Your favorite chocolates?

[Hoke]

While a good part of America is hunkered down and has time to think about inconsequential things like this...and Valentine Day is fast approaching anyway...I thought it might be appropriate to talk about favorite chocolates.

In some recent polls regarding favorite chocolates and chocolate bars specifically, certain names were mentioned.

In this poll you get to check off your favorites (Unlimited but try to stay with up to three faves), then chime in with "Others" (I think there will be a lot of others), and diss some of the big brands while you're at it.

PS: Sorry I spelled Ghirardelli wrong on the poll. You know what I mean.

[Hoke]

I voted for only two of the listed brands: Vosges because it is high quality and because the creativity of flavoring (fruits, spices, peppers, etc) is frickin' awesome. Always an adventure to eat a Vosges choco (like, say, the Barelona Bar). Also voted for Ferrero Rocher because it's one of the rare super-sweet choco treats that I like----because it has the added texture and diversity; and it reminds me of the Piedmont/Torino portion of Italy.

Hersheys is crap (and it's degrading all the other once-quality brands it has purchases), Cadbury is tooth-achingly sweet and oily-sticky goop. Dove, feh.

I await choco lovers who will champion their own faves.

[Karen/NoCA]

Not a huge fan of chocolate, but I do like the Ferrero Rocher candy and buy it at Christmas. I am also a fan of Peanut M & M's and love the chocolate coating layer they use.

[Mike Filigenzi]

It's very hard for me to pick a single favorite. I agree with you on the Vosges - they make some really interesting bars and the chocolate itself is high quality. I love Lindt as well. Don't like Cadbury, Ghirardelli, or Dove at all. Scharffenberger is our go-to for baking, usually with the bittersweet or the semi-sweet.

I guess along the lines of the "Food Confession" threads, I will state for the record that I love Hershey's milk chocolate. Most people I know who are at all serious about chocolate really hate the stuff (particularly folks from Europe). I really like the stuff, though, probably because it's what I grew up with. I can appreciate the qualities of other chocolates which others consider better, but I still love the Hershey's.

[Christina Georgina]

Don't really have a favorite. There are too many very interesting things to try so I am always buying different things from Chocosphere. Most recently, Santander from Colombia. Have had some very tasty Venezuelan chocolates from them as well.
Never buy Ghiradelli, Cadbury or Dove either...they have a waxy, parrafin mouth feel and the amped up sweetness masks the many interesting flavors that you can appreciate in the "varietal" chocolates

[Jeff Grossman/NYC]

The chocolates we consume most often is made by Lake Champlain Chocolates, followed by Chocolove (gotta love a chocolate bar that comes wrapped in a sonnet!), and Jacques Torres. But these are plebeian treats. The really best chocolate we've had is from Richart or Pralus. There are many other premium marques (e.g., Teuscher, Leonidas, Marie Belle, Debauve & Gallais) but we're not motivated to return to them.

NYC'ers are spoiled for choice, I freely admit.

[Mike Bowlin]

I have a local source that makes all truffles by hand and they are just crazy good. Mukilteo Chocolate Co. In Mukilteo Washington (near the ferry). The owner
and chocolate maker is Jan Straub who is one outstanding conversationalist and a great person to boot. We occasionaly barter olive bread for chocolates. Fair trade.

I have this thing about chocolates, as I do about wine. If I am going to stuff the calories down the pipe they better be quality calories or why bother.

[Jon Peterson]

I'm "Other" and it's Valor from Spain that's at least 70% cocoa. There's almost always two bars in the cooler waiting to come to room temp and enjoyed. I do not like Hershey's - it has a grainy feel to me.

[Mark Lipton]

Not much of chocaholic, but I voted for 2: Lindt for their excellent dark chocolates and Other for Valrhona.

[Susan B]

I voted for Green and Black, based soley on their dark bar with tart cherries. My "others" would have to be Theo's in Seattle, love their "Bread and Chocolate" with crispy buttered bit of bread in the dark chocolate. The other "other" is See's. Bordeaux bars are standard stocking stuffers in our house as long as I can find them.

[Hoke]

Theo's is good; I like it too.

See's. Funny, I once was quite fond of See's chocolates...probably because I had a business associate who habitually gave me boxes of See's so I was constantly reminded of how much I liked it, and also because I was fond of their very stylish stores in malls and such. Always struck me as good chocos. Also, they had lots of nut-influence chocos, which I've always been fond of.

Anyone know of Chocolatier Bernard Callebaut in Calgary? When I used to go to Alberta on business every so often that was a 'must stop' to score some chocos. Bernard is part of the Euro chocolate family, but emigrated to Canada and figured he could make chocolate as good as the Euro version. And he does.

Any fans of Purdy's. I can honestly say I don't know them at all.

