Lake Champlain Chocolates

Update Review, 2020-2021

When I visited my family in New Hampshire during the summer of 2020, to escape from the COVID world of the Bay Area, I had a fair amount of time to explore local offerings at the grocery store. It was there when browsing that I saw an old favorite, Lake Champlain Chocolates on the shelves.  I took the "opportunity" to try out some new items, since my last review was back in 2013!

Snack Bites

"Snackable chocolate treat."

So, uh, isn't *all* chocolate "snackable?"  Not the most descriptive tag line!

What these are is disks of chocolate, 13⁄8" diameter and 1⁄4" thick, in a resealable bag.  They come in both milk and dark chocolate, and have mix-ins.

The form factor *was* very snackable, I'll give them that, the perfect size to grab and munch, about the size of a Hershey miniature, but, round.

Crunchy Quinoa & Milk Chocolate.
38% Cocoa.

"One bite of these sweet, crispy milk chocolate snack bites and you'll be hooked! The combination of creamy milk chocolate and the satisfying crunch of toasted quinoa is so delightful, you won't be able to eat just one… which is why we put them in a convenient snackable bag. Our milk chocolate bites are perfect for everyday snacking, or sharing! Be sure to try our Dark Chocolate Snack Bites too!"

I tried the milk chocolate version to start, 38% milk chocolate.  It was smooth and creamy chocolate, a good quality chocolate base.  There was a little crunch to the pieces from quinoa, and that is all there was to them: milk chocolate + quinoa.  Sorta like a Nestlé Crunch or Hershey Krackle I guess, but, with quinoa to be a bit more on trend and better for you?

These were fine, but not remarkable.  I didn't find myself craving them.  Better if I kinda let them slowly melt in my mouth. My mother enjoyed them.

Crunchy Quinoa & Milk Chocolate.
57% Cocoa.

"If you are in the mood for something sweet, satisfying, and delicious, these Dark Chocolate Snack Bites are just what you're looking for! A healthy treat with the crispy crunch of toasted quinoa combined with irresistible, rich dark chocolate — so tasty, you won't want to share! So, go ahead, enjoy some me time and have yourself an oh-so-extraordinary chocolate moment! "

Next up, the dark chocolate version, only 57% dark.

Same form factor, several bites in a disk, slight crunch from quinoa.  The dark chocolate was a sweet style, the kind I always refer to as "Hershey's Special Dark", as that was my first experience of dark chocolate and my baseline, and, well, just not the kind of dark chocolate I go for.  It is just too sweet for me in general, if I want dark chocolate, I want legit, fudgy, dark chocolate!

I liked a touch more than the milk chocolate I think, but again, just not quite the product for me.  They were better, at least to me, just like the milk chocolate when I let them more slowly kinda melt in my mouth.

Bars

Milk Chocolate.
38% Cocoa.

"Snap off a square of pure milk chocolate, and rediscover the sweet magic you loved as a kid. Every bite melts just so - not too fast, not too slow. An indulgence you can feel good about sharing, made from all organic milk chocolate certified by Quality Assurance International. So go ahead, take the break you deserve. And taste the chocolate bar crafted for the kid in every one of us."

This is a very, very good milk chocolate bar.

Very smooth, very creamy, just, really remarkable quality milk chocolate. One of the best I've had.

[ Update Review: I've had it several more times, and every time been quite pleased with it.  For a milk chocolate, this is lovely. ]

Original Review, January 2013

While visiting my family for the holidays, my mother received a gift from one of her patients: chocolates from Lake Champlain Chocolates.  They are a local chocolate maker, from Vermont.  And since my mom can't have chocolate, and I love trying out new chocolate, I gladly took them off her hands.

They make a large assortment of bars (including single-origins), truffles, caramels, hot chocolates, etc, but I've only tried the basic milk and dark chocolate.  When I went to write up this post, I discovered my notes from last year, and my opinions are fairly different.  I wonder if they changed their recipes?

• Dark Chocolate: 54%.  Tasting notes: Very smooth, almost too sweet though.  Wish it were darker.  Notes from last year's batch:  Nice bitter flavor.  [ A little creamy, nice bitter flavor, not super complex but not bad at all ] [ really intense flavor, really nice ] [ Nice snap, complex, but bitter.  Don’t like. ] [ Not complex, bitter, crumble, meh ]
• Milk Chocolate: 34%.  Tasting notes: Fairly creamy, but it seemed like it had been tempered incorrectly.  Notes from last year's batch:  Creamy, decent but strange mouth feel. [ Very creamy, smooth milk chocolate ] [ Creamy, good milk chocolate ]

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Tricolore Caffe & Pizzeria

Tricolore Caffe is a small cafe on the outskirts of North Beach, slightly off the beaten path, and seemingly never crowded with tourists.  Open weekdays only, for lunch, offering up soups, salads, pizza, and paninis mostly, although they do have some pasta entrees as well.  Not really the sort of place I'd seek out,  as my office provided lunch for me for years, and I'm not much of a pizza person (I have my moments of course, don't get me wrong!).  But 15 months of working from home got me looking around for more options, and thus, one day, I discovered this gem.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]

My orders were via Allset or Ritual, all done with ease, and ready on time.  Staff were always friendly.  I never stayed to eat there, but they have a couple cute tables on the sidewalk, and a few inside.

