Chocolate Comparison and Survey

[ejw50]

Thanks partly to this forum, I went to Piron last Christmas while I was in Evanston. Great chocolates. The flavors are pretty traditional, but they do them all very well. "Fanciest" one is the cherry cordial. Flavors were consistently excellent. And, as the review states, extremely reasonably priced - I got ~8 chocolates for ~$12.

I did notice a few pits and cavities in the tops of their molded chocolates, which made me feel better about my own work. I asked the guy how they temper, and he said they use the slab method. Interesting to me anyway as I thought most people these days seed (could be wrong here)

I liked these a lot.  They had a nice strong flavor of the primary ingredient of each chocolate, and they were very high quality (great "mouth feel", etc).  In addition to the more conventional contents, some of these had more unusual ingredients, like curry powder, ginger, wasabi, etc.  If this is what you are looking for, I liked the ones from Vosges better than the others (below) who had similarly unusual ingredients.

With one exception, I've always found Vosges flavors to be subtle to a fault. As a person who likes the unconventional flavors, they sound wonderful, but I usually find the flavors almost undetectable.

The one exception I had was a fresh truffle rolled in curry powder (not just dusted on top like the Naga) that was made that day and purchased at their boutique on Michigan Ave. That one was a powerhouse, but the rest have paled in comparison.

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From my experience, they are over-priced for what they are. I agree that some of her flavors are to subtle for me, and a few, most memorably the "Rooster," was downright offensive. I often gravitate toward unique and novel combinations, but Taleggio cheese and chocolate was not a match that I cared for.

When Markoff got going a few years ago, her truffles were much better, IHO. Recently, I've altogether abandoned her truffles for her bars. The Oaxaca, Red Fire, Creole, and Barcelona (the only milk chocolate I'll ever consciously put in my mouth), are among my favorite.

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Edited March 17, 2007 by ejw50 (log)

[nsxtasy]

Chapter 3.

I visited two more chocolate shops in the area, so here is information about what I found there.

Bon Bon Chicago

5410 N. Clark St.

Chicago IL 60640

773-784-9882

These represent yet another very different approach to chocolate.

I had trouble picking these chocolates out, because there are no labels next to each of the chocolates displayed. Instead, they have a separate, printed list of all the offerings, describing what each contains. There are no photos, but the chocolates are adequately identified by shape (fan, heart, pyramid, etc). I found that it was easier to order from that list, rather than from looking at the items. When buying, don't forget to get a copy of the list of the chocolates to help you remember which is which when you get home.

What I didn't realize at the time is that many of their chocolates are not filled chocolates, but rather, are solid chocolates infused/mixed with flavorings, so the chocolates have the texture and consistency of a chocolate bar. There's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I was expecting when I ordered some of them.

A lot of Bon Bon's chocolates have spices and other exotic ingredients, including cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, Chinese 5 spice, curry, ancho chili, tea, ginger, lavender, bergamot, orange blossom, rose petals, etc. They also have chocolates flavored with liqueurs (Grand Marnier, Williams pear brandy, amaretto, Kirschwasser, Calvados). 80-90 percent of their chocolates contain one of these ingredients as the primary flavoring.

I liked these a lot, for their unusual flavorings. The flavorings were nice and strong, too; there was no mistaking the cinnamon, or the ginger, or the cardamom for anything else. The appearance was attractive, also, second only to Canady's in being unusually beautiful.

The chocolates were priced at $60 per pound regardless of how many pieces are purchased. They are made on the premises by the owners, a mother and daughter.

Parking in the neighborhood was difficult. The store is in Andersonville, next door to Pasticceria Natalina, the new Sicilian pastry shop, a block north of Swedish Bakery. Hours are not posted on their website; the shop is open 12-8, Wednesday through Sunday.

Leonidas

1157 Wilmette Avenue

Wilmette 60091

(866) 324 6716

Leonidas is a Belgian chocolatier. Chocolates are made in Belgium and flown in every couple of weeks.

The Leonidas shop in Wilmette is similar to Vanille Patisserie, in that it is a pastry shop and cafe as well as a chocolate shop. They have delicious French pastry as well as various coffees and other hot beverages. I was there shortly after they opened in the morning, and their croissants were still warm (and the one I had was heavenly). In addition to the individual chocolates, they also had various prepackaged chocolate bars.

I liked their chocolates, too. They are similar to Piron and Bernard Callebaut in style; molded filled chocolates with fillings of conventional fruit and nut flavors. In quality, I like Piron and Bernard better, but these are still quite good, and similar in many cases. Their gianduja was very good, the gianduja crunch was excellent (almost as good as Canady's), and the marzipan was good (but not quite as good as Piron). One of their chocolates was a white chocolate with a pineapple flavored filling; the filling was an unusual whipped consistency, rather than the creamy truffle-like filling of Piron and Bernard. All in all, while I didn't think they were quite as overwhelmingly rich and fine as Piron's, they were still very good and worth trying.

There was no printed material about the individual chocolates, so take notes to remind you of what is inside each.

The chocolates were priced at $32 per pound regardless of how many pieces are purchased, which is the lowest of the nine chocolatiers I tried.

Street parking in the area is easy.

So now, adding these new entries to my list, here is how I would rank them (and I am updating the prices below by showing ranges of price to reflect differences where you can buy chocolates for a lower price in a larger collection than in a few pieces):

THE BEST:

1. Belgian Chocolatier Piron (Evanston) - $36/lb - www.belgchocpiron.com

2. Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut (Glenview, Lake Forest - made in Canada) - $50/lb - www.bernard-callebaut.com

3. Vosges Chocolate (Chicago) - $91-100/lb - www.vosgeschocolate.com

4. Leonidas (Wilmette - made in Belgium) - $32/lb - www.cafechocolaterie.com

5. Canady le Chocolatier, Ltd. (Chicago) - $33/lb - www.canadylechocolatierchicago.com

6. Bon Bon (Chicago) - $60/lb - www.bonbonchicago.com

THE REST:

7. Vanille Patisserie (Chicago) - $63/lb - www.vanillepatisserie.com

8. Chocolate Box (Winnetka) - $66/lb (no website AFAIK)

9. Coco Rouge (Chicago) - $82-102/lb - www.cocorouge.com

I will continue to update this topic when I try products from additional high-quality chocolatiers in the Chicago area. My purpose in compiling this information has been to help publicize all of them, in one place, so that anyone can find out more information about what's available in the area. I've tried to explain what the chocolates at each are like (you can't always tell from pictures and descriptions on websites, and some of them don't even offer that).

There are lots of different reasons for preferring one chocolatier over another. Some people may prefer chocolates with more conventional fillings and ingredients, while others may prefer the unusual tastes of chocolates flavored with spices and herbs. Some people may prefer one of the seven chocolatiers who are local entrepreneurs making their chocolates here in Chicago. Some may prefer the one(s) in their own neighborhood, or convenient to their workplace. And some may wish to let price differences enter into their buying decision. It is my sincere hope that the factual information in this topic will help make you aware of what the chocolate shops here have to offer and how they fit into what you may be looking for.

As previously noted, the preference for one type of chocolates over another is a matter of personal taste and opinion. Still, where possible, I've also tried to explain exactly WHY I preferred some over others. Sometimes it's a matter of my own personal preference for a strong, identifiable flavor in a chocolate. Sometimes it's a matter of consistency and texture, and balance among flavorings and shell vs filling. In any case, I've tried to do more than merely say "I like X and I don't like Y". I hope this information has been helpful to others.

Again, I encourage anyone to try the fine products from any or all of these chocolatiers, and decide for yourself which ones YOU like best and where to continue to buy your chocolates.