Demo by Yigit Pura

Scharffen Berger is currently running a contest, dubbed the Chocolate Adventure Contest.  The contest is simple: create your best sandwich cookie, using Scharfen Berger chocolate, and at least one of the twelve "adventure ingredients", and submit the recipe.  A panel of celebrity judges will pick a winner.

To kick off the contest, they had several local celebrity pastry chefs create and demonstrate their own entries for the contest.  Attendance was limited, RSVP required, and you could only pick one.  So many great sounding desserts, how to pick?  In the end, I choose the demo by Yigit Pura.  Yigit just opened his own pâtisserie inside of Macy's a few weeks ago, and I of course attended the opening.  I wasn't impressed by the macarons I tried at that event, but he did win Top Chef: Just Desserts, and I've heard so many people saying great things about other things they've tried from his shop, that I decided to give him another try.

I'm so glad I did!  Not only was this perhaps the tastiest dessert I've ever had at a demo, it was by far the most amusing.  It made me want to go watch Top Chef: Just Desserts to see if he was as much fun on that show as he was in person.  He told many jokes throughout the presentation, which were clearly prepared, but didn't seem scripted.  This guy could very easily have his own TV show if he wanted.  He was enthusiastic, energetic, engaging, entertaining ... the list just goes on and on.  I think he charmed every member of the audience, young or old, male or female.  Such a personality!

But back to the demo.  He used several different types of Scharffen Berger chocolate in his recipe, and for the "adventure ingredients" he picked cocoa nibs and chili pepper.  He created a three layer masterpiece, dubbed "Chloe's Pasilla Spiced Cookie Sandwiches".  See below for my full review of the cookies.  They were incredible.  So incredible, that one women two seats down from me had a strange look on her face after eating hers.  When he asked, "What, were you not impressed?" she blurted out in response: "No ... I think I just had an orgasm!"  Oh my.

Action shot of Yigit giving me seconds.  Photo from http://amyactually.blogspot.com.

In recovering from that unexpected response, he checked in on everyone else to make sure we had all received one.  Myself, and the women next to me, jokingly shook our heads and said "no".  I thought it was clear we were joking, as we were in the very front, and had been served first, along with orgasm-lady.  Being a fine gentleman, he rushed over, grabbed the tray of remaining ones, and came down into the audience to deliver us more.  I felt bad and quickly corrected and said we'd already gotten one, but he just laughed and gave us the tray.  The Macy's folks quickly put a stop to this as they couldn't actually give a second one to everyone.  Oh well, we sure lucked out.  Another blogger was in the row behind me, and got a great action shot of this.  You can see me eagerly going for seconds!

Now, I must get back to the pâtisserie to try out more of his treats.  He is clearly a talented guy!

Chloe’s Pasilla Spiced Cookie Sandwiches: Pasilla chili-infused Scharffen Berger chocolate ganache, cacao nib mudslides, chocolate shortbreads.

The cookie sandwiches were made up of 3 components.  The bottom was the cocoa nib mudslide.  The filling was the ganache.  And they were topped with chocolate shortbreads.

Every single layer of these was amazing and would have been delightful on their own.  And assembled into the sandwich?  Too many tasty things in one bite!

First, let's start with the mudslides.  When I originally read the description, I thought we were getting served a little alcoholic beverage with our cookies.  Nope!  The mudslides were the base layer, basically, an incredibly fudgey, almost gooey, brownie-like cookie.  They were my favorite component.  Inside the cookie was dried tart cherries, which went really well with the chocolate, which both flavored the cookie, and appeared as extra chunks.  Cherries and chocolate are such a good pairing, and the use of tart cherries rather than sweet ones just elevated the flavors that much more, as it balanced out the flavors, rather than just adding sweetness.  They were then rolled in the nibs, giving a delightful crunch.  These things were amazing.  I could have eaten an entire tray of them.

