2012: The Year in San Francisco Chocolate

Ever noticed that the SF Chronicle has a Beer column, a Cocktail column and a Cheese column – but nothing regularly devoted to chocolate?  Gourmet Walks is here to fill the void with news on the tastiest chocolate happenings in San Francisco in 2012.  We include not just chocolate boutiques but also patisseries who showcase local bean to bar chocolate makers, like Guittard and TCHO, in creative and delectable ways.

Openings

New Tree chocolate bars

New Tree – Belgium based New Tree Chocolate chose San Francisco for their first retail shop, which opened in June.  New Tree corporate offices are located not too far away in San Anselmo.  But the company’s commitment to sustainability and health is what makes San Francisco a natural fit.   The café (located right across from Yank Sing’s Stevenson location) sells fresh, organic lunch items and baked goods in addition to the full line of chocolate bars, spreads and snacks.  New Tree is featured on our midweek Chocolate Tours.

1 Ecker Place, 415-524-6416

Touring Dandelion Chocolate

Dandelion Chocolate - With Dandelion’s November opening, TCHO is no longer the only bean-to-bar chocolate maker in town.  Dandelion’s beautiful new factory and café is located on the trendy Valencia strip in the Mission, next to Mission Cheese and Abbott’s Cellar.  Every step of production is on display, with a crew personally trained by founders Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring in making small batches of chocolate using the best possible beans.  Café items include cacao fruit smoothies, iced chocolate and pastries.  Dandelion is featured on our Crosstown Chocolate Tours.

740 Valencia St., 415-349-0942

  

The Chocolate Lab – Over in the Dogpatch, Michael Recchiuti opened his long-anticipated Chocolate Lab in November.  This gets my vote for the most clever restaurant name of 2012!  Not just a chocolate shop, the Lab is modeled after the Cuisine de Bar in Paris, serving a range of savory tartines along with wine, beer and cocktails.  Recchiuti has also created homey gratins and casseroles that will soon be offered as pre-fix dinners. But the real star is dessert, including sundaes with homemade ice cream, chocolate cakes and custards.  The Chocolate Lab is featured on our Crosstown Chocolate Tours.

801 22^nd St (at Tennessee) 415-489-2881

Enjoying hot chocolate on a Crosstown Tour.

Craftsman & Wolves – In June William Werner (previously of Tell Tale Preserve) opened this gorgeous café on Valencia Street, next door to Dandelion Chocolate.  It’s clear this is the vision of a perfectionist, from the artistic cube cakes to the inspirational wall quotes.  The ultra thick Valrhona drinking chocolate served with a homemade violet marshmallow is not to be missed.  Craftsman & Wolves is featured on our Crosstown Chocolate Tours.

746 Valencia St. (at 18^th), 415-913-7713

Andrea leading a group at Tout Sweet

Tout Sweet – Top Chef star Yigit Pura opened Tout Sweet on the 3rd floor of Macy’s Union Square in September.  The bright purple, pink and white décor is inspired by Pura’s favorite children’s book, The Little Prince.  For tired shoppers, it’s a peaceful spot to sit down and look out over Union Square with a glass of champagne and a pastry.  Like C&W, Tout Sweet makes a yummy but lighter Valrhona hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows.  My absolute favorite Tout Sweet baked good is the sea salt chocolate chip cookie.  Tout Sweet was featured on our Holiday Lights & Chocolate Tour and will be on our Valentine’s Cupcake & Chocolate Tour.

170 O’Farrell St.. 415-385-1679

New Products & Collaborations

Chocolate makers partnering with local artisan food companies is a trend I’ve noted in San Franciso and beyond.  For example, Missouri based Askinosie has created “CollaBARations” with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream (Dark chocolate and malted milk) and Zingerman’s (Dark chocolate and crunch sugar crystals with vanilla bean).  Going in the reverse direction, GelatariaNaia uses Recchiuti burnt caramel syrup in their salted caramel gelato.