As to Dagoba----they have been purchased by Hershey. Sad fate for a little company dedicated to organics and fair trade and quality (neither of which is a Hersheys specialty.)

[Paul Winalski]

I have a source for local, freshly-made, truffles. As much as I adore Belgian chocolates, local and fresh beats imported--hands down.

-Paul W.

[Carrie L.]

Dove dark chocolate is my favorite "readily available" chocolate in the US.
When I was in Belgium about 15 years ago, I went on a quest to find the best chocolate there and arrived at Leonidas. I believe it is the best to be found anywhere.
Someone recently brought an excellent dark chocolate called Brix to one of our wine tastings. I would seek that one out too.

[Paul Winalski]

Carrie,

I echo your sentiment for Dove as really good, generally available US chocolate!!

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

Recchiuti for real class, but you pay for it. See's, maybe, for the upscale version of a Whitman's sampler with real quality ingredients and production. And for the locavore angle, Cellar Door Chocolates in Louisville. :-9

[Jeff B]

I will likely get kicked off the forum if I keep up these confessions, but I must stick up for Hershey's (the taste anyways). I've always loved Hersheys and feel it has a coarse "rustic" texture that other chocolates lack. It might be synonymous to tannins in a red wine. I like that chalky texture and don't like red wines that lack tannin. At least that's the best way I can explain it. Many quality chocolates are almost too smooth in texture.

Having said that, I like most any (quality) chocolate. I like Ghiradelli and especially Godiva's sea salt dark chocolate.

I like these topics!

Jeff

[Jon Peterson]

....Hersheys and feel it has a coarse "rustic" texture that other chocolates lack.

That's exactly why I do not enjoy Hersheys.

[Frank Deis]

I voted "other" -- I am very lucky to have a chocolatier with a factory/store in walking distance from my house, Birnn. That stuff is great.

Funny, we have been buying Callebaut as our top quality cooking chocolate for years, but I always thought it was from Belgium. We often buy it as "break up" without a real label. It's Canadian??

And another name I know has been mentioned -- Jacques Torres -- have not bought it but because people know we are into chocolate, we've been given Torres chocolates now and then. Strange and interesting flavors like chili pepper, salt, etc. Very good stuff.

[Hoke]

Frank, Callebaut is Belgian, Bernard Callebaut is a chocolatier who moved to Calgary and took his copper pots with him. If you get up that way, it's damned good chocolate.

[Rahsaan]

....Hersheys and feel it has a coarse "rustic" texture that other chocolates lack.

That's exactly why I do not enjoy Hersheys.

I like the 'coarse/rustic' nature of some of the high cacao chocolates, but that's a very different thing. I think the coarseness in Hersheys is just the waxy fillers they put in.

[Rahsaan]

These days it seems like there is so much interest in chocolate that every city has its own top people making high-quality fresh chocolates, which makes it hard to compare across places. And among the top places, it's often an issue of personal taste as general quality is getting higher and higher.

Although, aside from the names mentioned here, I would put in a good word for Patrick Roger in Paris and Pierre Marcolini in Brussels (and elsewhere).

That said, aside from the temples, for our regular chocolate use, we find Fairway's Sao Tome bars to provide some pretty good refined pure tastes at a modest price ($3 per 3oz/85g bar). Depending on what else we have in the house in terms of snacks, my wife and I will go through 1-2 bars per week.

[Jenise]

Given that this is an international forum, should Godiva be two Godivas on this poll, Hoke? It's my understanding that Godiva uses a lot less sugar in Europe than it does here. Hmm...just re-reviewed your list. It's American-centric anyway, so my question is moot. Sorry!

[Ted Richards]

Not much of chocaholic, but I voted for 2: Lindt for their excellent dark chocolates and Other for Valrhona.

Ah, someone after my own heart - I voted the same. I love Lindt's dark chocolate truffles, and much of Valrhona's lineup. My third would also be "Other": there's a local bulk store (Domino's) in the St Lawrence Market that sells dark chocolate coated orange peel that is to die for. We went though a terrible period in December and January because they were out of stock since "there was a shortage of orange peel" [huh???]. Oddly, they still had lots of milk chocolate coated orange peel, but why bother ?

Any Hershey's chocolate I've had has been dreadful.

[Karen/NoCA]

Given that this is an international forum, should Godiva be two Godivas on this poll, Hoke? It's my understanding that Godiva uses a lot less sugar in Europe than it does here. Hmm...just re-reviewed your list. It's American-centric anyway, so my question is moot. Sorry!

Off topic, but I did want to reply to this. There is a couple in our neighborhhood from Germany. She always brings the best home made cakes to get togethers. I am not a cake fan, but hers are not so sweet and when I asked her about it, she had quite a lot to say about American desserts and sweetness. Basically, that we make everything overly sweet and ruin a good product.