Hot C
In case you've been hiding under three layers of blankets for the past week - New York is cold! And what does ultra-freezing weather bring but a bad craving for hot chocolate? We've been downing at least a mug each per night!Hands down, my favorite is the Aztec Hot Chocolate from Mariebelle. I like drinking the chocolate both ways: "European," which equates to an espresso-sized serving of molten chocolate bar; and "American," which is a thinner version made with double the liquid. "American" style is still very rich and decadent (you can see a layer of tiny fat globules on the surface) and is much more delicious than any powdered hot cocoa i've ever tasted. Try the Spicy Hot Chocolate with cinnamon, nutmeg and chipotle!
If you're in Manhattan, try the hot chocolate from The City Bakery. It's not as intense as Mariebelle's "European" version, but a creamier, milkier style that's equally addictive. You can opt for a homemade marshmallow, too.
I haven't had the chance to check out Jacques Torres' Chocolate Haven yet, but i hear the hot chocolate is very good.
I recently tried the hot chocolate from The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn. They have a vat of it behind the counter ready to be ladled out into small cups! I opted for the darker chocolate version, which was intense and slightly bitter, very rich and yummy.
At home i usually make hot chocolate from the Mariebelle tins i have, or a canister of Ghirardelli cocoa powder. Ghirardelli is much more affordable than Mariebelle but definitely not as rich and delicious. It's still way better than Swiss Miss or anything out of a packet, though. Note that hot *chocolate* is not the same thing as hot *cocoa.* The latter contains cocoa powder but no cocoa butter, aka the fat in real chocolate.
posted by beXn @ 2:27 AM
2 Comments:
yum yum yum!
You might be interested to learn that Mariebelle actually uses Jaque Torres chocolate. They buy it wholesale.
Torres's original location is in DUMBO brooklyn and I used to work right near it. There was *nothing* else there back then, but you could still pop in for a trifle and some hot cocoa. SInce it was so dead we'd always chat with the staff and one of them told me that. It's good stuff, but I have to admit I like thier plain hot cocoa better than the spicy stuff that's all the rage these days.
Cheers!
More yums! Thanks for the tip about Jacques Torres. I've been to that cozy shop but didn't have the hot chocolate. I'm totally going to check it out this winter.
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