City of chocolate
Explore decadent delights — from confections and hot drinks to tours and festivals — in the Bay Area
It’s no secret that the San Francisco Bay Area is a sweet spot — especially for chocoholics. The city by the bay has enjoyed top-notch chocolate shops since the Gold Rush, when Etienne Guittard and Domenico Ghirardelli discovered something even better than gold: cacao. They made their fortunes in the sweetest possible way.
Legions of artisan confectioners and chocolate makers have followed suit — and we are the oh-so-happy beneficiaries.
Here are seven spectacular ways to explore the Bay Area’s chocolate scene, from wildly decadent sips to Willy Wonka-esque tours and a new chocolate shop with Michelin cred.
DRINK: The ultimate hot chocolate
Move over, Swiss Miss. Dandelion Chocolate’s smallbatch, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission district houses a cafe that serves exquisite drinkable chocolates — the best we’ve tasted in the Bay Area. There are currently three flavors on the menu: Classic and mildly sweet House Hot Chocolate ($5.75), a spicy Mission Hot Chocolate ($5.75) and, the most sinful of all, an Italian-inspired European Drinking Chocolate ($4.50) that’s thick, rich and unforgettable.
Pair it with one of executive pastry chef Lisa Vega’s gorgeous creations. We’re still dreaming about the Brownie Bite Flight ($5.50), three single-origin brownies, each with their own flavor notes.
DON’T MISS » The best seat in the house is along the chalkboard corridor, where you can catch a glimpse of the production process. Sip your cocoa and watch as chocolate makers roast, crack, sort, grind, temper and mold beans into bars. Or take a tour. They’re $5 a person and offered from 6:10 to 6:50 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
DETAILS » Open 10 a.m. daily at 740 Valencia St., San Francisco. Dandelion also has a shop inside the Ferry Building Marketplace. www.dandelionchocolate.com
EAT: Jewel-like chocolates
The luxurious Plumed Horse Chocolaterie has been selling out of its gemlike truffles and other creations since it opened its doors in December, just across the street from its Michelinstarred parent restaurant, Plumed Horse. Angelica Duarte is the classically trained chocolatier behind the operation, conceiving and hand-making the colorfully stunning chocolates, from the pyramid-like Vanilla-Infused Dark Chocolate to the red swirls of the Fresh Jalapeno. Her chocolates also support Plumed Horse’s dessert program. That’s right — they’re Michelin quality, too.
DETAILS » Open from noon Wednesday-Saturday at 14572 Big Basin Way, Saratoga; www.plumedhorse.com/ chocolatier
PLAY: Willy Wonka tours
Whether you’re a Mokaccino maven, a milk chocolate fan or a deeply dark, 81-percent chocolate devotee, those small flat squares of TCHO chocolate are difficult to resist. Best not even try. Instead, head over to Berkeley’s artisanal, Willy Wonka-would-haveloved-this chocolate factory — minus the fictional Oompa Loompas — where single-source cacao goes from bean to bar. TCHO Chocolate, which was purchased by the Japanese-based Ezaki Glico Co. recently, reintroduced its guided factory tours late last year. Take a 45-minute walk-through to see where the chocolate magic happens, followed, of course, by a guided tasting.
DON’T MISS » TCHO hosts occasional special events, too. A recent chocolate and beer pairing brought Oakland’s Novel Brewing Co. into the delicious mix with tours of both the chocolate factory and brewery, followed by chocolate tastings and sudsy flights.
DETAILS » Factory tours ($10) are offered Monday-Thursday by appointment and include tastings, as well as a $10 discount at the factory gift store. 3100 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley; tcho. com
SHOP: 900 varieties of chocolate
Beyond the cobalt-blue storefront of Chocolate Covered, this Noe Valley shop holds enough chocolate varieties to make your head spin. Co-owners Jack Epstein and Marilyn Sitkoff have curated what many consider to be the largest selection of artisan chocolates on the West Coast — an estimated 900 gourmet chocolates from 19 countries. You’ll find it all, from Oakland’s Michael Mischer Chocolates and San Francisco’s Jade Chocolates to obscure European delights, including Iceland’s Omnom Chocolate Factory. Vegan, gluten-free or sugar-free? They’ve got that, too.
DETAILS » Open from 10:30 a.m. daily at 4069 24th St., San Francisco; www. chocolatecoveredsf.com
PLAY: Chocolate festivals
A chocolate selfie museum? Augmented reality sweets? We don’t even know what that means and we want to go! TasteTV’s annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon ($20 in advance, $30 at the door), slated for March 11 at Golden Gate Park, includes tastings, interactive exhibits, chef and author talks and, of course, confections; www.SFChocolateSalon.com.
And ChocolateForce’s swanky International Chocolate Festival ($35-$50) will head for Silicon Valley for a twoday chocolate extravaganza, April 2122 at the San Mateo County Event Center, where the festivities include tastings, talks, culinary demonstrations, and wine and beer pairings; internationalchocolatefest.com.
DON’T MISS » San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival held each September outdazzles them all with celebrity chef culinary demos, chocolate school sessions, Earthquake Sundae-eating contests and a chocolate lounge that pairs gourmet desserts with wine, beer and spirits for the over-21 crowd. Tickets are typically $20-$50 and benefit Project Open Hand; www.ghirardelli.com/historyevents.
BAKE: Guittard secrets
When it comes to cookbooks, Amy Guittard’s takes the molten lava cake. Guittard is a fifth-generation chocolatier at her family’s 150-year-old company, where she writes, bakes, oversees marketing and travels the globe meeting cacao farmers. Her “Guittard Chocolate Cookbook” (Chronicle Books, $25) combines storytelling with 60 mouthwatering recipes, from easy-to-follow classics like the gooey, Molten Chocolate Cookies recipe, to more involved instructions for desserts such as Chocolate Caramel Pecan Bundt Cake. You’ll want to nibble — er, make — every single one.
DETAILS » Available at local bookstores, as well as Amazon and other online booksellers.
PLAY: Sweet strolls
From bonbons to truffles, San Francisco’s chocolate scene is dominated by new wave chocolatiers, who turn cacao beans into tiny works of art. Why would you want to sample just one confectioner’s skill when you could try chocolate from six? Gourmet Walks chocolate tours take you on a three-hour stroll from the city’s historic waterfront near Four Embarcadero Center to Union Square, with plenty of chocolate stops along the way.
DON’T MISS » It’s perfectly possible to visit Teuscher, the Swiss chocolate maker in Union Square, and get completely distracted by the nougat, praline, kirsch and other divine chocolates. Keep a clear head, people! Go straight for the Champagne truffles. They’re Oprah’s fave.
DETAILS » Chocolate walking tours ($55) are offered at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and include six tasting stops; gourmetwalks.com.