La Dolce Vita

I remember when I first decided to embrace my new "Carpe-Diem" mentality. It was a little over a year ago. There is no need to go into the details that catalyzed this, actually I have zero desire whatsoever to discuss it. Just think of it like when you decide to turn over a new leaf in your life, whether it's a new year, you chucked a loser boyfriend, you got a new haircut, whatever it may be; you start to make changes big and small. I did this. One of my small changes was that I vowed from that day forth, I would enjoy life, no matter what. Which among other things meant, I was going to eat more chocolate.


This prophecy was very quickly fulfilled by Deven, who acting upon a casual comment about my love of Moonstruck chocolate surprised me early that Valentine's Day morning with Moonstruck chocolate and a potted orchid in my car. And so it began. Then I moved to a neighborhood where Moonstruck was merely blocks away. I always grew up eating See's on holidays, I was so informed in the ways of See's, I could open a fresh new box, without a guide (See's doesn't include those), and I can tell you almost exactly what each chocolate is based on the decoration, the shape, and the location within the box. I was lead to believe that Godiva was the holy grail of gourmet-yet-accessible chocolate. Not so.
At Moonstruck, it's bright and the shelves are lined with the most adorable chocolates. All the chocolates are made locally in North Portland, and it tastes fresh and unique. The adorable items for purchase include a chocolate pig in a little wooden pen that is filled with little chocolate piglets, a to DIE for Christmas advent calendar, various seasonal animal and theme truffles. My favorite truffles include: The Mayan truffle, the Italia Cappuccino Truffle, the Clear Creek Pear Brandy truffle, the Vanilla Caramel with Sea Salt. For Valentine's Day they have a milk chocolate Creme Brulee truffle.

this is a baby harp seal truffle, I think it's pretty obvious why I still haven't eaten it.


Moonstruck at the Beaverton Town Cente

http://www.moonstruckchocolate.com/

Aside from Moonstruck, which is my current holy grail of chocolate, there is another gem tucked back into "restaurant row" on NE 28th. It's called Alma Chocolatier. When you walk in, it's so tiny, and there is chocolate all around, the place smells and feels like chocolate. It's decidedly more rustic and more un-Starbucks-like than Moonstruck. If you catch a peek back into their kitchen, they are most likely tempering chocolate back there. So you know the chocolate you are eating was made there, and it's fresh. This chocolate shop plays a little more on the senses enhanced by chocolate. In the shop, you can get rogue blue cheese stuffed figs, Thai Peanut butter cups, rosemary chocolates, burnt-sugar sesame and cardamom chocolates, smoked paprika chocolates, and rosewater caramels. I recommend the salted lavender caramel.
http://www.almachocolate.com/

Lastly is another little known chocolate shop in downtown Portland called Cacao, 414 SW 13th Avenue. Their website is a little lacking, but here's a link to their write-up in the NYT. http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/travel/17foraging.htmles.com/2007/06/17/travel/17foraging.html







They make their own chocolate there, but the main stand-out is the drinking chocolate. Starbucks tried to venture that direction a few years back with their Chantico. I don't think it did well because Starbucks is for grabbing your crappy coffee on your way to work because you need the caffeine fix, not for savoring. Nobody wants to sit inside a cold dirty Starbucks listening to the crap music compilations they are trying to sell and "savor" anything. But if you want to savor chocolate, Cacao is definitely the place, it even looks like chocolate inside. They also sell lots of various other artisnal chocolates. I recently ate a chocolate bar that was infused with apricot. It was scented and so delicious I hid the bar in my desk and savored it for days. Each piece I took felt in my mouth like it was already melted. It's definitely a noteworthy shop to visit, and the place has a certain charm about it that's all it's own. http://www.cacaodrinkchocolate.com/


How to Eat Chocolate





1) Make sure that you don't have other nasty tastes in your mouth. This might seem like a no brainer, but have you ever had a glass of orange juice after brushing your teeth? Not good.

2) Some Wine-o's love the pop of opening a fresh bottle of wine. Real chocolate connoisseurs listen for the sound of quality chocolate just as well. When you bite into a piece of chocolate, you should hear a definitive crack sound, called "Snap." The surface of the chocolate should be glossy looking, but not shiny. If there is a white filmy substance covering it, called "bloom" and is a sign of improper tempering, or that the chocolate was allowed to heat up to too-high temperatures and then re-cooled.

3) Don't just chew the chocolate and gulp down the shards of whole chocolate a-la Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, there is no golden ticket at stake. And don't pop an entire truffle into your mouth, take a small bite and let the chocolate melt and soften on your tongue.

"Let Them Eat Cake"

-disputed historical figure.

(Whoever they were, they meant chocolate)

It could help reduce high blood pressure! Flavonoids in cocoa beans might help balance blood pressure and reduce blood clotting. Researchers from Germany’s University Hospital of Cologne found that cocoa consumption lowered blood pressure by an average of 4.7/2.8 mm Hg. According to the New York Times, dark chocolate is almost as effective at lowering blood pressure as common antihypertensive drugs.

It improves blood flow to the brain! A University of Nottingham professor found that drinking dark chocolate cocoa rich in flavanols improves blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours. The study also suggested that cocoa flavanols may enhance brain function to help fight sleep deprivation, fatigue, and the effects of ageing.

Here's an obvious one, it boosts your mood! MSNBC reported that caffeine and other chemicals in dark chocolate can improve your mood and ease premenstrual symptoms. I have long been an advocate for the PMS relieving effects of dark chocolate. I'm serious, next time you have PMS, try some. And even if it's a placebo effect, who cares?

The same flavonoids in dark chocolate can also help prevent cell damage and improve blood sugar.

This information from http://www.laurelonhealthfood.com/


If you know about a chocolate shop gem I haven't yet stumbled upon, remember that the world is a better place when we all eat chocolate (or drink it), share the knowledge.