Inside was the ganache.  He described the process like making a custard, or really intense chocolate pudding.  In fact, he passed around a container of just the ganache for us to enjoy by the spoonful.  I can't imagine eating an entire bowl full of it on its own (duh, it would need some whipped cream!), but it was really smooth, really chocolately, and had a nice kick from the pasilla chilis.

And then on top, was a tiny little chocolate shortbread.  They were buttery and everything a shortbread should be.

The whole thing was dusted with powdered sugar.

These were really, really good.  Chocolate was clearly the theme, as every component was just screaming CHOCOLATE!  DARK CHOCOLATE!  NOMS!

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Chips from Food Should Taste Good

I first discovered Food Should Taste Good products at my office a few years ago.  Since then, they have been popping up all over the place, now offered at most cafes around town.

I like the idea behind them, trying to make chips and snack foods out of more wholesome ingredients, yet still taste good.  Unfortunately, I don't think they live up to their name.  They offer three product lines: tortilla chips, kettle chips, and crackers.  The tortilla chips are their signature line, and they have a slew of different flavors.  I haven't ever cared for them.  The kettle chips are better, but I wouldn't pick them over other kettle style chips.  I've never tried the crackers.

Tortilla Chips.

• Multigrain Tortilla Chips: Made with flax, sunflower and sesame seeds.  Interesting shape.  Hearty tasting, but just strange as tortilla chips.  Good salt level.
• Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips:  Meh, still corn chips but with mild sweet potato flavor.  Unhealthy and not actually tasty. [ Decent sweet potato flavor but still not great. ] [ Hearty tasting, but not much sweet potato.  Good dipped in bean dip. ] [ Nothing all that great, subtle sweet potato flavor. ] [ Kinda healthy tasting, but not actually.  Only slight sweet potato flavor.  Not nearly salty enough.  MEH. ] 
• Jalapeño Tortilla Chips: Lightly spicy, very salty, but at end of day, just tortilla chips [ Zesty, but not anything special. ]
• Cheddar Tortilla Chips: Not very cheddar-y, multigrain taste, meh. [ Nice and cheesy, hearty flavors from quinoa/flax/etc ]

Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.

These are made with flaxseed and quinoa, along with the blue corn.  I thought those ingredients would make them taste healthy, but they don't.  Which I guess makes sense, since they are insanely unhealthy, even compared to regular potato chips.

Anyway, I liked the blue corn flavor more than the basic multigrain chips, but I just don't like flax, and that flavor was too strong.  Good salt level though. 

Kettle Chips.

The kettle chips are more standard potato chips, although made with sweet potatoes.

• Original Sweet Potato Kettle Chips: Crispy, salty, decent sweet potato flavor, not bad. [ Very sweet potatoey, but dried out and not very salted. ]
• Barbecue Sweet Potato Kettle Chips:  Pretty good, best of the sweet potato chips. [ Crispy kettle chips, nice flavor from sweet potato, good bbq coating.  I like these.]
• Salt & Vinegar Sweet Potato Kettle Chips: Salty, nice.

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Donuts from Rolling Pin

After our adventure to falafel wraps, Ojan had a measly $1.47 left of GoPago credits, expiring mid-afternoon on Monday.  Not wanting to squander them, I looked around to see what we could get for ~$1.  There were lots of options: dolmeh, falafel, tons of chips, or ... donuts!  ZOMG.

I have a fondess for donuts that I don't all that often indulge in.  Ok, that isn't quite true, I have a fair number of donuts, but they tend to be fancy ones like candied bacon donuts with cheesecake filling and maple bourbon glaze from Baker & Banker, or foie gras donuts, with coffee cream, foie gras vaudovan caramel, and a brandied foie gras cereal milk shooter from Lafitte, or even whimsical versions, turned into burgers, like the fleurburger, with lightly spiced dark chocolate ganache, home-made beignets, and served with a banana flavored milk shake and frozen fennel ice cream “Pommes Frites” at Fleur De Lys, or the absolute best, fresh, tiny little maple bourbon glazed donuts at Cyrus.