Coffee + Chocolate

San Francisco based TCHO Chocolate this year introduced the Mokaccino Bar, a blend of their celebrated Serious Milk chocolate (International Chocolate Award Winner) and Blue Bottle coffee. No longer just a bean-to-bar company, TCHO is also partnering with local companies to make confections in small batches.  One is a sugar free chocolate, blending 99% TCHO with local Marshall’s Farm honey. If you are one of our Chocolate Tour customers, your Chocolate Lover card will give you a nice little discount at their Pier 17 Beta Store.

Feve Artisan Chocolatier – With brand new packaging and an exotic sounding name, the founders of Au Coeur des Chocolat have stepped up their game.  Last week, Feve even won a Good Food Award for their Pistachio Rosemary Caramel.  Although Feve does not have a boutique, the chocolates can be purchased at the Fillmore Bakeshop and a few local grocery shops.  I particularly like that 5% of the proceeds benefit cacao farmers through Kiva.

On the Horizon

There are several new sweets projects I am excited to see open up sometime in 2013.  Once they are off the ground, you’ll be sure to find them on our private tour itineraries.

Charles Chocolate Redux – From Emeryville to Westfield Center and finally the Mission, Chuck Siegel is not giving up on his Willy Wonka dreams.  After a successful Kickstarter campaign this fall, Siegel is pressing forward with a target Spring opening.  Renderings of his new space on Florida Street look impressive, and Heath Ceramics and the Coffee Bar make great foodie neighbors.  I’m hoping to see a return of his classic confections, including Peanut Butter Butterflies and chewy Turtles.

535 Florida St., 415-659-8770

B. Patisserie – Belinda Leong’s Pacific Heights patisserie is perhaps a month or so away from opening.  Leong was the pastry chef at Manresa and has done various pop-ups in SF while plotting her brick and mortar debut.  Like most of the new patisseries, she will boost profits by selling savory lunch items as well.  Tip: don’t miss her kouign amann, a croissant-like pastry that is fast on the trendy heels of the Parisian macaron.

2821 California St.

Sixth Course at the SF Chocolate Salon

Sixth Course – Sixth Course has stolen the show at the past few Chocolate Salons and if you still haven’t tried them, put it on your to-do list for the weekend.  The usual San Francisco permitting and building delays are pushing back the Sixth’s Course opening of their Mission dessert shop to late summer.  Until then, you may buy their chocolates online, at a few local grocers or, if you’re really lucky, at the end of a dinner at Acquerello.  You can’t go wrong with any flavor combination, but I am partial to the Whiskey Neat with St. George Single Malt and the Smoked Salt caramel.

Michelle Polzine’s 20^th Century Café – Since Hayes Valley is a beloved Gourmet Walks tour neighborhood, I am especially looking forward to the launch of this café.  Polzine  (the pastry chef at Range) is looking to Eastern Europe for inspiration.  The café is set to open in the spring and will include blinis, crepes, strudels and rugelach – civilized treats for the post Opera crowd.  I see a gourmet knish on a future Gourmet San Francisco/Hayes Valley tour menu.

198 Gough St.

The Year in Chocolate: 2010

The Year in Chocolate
Bay Area 2010
1. Openings
Let’s start out with some happy news. Chuck Siegel no longer has a commute. Charles Chocolates opened a flagship shop in Westfield Mall this year, closing down all Emeryville operations. Even bigger news, Charles will soon be expanding into a 5000 square foot shop and kitchen that has even Mayor Newsom celebrating. On a smaller scale (a little bit grimy), fine chocolate made its way into the Tenderloin with the opening of Hooker’s Sweet Treats in June. All you salted caramel addicts, his version is among the best in the city. Suburban sidenote – Marin chocolate lovers will finally have somewhere worthy of a visit. Chocolatier Blue has leased space in Strawberry Village, with an opening slated for early 2011.

2. Closures
We were sad to say goodbye to the Maiden Lane location of Alegio Chocolate. Now it’s a trek to Berkeley for the avant garde Enrico Rovira chocolates and Claudio Corallo bars. (Tip: roommate Manika Jewelry is still open, and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner…) In June, Seneca Klassen announced the closure of its Fillmore Street Bittersweet shop, citing rent disputes. Though nothing beats a Bittersweet hot chocolate, Citizen Cake re-opening around the corner is yummy consolation. And finally, Mary Loomas of Saratoga Chocolates quietly closed her San Francisco location at the end of December (in the old and beloved Joseph Schmidt shop).

