pink & black decor through their windows, but just thought “Oh. That place looks cute,” and then just kept on driving by. What you didn’t know is that inside, sweetness awaits you.

Sugarbabys (www.ilovesugarbabys.com) is a cupcake boutique off S. Shepherd near W. Alabama (3310 S. Shepherd, Houston, TX 77098). I only heard of it from my sister who said, “Everyone says it’s really good.” So, I did what most people would do. I googled the shop and found their website. They specialize in cupcakes, and offer a fairly wide variety from red velvet cupcakes topped with a cream cheese icing to their dippity doo-dahs, which are chocolate cupcakes filled and topped with vanilla buttercream and then dipped in dark chocolate. Their menu changes monthly, and different specialty flavors are offered on different days. I love how their website states they’re open from 9am-7pm or until they run out. They even have a private party room which can be used for birthday parties or any other small event.

After thinking about this place for the past 24 hours, I decided to swing by there tonight and try it out. By the time I got there, say 530pm, there were very few cupcakes left to choose from. So I purchased 2 white chocolate macadamia nut, a charming chocolate with vanilla icing and another with chocolate icing, and then a va-va-vanilla with chocolate icing. Can you tell I love chocolate? I spoke with one of the workers there and asked when do the specialty ones run out, because I was really looking forward to trying the toffee crunch cupcake. She said if I wanted the other types, I should try to make it in before 2pm. I was 3 hours late. Sadness.

So, I brought the cupcakes to a friends place for after dinner dessert. I only had the white chocolate macadamia nut and it was DELICIOUS. The white chocolate cream cheese icing was so perfect and even the moistness of the cupcake was just right. Plus, I really enjoyed the white chocolate pieces actually IN the cupcake and not just in the icing.

I will surely be making my way there again, and hopefully next time I’ll get a taste of that toffee crunch or that red velvet one.

-Chelle