But regular donuts?  Not something I encounter that often.  But a few weeks ago, someone had leftover donuts from an event at work, I think just from Happy Donuts, and I got rather hooked.  I had an embarrassing number of them.  Donuts have been on my mind ever since, so I was thrilled to see this option.

Unfortunately, I didn't begin my donut-quest early enough in the day.  The place that had donuts with great reviews had only a single donut left when we arrived, and it was just a plain cake donut.  Sigh.  A few blocks away, I knew that Diller's also had donuts, from Rolling Pin, which I'd heard good things about.  So we went there, hoping they'd still have some donuts left.

Indeed they did, although, only a few: just a plain cake donut, a glazed donut, or a french cruller.  None that I was particularly excited for.  I picked the cruller, but I wish I'd done some research beforehand, as it seems that most people love Rolling Pin, and dislike their crullers.  Whoops.

French Cruller.  $1.25.

The cruller just wasn't very good.  The dough was more eggy than normal, not resulting in the light airiness I associate with crullers.  Instead it felt really dense.  The coating was just a standard glaze.  It was sweet, it went ok with my coffee, but really, this was quite a disappointment.  Not good, would not get again.

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From Ales to Fromage Series at Piccino Cafe

You've rarely seen me write about beer in a post.  In fact, the only time I can remember posting about it was from my amazing dinner at Chez TJ, where one dish was paired with a beer.  Why?  The answer is simple: I'm just not a beer girl.  I haven't had that much exposure to it, but I've never liked it.  Most I really can't stand, while some I can tolerate, but  I can't think of a single situation in which I'd pick beer when given the choice of just about anything else.  Even in cases where people classically want a beer, I'd still prefer a cider.

Anyway, I was invited to a special Google+Local and Zagat event, the kickoff for the "From Ales to Fromage" series exploring beer and cheese pairings.  While not something I'd normally be interested in, I was intrigued by the idea of the food pairings.  While I may not appreciate beer, I certainly appreciate food, and if there was ever going to be something to make me like beer, food would be it.  I was interested to see if the food would bring out aspects of the beer that I'd never noticed before.  It also seemed like a good way to learn more about beer, and in particular, to get to drink some higher quality ones than those I generally encounter.

The theme for this first event was the farmhouse.  The beers were all saisons, which I learned were originally brewed on farmhouses to serve to farmhands during the harvest season.  We'd be pairing them with farmhouse cheeses.  And, the event was taking place at Piccino Cafe, a farm-inspired Italian restaurant in the Dogpatch.

I have been to Piccino once before, over a year ago.  I remember being fairly unimpressed at the time, but only because the cuisine was exactly like what I get at work every single day.  It was just more kale salads, roasted butternut squash, and other seasonal Californian cuisine.  And the warm apple tart was served cold, a travesty in my book!

Anyway.  The space is lovely, with large windows letting in tons of light.  The bathrooms are unique, with two separate bathrooms with only the toilets in them, and a big modern sink out the in common area.  There is seating at beautiful wooden tables and bar seating overlooking the bustling open kitchen.  Since we were a special event, we had one side of the restaurant set up with some big communal tables.

The event featured 3 courses of cheese, each paired with two different beers.  Before each pairing, there was a tableside presentation led by Master Cicerone Rich Higgins and beer expert Heather Castro, with each of them explaining the history, brewing process, and characteristics of one of the beers.  Their collaborator from Piccino, James Butler, would then explain the food pairing.

The speakers were all very informative, and I learned a lot about the beers.  Even though I still didn't love any of them, I enjoyed hearing the details and being educated.  The speakers were all clearly passionate about beer, and it really made me wish I could appreciate it more!

Another interesting aspect for me was trying a beer and food pairing.  I tried the beers on their own first, and then with the food.  There were certainly cases where I liked a beer more with the food than on its own, or vice versa.  This seemed true for almost everyone.  It makes sense, since I feel that way with wines, or even coffee, I'd just never thought of applying it to beer as well.

