If you've ever been to the Ferry Building, you've probably seen Recchiuti Confections. It is a chocolate shop, offering up an assortment of truffles, bars, and other treats. If you are lucky, as you pass by, they'll offer a sample of their chocolate fudge or caramel sauces. When they ask, "chocolate or caramel?" the correct answer is "yes". Their goods are also sold all over town.
Their products certainly aren't bad, but they also just aren't that great. I know some of my friends will seriously disagree with me here, as they love the place. The chocolate is quality, sourced from E. Guittard, El Rey, and Valrhona. Their combinations range from really creative, to higher quality takes on classics like Whoppers and York Peppermint Patties. I always really want to like their stuff, but somehow, it never impresses, certainly not worth the cost.
“Fragrant star anise and crushed pink peppercorn infused in semi-sweet chocolate ganache. Enrobed in pure milk chocolate and tipped with Venezuelan white chocolate.”
Yup, this tasted like pink peppercorn. Different for sure, but really just not what I want in my chocolate.
“Delicate jasmine blossoms and green tea leaves infused in extra-bitter chocolate ganache. Enrobed in pure milk chocolate and marbleized with 65% bittersweet chocolate.”
This one was really interesting. The dark chocolate ganache was creamy and intense, yet it was balanced by a very lovely jasmine flavor. I didn’t taste the green tea, but the jasmine was most certainly present. Not overbearing. A very fascinating, successful, combination.
"Michael Recchiuti’s signature piece. Dark, smoky caramel blended with 70% dark chocolate ganache. Enrobed in our semisweet chocolate."
"Michael Recchiuti’s signature piece. Dark, smoky caramel blended with 70% dark chocolate ganache. Enrobed in our semisweet chocolate."
I've had this chocolate many times, as it is their signature piece, and I never quite know how to feel about it.
On one hand, its not a bad piece. The chocolate shell is really quite smooth, dark, although a touch sweet.
But the filling is never what I expect it to be. Because the caramel is a dark caramel, and it is blended with the 70% dark chocolate ganache, it is hard to recognize it as what I think of as "caramel". That doesn't mean it is bad, just, that my brain never quite understands what is going on. The filling is very, very smooth, it is thick, and it is sweet, but not in a caramel way, if that makes sense.
So it is fine, fairly unique I guess, but I don't find myself wanting more of these.
"Michael Recchiuti’s signature piece. Dark, smoky caramel blended with 70% dark chocolate ganache. Enrobed in our semisweet chocolate."
I've had this chocolate many times, as it is their signature piece, and I never quite know how to feel about it.
On one hand, its not a bad piece. The chocolate shell is really quite smooth, dark, although a touch sweet.
But the filling is never what I expect it to be. Because the caramel is a dark caramel, and it is blended with the 70% dark chocolate ganache, it is hard to recognize it as what I think of as "caramel". That doesn't mean it is bad, just, that my brain never quite understands what is going on. The filling is very, very smooth, it is thick, and it is sweet, but not in a caramel way, if that makes sense.
So it is fine, fairly unique I guess, but I don't find myself wanting more of these.
"A little salty, a little sweet and a whole lot of crunch and snap! We've reinvented a traditional European confection with our Cacao Nib and Fleur de Sel Mendiants. Our custom semisweet chocolate blend is topped with crunchy caramelized cacao nibs and finished with a touch of fleur de sel."
"Delicately tart Key lime juice kisses each pear crisp bathed in smooth, dark chocolate."
"Fresh orange peel is candied in-house and painstakingly cut by hand before being enrobed in smooth semisweet chocolate."
Their products certainly aren't bad, but they also just aren't that great. I know some of my friends will seriously disagree with me here, as they love the place. The chocolate is quality, sourced from E. Guittard, El Rey, and Valrhona. Their combinations range from really creative, to higher quality takes on classics like Whoppers and York Peppermint Patties. I always really want to like their stuff, but somehow, it never impresses, certainly not worth the cost.
Truffles
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| Star Anise & Pink Peppercorn. |
Yup, this tasted like pink peppercorn. Different for sure, but really just not what I want in my chocolate.
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| Spring Jasmine Tea. |
This one was really interesting. The dark chocolate ganache was creamy and intense, yet it was balanced by a very lovely jasmine flavor. I didn’t taste the green tea, but the jasmine was most certainly present. Not overbearing. A very fascinating, successful, combination.
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| Burnt Caramel. |
This is their signature item, but to me, it is just another dark chocolate with caramel ganache. Nothing stood out in particular - the dark chocolate coating is fine, but not particularly flavorful or bitter. The filling is smooth, but the burnt caramel flavor is pretty subtle, particularly the “burnt” part. Would not purchase.