3. Comfort Chocolate
From the looks of the average Bay Area restaurant dessert menu, comfort desserts just never go out of style. High class donuts at the end of a meal – who can resist? There is a definite trend in comfort chocolate flavors, with toffee leading the way. Gourmet Walks guides are loving the Chocolat Moderne Kashmir Bar (55% dark with toffee, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves), Xocolatl de David 72% dark milk salted caramel bar and the Patric PB&J Bar (jelly flavor only comes from the fruity notes of the cacao beans). You’ll likely find all three at Fog City News. As for comfort truffles, consider the Norman Love Vanilla Cupcake truffle (Cocoa Bella) and Christopher Elbow’s new Maple Walnut (Elbow Hayes Valley).

4. Micro-batch
Smaller is pretty much always considered better in the world of chocolate, wine, beer and other artisan foods. The concept of micro-batch chocolate is not new. After Scharffen Berger paved the way, Steve DeVries took pride in being “100 Years Behind the Times” and creating micro-batches in 2005. Patric, Taza, Amano, Mast Brothers and Rogue soon followed. One tour guide’s favorite micro-batch chocolate from this year is Rogue Chocolatier’s Piura Bar – made from just 4 bags of cacao beans purchased from a small organic farm in Piura, Peru. Savor the taste….you might not find it again.

5. More of the Bizarre
While comfort chocolate flavors are big, we still haven’t seen the end of bizarre flavor combinations in both truffles and bars. Bacon is old news, though Vosges continues to milk the success of its Bacon Bar with even a bacon chocolate chip pancake mix! My top choice for weirdest flavor of the year was East Bay Michael Mischer’s barbeque truffle, often carried by Cocoa Bella. It tastes like a smoky barbeque sauce and chocolate. Try that one with a microbrew.

6. Extreme Pairings
Foodies once thought pairing chocolate with anything but port was a mistake. Local chocolate companies are now embracing unusual pairings and from our perspective, consumers love it (especially the young ones). This year Recchiuti launched boxes for Beer Pairings, Whisky Pairings and Spirits Pairings. His suggestion – a tarragon grapefruit ganache with absinthe. On the extreme side, TCHO even sponsored a tequila and chocolate pairing night. Ugh, I’ll pass on that one.

7. Revamped Packaging
Vosges is the queen of sexy packaging and, until this year, the only chocolate maker I know of with a picture of the owner/creator on the back. Patric Chocolate, based in Missouri, said farewell to its nondescript small brown bars and launched a splashy new wave-ish design with his photo on the cover. Yes, he has a purple face but I think that was the idea. And the titles of his bars almost sound like a teenager’s text message, as in “PBJ OMG.” I also want to point out Rococo’s beautiful new packaging, even though founder Chantal Coady neglected to include the name of the company on front of the bar!

8. Pies, etc.
Are you tired yet of hearing predictions on what will be the next cupcake? The 2010 consensus is the pie and chocolate will most definitely play a role. Mission Pie (so ahead of this trend) makes a yummy chocolate cream pie. But my favorite pie variation is the whoopie pie, the dense New England treat that is finally making its way to California. Susie Cakes is serving whoopie pies for birthday parties and even (believe it) weddings. When summer rolls in, be sure to check out Michael Recchiuti’s unique whoopie pies, laced with candied orange peel, coated in dark chocolate and filled with burnt caramel buttercream.

9. An Education
More and more local chocolate makers are opening their doors and kitchens for chocolate making classes. It’s not enough that we consume lots of gourmet chocolate; we want to learn how to make it! Coco-luxe charges $160/pp for a “Build Your Own Chocolate Bar” class and you’ll take home 6 tasty bars. (Birthday party blues? Kids 10 and up welcome) Saratoga Chocolates, Cocoa Delice and Charles Chocolate have all offered different types of classes in the past. At Gourmet Walks, you can combine a Chocolate Tour with a chocolate truffle making class from SOMA based Baking Arts. A full day of indulgence!