It was also fun to compare the beers.  They were all saisons, but were incredibly different, in their flavor profiles, their foaminess, their alcohol levels.  I clearly preferred some more than others.

I'd still never order one of these beers, and during the last two courses I desperately wanted some red wine to pair with my cheese, but I'm glad I had this experience.  And ZOMG, the cheese courses were amazing.

If any of this sounds interesting, you can attend other events in the series, tickets are available here: http://fromalestofromage.eventbrite.com.  Or, if you just want the beers and cheeses featured at Piccino, they'll be offering them for the next couple weeks.  You might want to call first to ensure availability.  If you like soft cheeses and interesting pairings, I highly recommend the final two courses.  They were the best cheese courses I've ever had.

Cevrìn herb-crusted goat cheese, pluot and plum chutney, pomegranate vinegar, toasted hazelnuts.

The first cheese was a goat cheese.  I do not like goat cheese, but this was fairly mild in its goatyness, so it wasn't too offensive.  It was coated in some lovely flower leaves, and served with a pluot and plum chutney.  Even though it was labelled a chutney, I expected it to be more jam-like, but it was indeed nicely spiced like a chutney.  It was sweet, but also balanced by some tartness, presumably from the addition pomegranate vinegar.  The hazelnuts added a good crunchy component.

This was my least favorite of the cheeses, but I liked it more than I expected to, given that it was a soft goat cheese.  The cheese, the chutney, and the nuts really were a nice, balanced pairing.

It came paired with the Goose Island “Sofie” and Hen House Brewing “Saison”.

The Sofie was my favorite of all of the beers I tried.  It was light and clean, with a slight sweetness to it.  It also had some subtle citrus tones, which came from the fact that it was aged in white wine barrels along with dried orange peel.  I'm still unlikely to ever order it, but it was the best of the evening for me, both on its own, and as a pairing.

The Hen House I did not care for.  It was bitter, sour, and very foamy.  My 5th pick of the night.  It seemed even more sour when I had it with the food, I think the tartness of the chutney just didn't mix well with the beer for me.

House made sea salt crackers.

On the side we had crackers, a more simple version of Piccino's regular seeded crackers.  They were crispy, with big salt crystals on them, and good for spreading the goat cheese in particular.

Robiola Due Latti, Marshall Farms orange blossom honey,coriander caramel, salted puffed rice.

The next cheese was a robiola.  I love robiolas, and soft creamy cheeses in general, so it is no surprise that I loved this.

Dish of the night for me, and perhaps the best cheese course I've ever had in my life.  Even the dessert girl I am can imagine ordering this for dessert rather than a traditional dessert!

The cheese was perfectly ripe, oozing with creaminess. It was mild, as was the rind, which added a little additional earthiness.  It was plated along with some honey and caramel.  I didn't taste the coriander in the caramel, although one of my tablemates did.  The honey and caramel were both sweet and thick, and an absolute delight to drag a chunk of cheese through.  The puffed rice added an awesome crunchy contrast.  A bite containing all of these elements was really incredible, with the creaminess from the cheese, the stickiness from the sauces, and then the contrasting texture of the rice.

A serious home run, and I wish all cheese courses could be this much fun!

It came paired with Almanac Beer Co. “Honey Saison” and North Coast Brewing “Le Merle”.

The Le Merle was my second favorite of the night, but the Honey Saison was my least favorite.  It was very biter, and even though it was brewed with the same orange blossom honey that we had on the plate, I didn't get any sweetness from it at all.  Only ... beeryness.  Whatever it is that I don't like about beer was very present in this one.

Le Délice Mon Sire, cocoa nib and macadamia nut brittle, orange-infused chocolate glacé.

And finally ... dessert!  (As if the last one wasn't dessert like enough ...)