Update Reviews: [ Again, do not really taste the caramel. Chocolate is nice and smooth. ] [ Again, unremarkable. Not bad, not good. ]
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| Burnt Caramel. |
I've had this chocolate many times, as it is their signature piece, and I never quite know how to feel about it.
On one hand, its not a bad piece. The chocolate shell is really quite smooth, dark, although a touch sweet.
But the filling is never what I expect it to be. Because the caramel is a dark caramel, and it is blended with the 70% dark chocolate ganache, it is hard to recognize it as what I think of as "caramel". That doesn't mean it is bad, just, that my brain never quite understands what is going on. The filling is very, very smooth, it is thick, and it is sweet, but not in a caramel way, if that makes sense.
So it is fine, fairly unique I guess, but I don't find myself wanting more of these.
|
| Burnt Caramel. |
I've had this chocolate many times, as it is their signature piece, and I never quite know how to feel about it.
On one hand, its not a bad piece. The chocolate shell is really quite smooth, dark, although a touch sweet.
But the filling is never what I expect it to be. Because the caramel is a dark caramel, and it is blended with the 70% dark chocolate ganache, it is hard to recognize it as what I think of as "caramel". That doesn't mean it is bad, just, that my brain never quite understands what is going on. The filling is very, very smooth, it is thick, and it is sweet, but not in a caramel way, if that makes sense.
So it is fine, fairly unique I guess, but I don't find myself wanting more of these.
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| Cacao Nib and Fleur de Sel Mendiant. |
This is simple piece, but actually my favorite.
Very smooth dark chocolate. Touch of crunch from the nibs on top. Hint of sea salt to amp it up.
Simple, classic, but well executed.
Simple, classic, but well executed.
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- Honeycomb Malt: “Organic barley malt infusion, blended in a white chocolate ganache and highlighted with the sweet smokiness of house-made honeycomb. “ Tasting notes: The white chocolate was not too sweet at all (often a problem with white chocolates, they tend to just be sweet and have nothing more to them). The honeycomb was a good flavor and left a very enjoyable honey flavored sweet aftertaste. I wouldn’t purchase this, but it was good for what it was.
- Lemon Verbena: “Fresh lemon verbena infusion blended in extra-bitter chocolate ganache. Enrobed in pure bittersweet chocolate.” Tasting notes: The chocolate was decently dark, but I didn’t taste the lemon verbena infusion.
- Force Noir: “Silky 70% extra-bitter chocolate ganache infused with whole vanilla bean. Enrobed in pure bittersweet chocolate.” Tasting notes: Very creamy filling, quite good.
Bars
- Semisweet: Tasting notes: just dark chocolate, nothing standout.
Fruits
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| Key Lime Pear. |
I didn't really taste the lime in here. The pear was super thinly sliced, and I loved the crunch. High quality dark chocolate. I liked this quite a bit and easily polished off the box.
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| Candied Orange Peel. |
Unlike the limes, this had a very strong orange flavor. It was also soft, rather than crispy. I think would pair beautifully with a glass of scotch!
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Chocolate Covered Dried Cherry
"Dried Michigan tart cherries drenched in dark chocolate with a light dusting of cocoa powder. "
Very flavorful tart cherry inside. Good quality bitter dark chocolate. Both the cherry and chocolate flavors come through really nicely, neither overpowers, really good ratio of chocolate/fruit. Yum yum yum!
My favorite of their pieces.
Snacks
- Malted Revolution: "Crunchy malted cookie center, hand coated with layers of our custom dark milk chocolate blend. An accent of Fleur de Sel is added before a final revolution of chocolate." Tasting notes: The center is much more crisp than a Whooper. Likewise, it didn't dissolve on the tongue in the fun way a Whooper does. The center was far more malty than a Whooper. The dark chocolate is obviously higher quality than the chocolate on a Whooper, but it actually doesn’t work as well. I didn’t pick up on the fluer de sel at all. This piece was lost on me, even though I really wanted to like it.
- Peppermint Thin: “Organic Willamette Valley peppermint drenched in our custom blend of 64% semisweet chocolate.”. Tasting notes: This was very thin, with about an equal amount of chocolate as filling. As a result, it wasn’t minty enough for me. The majority flavor was the chocolate, with the filling giving a nice creaminess but not much more. I haven’t had a York peppermint patty in years, so I can’t compare, but I remember them having much more filling and being more minty.
- Peanut Butter Pearls: “Pearls of creamy organic peanut butter and dark milk chocolate with a crispy center. ”. Tasting notes: The milk chocolate was nice and creamy, but there wasn’t much peanut butter flavor. Or at least, not nearly enough for me!
Sweets
- Pear-Lime Pâtes de Fruits: Covered in large amount of sugar. Decent flavor, nice consistency. I don’t love pâtes de fruits in general, but this was good for what it was.
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