10. Newsworthy
The big story of 2010 is that the price of chocolate is expected to go up, way up. This will primarily affect candy bar companies who shall remain nameless – not the good stuff we regularly sample on our tours! And it is a reminder why it’s important to support small batch chocolate makers who are paying cacao workers fair wages or even sharing the profits. Closer to home, John Scharffenberger took a position as CEO of Hodo Soy’s gourmet organic tofu company, based in Oakland. (Psst…that is some good tofu!) And finally, TCHO is stirring up a battle vs. Guittard for a starring role on fine dessert menus around San Francisco and beyond.

To taste some of these trends, take a Chocolate Tour with Gourmet Walks! Offered Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays year round.

Salt & Chocolate

Salt and chocolate is a beautiful combination that is all the rage in the artisan chocolate scene. We must talk it up a fair amount on our Chocolate Tours, because a customer recently asked me if I've had my blood pressure checked. (My acupuncturist continues to marvel at my low blood pressure, so there!) Salt enhances the flavor of most foods, but is a particularly nice match with milk chocolate - cutting some of the sweetness and adding complexity.

When I was growing up, the only salt my mom used was the blue Morton brand with the little blonde umbrella girl. Now the world of gourmet salt is vast and almost overwhelming. Using kosher salt in any good recipe is just about a given, even for my mom. Sea salt was the first artisan salt to capture the attention of American chefs, especially those with French training. Artisan sea salts are typically natural and organic, harvested from the sea with very little treatment or refining. The mineral content and quality of the water is what creates a fine salt. The most common salt added to chocolate is fleur de sel, a type of grey sea salt. It is harvested by hand by "paludiers" in France and named for the aroma of violets created when the salt dries. Like wine, different regions produce fleur de sel of varying styles. The best known are Britanny and the Camargue, where you can horseback ride through the salt flats.

Chocolatiers also experiment with pink salts. Michael Mischer uses a Murray River sea salt, whose pink flakes come from the largest river in Australia. And Katrina Markoff of Vosges likes pink Himalayan salt mined from the Himalayan mountains in Tibet. So enough of the history lesson...What are some of my favorite salty sweet chocolate creations?

1) Charles Chocolate Cashew Bar
I love filled chocolates from Charles, but his widely available bars have never made it into my shopping cart, until now. Chuck Siegel has developed a new "Emeryville Collection" of chocolate bars exclusive to Whole Foods. I guess if you don't live in the Bay Area, Emeryville sounds exotic. Each bar features organic Straus Family cream and butter, nuts and, of course, salt. My favorite is the Cashew Bar, a blend of roasted cashews, fleur de sel and 41% milk chocolate.

2) Domori Latte Sal
This bar has made me an unofficial member of the Domori "Cult Cacao." Domori is an Italian chocolate maker that actually owns their own plantations and focuses solely on the quality of cacao - without adding vanilla or even soy lecithin. At 44% cacao, its flavor is deep and rich. Like most of the bars listed here, the addition of salt (fleur de sel here) is not overpowering and makes the chocolate even more memorably satisfying.

3) Vosges Goji Exotic Candy Bar
This Vosges milk chocolate bar is a tribute to the Himalayas - with pink Himalayan salt and the goji berry, both harvested from the mountains of Tibet. A staple of health food stores, the goji berry (also known as the wolfberry) is believed to be full of astounding nutritional benefits. But whether or not the goji berry will make us live until 252, like a famous goji loving Chinese emperor, I'll still love this Vosges bar.

4) Rococo Dark Sea Salt Artisan Bar
I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I loved Rococo even before trying the chocolate because of its beautifully unique packaging. Chantal Coady is the woman behind this British chocolate company. She specializes in unique flavor combinations (like basil and persian lime), but this simple sea salt and milk chocolate is one of her best. The bar is 37% cacao, all organic. The plastic wrapping displays various antique French molds Coady uses for her bars, and as a bonus, is re-sealable.

5) Michael Mischer Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Murray River Sea Salt
When customers on our Chocolate Tours say they like toffee, I won't hesitate to direct them to this bar. Toffee and chocolate is quite sweet, and so the addition of salt just makes sense. The bar is 38% cacao milk chocolate, made by hand in his small Oakland kitchen. Like all Michael Mischer bars, the clear packaging showcases the beauty of the bar within.