Le Délice Mon Sire is a cow's milk triple cream, amped up even more by being infused with crème fraîche.  I adore triple creams, and this was no exception.  It wasn't as soft and runny as the robiola, but I loved the mouthfeel of it, so smooth and creamy.  The flavor was much stronger than the previous course, more earthy and nutty, particularly in the rind.  Those aspects were further brought out by the macadamia nuts in the brittle.  The brittle bridged the gap between the cheese and the chocolate.  I don't think I've ever had cheese and chocolate exactly at the same time before.  Sure, I've been to plenty of wine events with cheese and chocolate, but you don't normally dunk your cheese in the chocolate.  But ... it worked!  The chocolate was not very sweet, it was a bitter dark chocolate, with some orange undertones.  The brittle was the sweetest component, but it also had bitter cocoa nibs inside of it, connecting the chocolate glacé to the rest of the dish and the macadamia connected the nutty cheese.  I was shocked by how well this came together.  Cheese course and dessert course in one!

It was my second favorite dish of the night, but a very close second, and again, I can't help but think that if more cheese courses were anything like this, you'd see more ordering them!  Quite a fun and delicious dish.

It came with Logsdon Farmhouse Ales “Seizoen” and Upright Brewing “Seven”.

These were both middle of the road for me.  Not as bitter as the two that I hadn't liked in the previous rounds, but not as light and clean as the two I liked more.  The Seven was better, my third pick of the night.  I liked the Logsdon at first, but then it had a bitter finish that I didn't care for, making it my forth pick overall.

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New Blog Format - Daily Themes

You may have noticed that I've been posting a little bit differently lately.  Rather than posting right as things happen, I've been following daily themes.  I'm liking this new format, as it forces me to be a bit more creative.  After all, I couldn't just review foie gras forever!  Obviously, if I don't have content for a given day that matches the theme or if I get very excited about a post, I might stray from this, but here is my plan:

• Sunday: Chocolate day!  This one I've been doing for a long time already, and will be reviews of different chocolatiers, or occasionally, candy makers.
• Monday: Monday night special events or food trucks.
• Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (or other Mexican) or burgers.
• Wednesday: Formal restaurant reviews, what this blog started out as.
• Thursday: Ice cream/froyo/other frozen treats or baked goods.
• Friday: Packaged foods: chips/popcorn/bars/drinks.
• Saturday: Cooking demos or artisans markets.

Let me know what you think!

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Even more Rubio's!

As you may have realized by now, I have a thing for Rubio's, ever since I discovered it on my first visit when I was inspired by a free birthday taco coupon.  Seriously, the most successful freebie ever!

I've really enjoyed everything I have had there, and the quality for the price point just can't be beat.  It is completely amusing to me that I have gotten so into Rubio's, given that I first visited at a time when I was eating at high end restaurants about 5 nights a week!  I am so glad I have found this place, and will continue to return many more times.  I still have a number of menu items I can't wait to try out!

Since I've reviewed the restaurant so many times at this point, I'll skip the basics and just focus on the new taco I tried this time.  And since I've reviewed it so many times, I'm going to go ahead and give it the status that only one other restaurant on my blog has ... its own label (I hope Alexander's isn't offended by this!).

This time, I visited on a Tuesday evening, which is when they have their special Taco Tuesdays, and offer their signature fish taco for only $1.50.  I think the value is already amazing, and the $1.50 taco is just mind blowing to me.  Anyway, presumably due to Taco Tuesday, the restaurant was much busier this time, with almost every table occupied.  On previous visits my food was brought to me at my table, but this time they used the pagers, and I had to pick it up at the counter when it was ready.  Otherwise, service was about the same, and my taco was ready just about as soon as I had filled up my little salsa containers, gotten utensils, and settled into a seat.  Fast food, but clearly being freshly prepared.

Mango Habanero Pacific Mahi Mahi Taco.  $3.99.