I enjoyed every experience, and highly recommend.

Pizza

I never, ever would have sought out pizza at Tricolore Caffe & Pizzeria.  No offense, but, a random cafe on the outskirts of North Beach, mostly slinging paninis and salads, with some pre-made pizzas up front ... not really a "destination" pizza place.  Even after discovering, and *loving*, the tiramisu (more on that soon), I didn't think of trying the pizza.  Pizza is offered by the pie or slice.

But one day, I ordered swiss muesli in advance through Allset.  And  ... they didn't have it.  I was offered a cookie, a slice of pizza, or a side salad instead, since they weren't sure how to cancel the transaction.  And thus, randomly I settled for pizza. 

Sitting up at the counter was a handful of pizzas, sold by the slice.  There was a chicken and pepperoni one, another with pepperoni, or a vegetarian option that I opted for.  Tricolore makes about a dozen specialty pizzas, ranging from the classic margherita to an upscale Hawaiiana Fresca with prosciutto instead of the more common ham.  Of course you can customize your own as well.

I was rather shocked by how much I enjoyed the pizza (heated up later at home), and later returned for another slice.

All pizza is "made fresh with healthy blended wheat crust", and I'll be honest - it doesn't look particularly great.  It is definitely a rather unique style, not a thin crust, not a NY style, no char to it, no cornmeal dusting.  Just, something a bit different, more like bread, not a pizza dough style I normally go for, but it works.  It doesn't scream "healthy whole wheat", but it has a slight heartiness to it, and a great chew.  It is a slice that eats well, in that it bends over just right, and has just enough integrity to not fall apart, and hold the toppings well.

Speaking of toppings, they are generously applied, all slices just loaded up with fresh toppings, well distributed.  More on those soon.

Vegetarania Slice.  $4.95.

"Artichoke hearts, sautéed spinach and mushrooms."

The first slice I had was the "Vegetarania", with spinach, mushrooms, and artichokes, a bit more exciting than your standard veggie pizza of peppers and onions, and not a combo I would normally have picked.

It actually was fairly satisfying, as I was craving pizza.   I liked the mushrooms and spinach, but meh to artichokes (just not a big fan), although they go great with spinach and mushrooms in particular.  I loved how loaded up with toppings it was, and how fresh and ... nearly healthy it tasted with all the veggies.

The sauce was great, flavorful, and reminded me of Papa Ginos ... which I haven't had since I was about 10 years old, but do remember fondly.  Slightly sweet.

There was plenty of cheese, well melted.

So, overall, a quite decent slice of pizza, even if not the style I normally go for, nor toppings I'd pick.

***+.

Quattro Stagioni Slice. $4.95.

"Four seasons; capers, prosciutto, artichokes, sautéed mushrooms."

The next time I visited, I ordered ahead using Ritual, and was able to select a slice from their full line up of specialty pizzas.  I went for the Quattro Stagioni, which I learned means "Four Seasons", with 4 types of vegetables on top, each representing a different season - e.g. artichokes for spring, mushrooms for fall, etc.  I selected it because I was interested in the prosciutto, and had liked the mushrooms so much before.

It too was a great pizza, again, loaded with toppings.  I again really enjoyed the sauce, and the eating experience.   I liked the briny flavor from the capers (why don't I put them on pizza more often?!) but combined with the prosciutto it was a bit too salty.

The prosciutto was little chunks, I guess fancier than ham or bacon, but it tasted a little too porky and was a bit too chewy for my taste.  And, I still don't care for artichokes.  I did really like the mushrooms.

A slight negative is that the foil was applied when it was hot, I think, and thus the cheese and some toppings stuck to it, leaving bare spots when I opened my slice up.

But still a nice slice, ***.  

If I were building my own, I think I'd go with spinach, mushrooms, capers, and caramelized onions.

Dessert

I'm obviously a big dessert girl, so it should come as no surprise that I originally discovered Tricolore Caffe for ... yup, the dessert.  I saw the tiramisu on Allset when browsing around for goodies, tried it, and was astounded by how good it was.