6) Recchiuti Fleur de Sel Caramel
Nearly every modern chocolatier makes a fleur de sel piece. But there are many ways to do this. Some are just too heavy handed with the salt for my taste. Others are quite goopy, when I prefer a thicker ganache center. That is why the Michael Recchiuti fleur de sel is my first choice when I'm looking for a salty sweet filled chocolate. It's a pretty little piece, enrobed in bittersweet chocolate and marbleized with Venezuelan white chocolate.

The San Francisco International Chocolate Salon

The words "Chocolate Salon" conjure up images of quiet sophistication to me - French men in suits and women in little black dresses taking measured bites of chocolate and making careful notes while the chocolatiers squirm, hoping for a fine review. Maybe somewhere this European fantasy of mine exists, but it wasn't to be last Sunday at the 2nd Annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon.

I love that Taste TV has brought the concept of a Chocolate Salon to San Francisco. Judging by the lines that snaked around the Fort Mason buildings all the way to the parking entrance, there is real interest among local chocolate lovers. On such an unusually warm day, hopeful attendees read books and socialized while waiting to be let into the two stuffy meeting rooms that were crammed almost shoulder to shoulder with people. No doubt the price was right - $20 for as much chocolate as you could snatch from over 40 fine local chocolatiers.

As a member of the tasting panel (not to mention 8 months pregnant!), I was grateful to skip the line and bring my Gourmet Walks tour guides with me. There were some unusual diversions - chocolate hair styling, chocolate body art - scheduled for Sunday morning, but I headed straight for the chocolate so I could somehow fulfill my duty of choosing winners for at least 15 different categories before my palate was hopelessly confused.

I met up with some old favorites, including several chocolatiers who were present at the Singles Chocolate Salon this fall: XOX, Sacred, the Xocolate Bar. But there were also many new participants, including big names like Scharffen Berger, Ghirardelli and Guittard. My favorite part was getting the chance to chat with many of the actual chocolatiers. I met the talented Christopher Elbow, whose Hayes Street shop is his first retail location to open outside of Kansas City. Art Pollard was there, of the much acclaimed Amano Chocolate, who won the "Best Dark" award both last year and this year. I enjoyed talking with Charles Siegel of Charles Chocolates, whose delicious chocolate covered matzoh I'll be sampling for tomorrow's seder. And finally, the founder of Choco-Luxe shared with me her plans to open a shop in the Haight this summer.

I sampled as much as I could, and made note of one smart strategy - two women brought tupperware containers to fully stock up on chocolate from just about every booth. Wise, but it just doesn't seem fair! In the midst of all the freebies, some of the chocolatiers were making sales, including Cosmic Chocolates and their sleeper hit: the Obama truffle. There is Obama's smiling face in blue cocoa butter, surrounding a creamy espresso and cognac ganache center. Very masculine - and no plans yet for a Hillary. Apparently Cosmic sees a big spike in orders every time a new primary hits. I was intrigued by a new company, Jade Chocolates, whose spectacular packaging is all organic and recyclable. They specialize in flavored chocolates using fine ingredients from Asia and the Pacific Islands. I tried the "Dragon's Breath" bar, composed of 65% cacao, roasted sesame seeds, lapang souchong and ground red chili. Too spicy for me, but fans of Katrina Markoff's Vosges bars may find these exotic bars appealing.

And the winners? It looks like Taste TV wisely wittled down the long list of categories to what is listed below. I found we agreed on everything except "Most Luxurious Chocolate" - a confusing category for the average chocolate enthusiast.

Best Dark Chocolate: Amano Artisan Chocolate
Best Milk Chocolate: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
Best Truffle: XOX Truffles
Most Luxurious Chocolate Experience: XOX Truffles
Best Dark Chocolate Bar: Amano Artisan Chocolate
Best Organic or Fair Trade Products: Sacred Chocolate
Most Gifted Chocolatier: Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate
Complimentary Mention: Trader Joe's Bottled Water
Not an Award but Needs to be Mentioned: Obama Chocolates by Cosmic Chocolates

I was glad to hear that Taste TV plans on another SF Chocolate Salon next year, but with a few improvements - including a bigger space, and maybe raising the entrance fee. In the meantime, how can I get myself and 3 kids to the Salon Du Chocolat in Paris this fall?