This time, I decided to try out the mahi mahi, one of the only seafood choices I hadn't yet explored.  It was offered in three forms; like the salmon or tilapia you could have it grilled or blackened, but they also had a special mango habanero version.  The later seemed the most interesting, as the blackened version was basically the same as the blackened tilapia I had on my last visit, albeit with a slightly different fish


The menu describes it as "Pacific mahi mahi seasoned in olive oil and garlic then grilled on an authentic comal and topped with mango pineapple salsa, a smoky red chile sauce made with guajillo, ancho and red jalapeño chiles, along with crema and serrano cabbage slaw. Served on a warm flour tortilla and garnished with a slice of lime."

I'd seen most of these components before, in different combinations in my previous visits.

The flour tortilla was again warm and soft, but it was a little bit mushy and gummy.  I didn't care for it this time, but I'd really enjoyed it on my previous visits.

When the taco arrived, I smelt a fishy aroma.  I was immediately concerned, and my seafood snob radar went off.  But, the moment I tasted it, my fears went away.  It wasn't fishy at all.  The mahi was a generous sized piece.  It was cooked nicely, resulting in a firm but still soft texture.  The filet seemed thicker on this than the tilapia, and the fish was a little bit more "meaty".  I liked it more than the tilapia.  It was well seasoned.

The serrano cabbage slaw I'd seen on my tilapia taco as well, and it was again fantastic.  Fresh, crispy, with some zing to it.  Best filler I've seen in any tacos thus far.

But what really made this taco was the mango pineapple salsa.  Like everything else Rubio's serves, it seemed fresh.  The mango and pineapple were ripe, sweet, delicious.  Cut into the perfect size pieces so that they were full of flavor, but not overwhelming.  The red chili sauce added some serious heat to it, just enough that I really felt like I was eating Mexican food, but the sweetness of the fruit salsa and the creaminess of the crema balanced it out nicely.  A bit of heat when you took a bite, but it never lingered.

The lime garnish was a nice touch, to add a little more zing to the taco, although they have limes (and lemons) in the salsa bar, so it is easy to enhance any taco this way.

Everything in this taco just came together perfectly.  Like the other tacos I've really enjoyed at Rubio's, the salsas and sauces made all the difference, just amping things up a lot.  I think this may have been my favorite taco so far, but I can still dream of a better one: everything from this one - the mango pineapple salsa, the sauces, the serrano slaw, but with shrimp instead of the mahi.  I wonder if I could order it?  "I'll have the Mango Habenero Mahi Mahi Taco, with uh, shrimp instead of mahi" ...

This was one of their most expensive tacos, at a whopping $3.99.  It was well worth the price, and I am still somewhat shocked at how cheap it is, given the quality of the ingredients.  A large piece of fish and ripe fresh fruit?  I don't understand.  I'm so glad I found this place!

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Nick's Wheely Good Breakfast

I don't seek out food trucks often, but I discovered the Nick's Wheely Good Breakfast food truck at an event at work.  Even though it wasn't morning, I was drinking a coffee at the time, and when I saw the menu of breakfast items, I was instantly drawn in.  I love breakfast foods, and pairing with my coffee seemed like a good enough excuse to go for breakfast food rather than lunch food.

I'm glad I did.  Even though they were sold out of my first few choices, and the egg to complete my breakfast sandwich, this was still really good.  Hands down the best food truck at the event!  I'd happily return!

Chicken Apple Biscuit Sandwich: Seared Chicken Apple Sausage, Pickled Apples, Aioli, Arugala, on a Homemade Cheddar Biscuit.  $6.

This was really good!  What a surprise.

The biscuit was very good, with a tang from the buttermilk and cheesiness from the cheddar.  It was not too oily.  The arugula was crisp and fresh.  There was a lot of it, but I really liked it and thought it added a great crunch and lightness.  The aioli was creamy and delicious.  The pickled apples were incredibly tart, and paired surprisingly well with the biscuit.  The sausage was good, but not as standout as the other components.

These were all quality ingredients, prepared well, with great flavors.  It was all very good and came together perfectly.