Besides the (housemade) tiramisu, Tricolore also has cookies and biscotti, but those are purchased from a whole sale bakery (City Bakery) instead, and I haven't tried any.

Tiramisu. $4.50. (February 2021).

"Coffee-flavored dessert with mascarpone cheese topped with cocoa."

My eyes went wide when I got my first slice.  Now *THAT* is a slice of cake!!!

It was actually very, very good.

They use lady fingers instead of cake, so slightly crispy, and which gives a nice crunch to it.  Nicely soaked too, with espresso flavor coming through.

The cream was thick, creamy, pudding-like.  Delicious.  On top was a generous amount of cocoa, and sugar, which formed an almost chocolatey crust ... which sorta seemed like it was dried out, but I liked the texture it added.

I really truly enjoyed this, and I'm not usually one who is crazy about tiramisu (I like it, don't get me wrong, but its never something I rave about).

****, the best I've had in memory.

Tiramisu. $4.50. (March 2021).

A month later, and suddenly, the craving for tiramisu hit.  I knew immediately where I was going.

I was thrilled to see yet another ridiculously generous slice handed over.  I mean, really.  This is easily 2 large servings, and splitting it 3 ways wouldn't leave anyone feeling deprived.  

It was still fabulous.  I loved the very rich cream.  This one seemed perhaps fresher, the cocoa-sugar mix on top not as crusty, the ladyfingers a bit softer, and it had more of a soak to it.

****.

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BonBon NYC

Things I adore: ice cream & licorice.  Things I never thought of putting together: ice cream & licorice.  That is, until I visited Bon Bon, in New York City.

My Dreams Come True.

Bon Bon is a Swedish candy shop, filled with all kinds of candy, mostly licorice based.  And ... they have soft service ice cream, with quite a toppings line up.

I loved the goodies I left with, and would gladly return.

Curb Appeal.

The shop isn't all that large, but the entire storefront is a large glass window, with some artwork on it.  No seating inside, but two benches are out on the street to enjoy your treats.

Sweet Licorice Bins.

Inside is filled with candy bins packed in everywhere, somehow without making it feel over crowded, broken down into sweeter and more bitter or salty sections.

More Candy.

I loved the playful feel of the place, and different ways of showcasing the bins of candy.

More Candy ...

Grab a bag, and get to work loading it up, and you can pay by the pound.  Which, obviously I did, crafting a sweet bag and a salty bag.

And more candy ...

There was such a vast array of Swedish candy, more than I've ever seen in one place before.

Ice Cream Station.

And then ... the ice cream station, with ridiculously fun toppings, lovely house made waffle cones, and an extra dose of whimsy.  They offered many kinds of sprinkles (10 different ones!), includes multiple licorice based ones.

I was overjoyed just seeing the topping selection.

Syrups & Sauces.

The syrups and sauces were a brand I hadn't seen before, international, and yes, included licorice sauce.

My Creation!

The ice cream itself was ... ok.  On the lower end of the spectrum for vanilla soft serve, not nearly as creamy and luxurious as I'd like.  Not much vanilla flavor.  New York has some wonderful soft serve (I'm looking at you Big Gay Ice Cream, and my absolute favorite Soft Swerve), but this was not it.

But this was obviously not about the ice cream.  It was about the toppings.

I couldn't make up my mind, and got 4 of the 10 types of sprinkles.  Yes, for reals.  Even narrowing that down was hard!  For sprinkles, I got the Raspberry & Licorice Fudge, Sea Salt Licorice Flakes, Strawberry Crunch, and Swedish rainbow colored sprinkles.  Each was applied to a different section, generously, and I liked them all, each with a unique flavor, and fun texture.  I'd gladly get any of these again, and the quality was clearly high.  Why don't we have fun sprinkles like this in the US?

I also opted for the licorice sauce, which was drizzled on top, but also, very generously applied to the base of the bowl before the ice cream was served.  *Very* generously.  Seriously, so much sweet and salty licorice sauce.  I loved it, and as my ice cream melted into it I was quite pleased with the licorice flavored soup.  Such a fun sauce, novel to me, and again, it made me wish we had this normally in the US.

This is by far one of the most unique ice creams I've ever had, and, base ice cream quality aside, I really adored it.  

I loved the sprinkles so much that I convinced the shop keeper to sell me bags of sprinkles, which isn't normally offered.  They sell all the candy by weight, but, *not* the sprinkles.  How was I the first to ask for this?  He made up what seemed to be a reasonable price, and I gladly accepted my loot.

I'd love to go back for more sprinkles and candy.

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