They were unfortunately sold out of eggs when I arrived, otherwise this would have also had a fried egg on it.  I can imagine it would have been even better with the egg.

$6 price was very reasonable for quality deliciousness like this.  I'd certainly get again.

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L.A. Burdick Chocolate

Every year, my mother still sends me a box of goodies for Halloween.  Last year, it contained some candy corn, and mediocre generic chocolate.  I think she must have gotten the memo that her daughter has turned into a chocolate snob, as this year, the box contained chocolates from L.A. Burdick!

Burdick is a small chocolatier located in Walpole, NH, although they also have cafes in Cambridge, MA and NYC, which is where they are more widely known.  In particular, people know them for their amazingly rich hot chocolates, available in several strengths, which are perfect for New England winter days!

I've also really enjoyed some of their truffles in the past.

Assorted Mice.  $32.

The first box I opened was impressive looking.  It was a wooden box, complete with a wax seal and ribbon on it.  I opened up the box to reveal 9 little mice staring up at me.

The mice are one of their signature items.  Cute little things, with silky (non-edible) tails.  The ears are made from almonds.  The box contained three varieties, all filled with differently flavored dark chocolate ganache:

• Milk Mouse: "Milk and dark chocolate ganache with espresso, covered with milk chocolate and almonds".  Tasting notes: A nice creamy milk chocolate shell, filled with a very creamy ganache.  I did not taste any coffee flavor however.  The almonds were a surprise; I thought they were just a gimick, used for the ears, but they actually had a great flavor and added a nice crunch.  The non-edible tail on the other hand was just annoying.  Why have it in there?
• White Mouse: "Dark chocolate ganache with cinnamon, covered with white chocolate and almonds".  Tasting notes: The white chocolate wasn't very good, very waxy.  The ganache seemed milk chocolate, not dark chocolate.  It had a grainy consistency, as if perhaps it had been heat exposed during shipping?  There was some spicing, which was a nice touch.
• Dark Mouse: " Dark chocolate ganache with freshly squeezed orange juice, covered with dark chocolate and almonds".  Tasting notes: A nice dark chocolate shell, creamy milk chocolate ganache that had some orange undertones.  I don't love orange, so that somewhat ruined it for me, but overall, still decent.

These are a fairly high quality, unique, signature product, but at $3.50 each, a little pricy.

Dark chocolate dipped crystalized ginger.  $26.

These were exactly what you'd expect.

Candied crystalized ginger with a zing to it, but lots of sugar coating.  Half dipped in decent dark chocolate.  I didn't think chocolate and ginger were a great combination however, the bitter chocolate just didn't complement the bold ginger flavor.

$26 for only a handful of pieces seemed very expensive.

Chocolate Covered Pates de Fruits.  $20.  Top layer.

• Red currant with milk chocolate coating: All I tasted was sweetness.  I didn't taste the milk chocolate at all.  And the flavor of the pate de fruit was rather indistinguishable, just sweet.  Second to least favorite.
• Apricot with dark chocolate coating: The dark chocolate was really quite good.  Bitter, smooth, with some depth to it.  It was way too strong for the pate de fruits however, and completely overwhelmed the apricot flavor.  Not that I really minded, as I enjoyed the chocolate quite a bit!  My favorite of these.

Chocolate Covered Pates de Fruits.  Bottom layer.

• Rhubarb with white chocolate coating:  I didn't like the white chocolate at all.  It had that nasty fake taste that gives white chocolate a bad reputation.  I also thought the filling was apricot based on the color, but couldn't really distinguish it as anything.  I looked it up online later and saw that it was rhubarb.  Perhaps that explains why I didn't like this, as I can't stand rhubarb!  Least favorite.
• Raspberry with dark chocolate coating: Nice smooth dark chocolate, nice raspberry filling.  Had seeds in it even.  Second favorite

Overall these weren't that great.  I wouldn't get again.  And at over $1 each, definitely over priced.

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