Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Vosges Haut Chocolat: What flavor is your favorite?


Whenever my husband and I are in Chicago, we try to stop into the original (I think?) Vosges Haut Chocolat boutique on Michigan Avenue and have a glass of their La Parisienne or Aztec Elixir Exotic Couture Cocoa. Now our local wine store sells Vosges chocolate bars and the cocoa mixes, so I like to try to sneak a couple of bars in on top of our order. (Vosges is expensive, no doubt, but added to a couple of bottles of liquor and wine my husband barely notices!)

My all-time favorite is the Goji: goji berries + pink Himalayan salt + deep milk chocolate. The combinations are unique so you have to taste slowly and savor every flavor. Also wonderful is the Black Pearl (ginger + wasabi + black sesame seeds + dark chocolate), the Creole (New Orleans style chicory coffee + cocoa nibs + Sao Thome bittersweet chocolate), and the Red Fire (Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate).

I don't like nuts, so that limits my options a bit. But my husband likes the Woolloomooloo (roasted & salted macadamia nuts + Indonesian coconut + hemp seeds + deep milk chocolate).

I haven't tried any of the Vosges Organic Exotic candy bars--if you have, please weigh in! Also, awhile back on some food channel I watched the making of a Mo's Milk Chocolate Bacon Bar (applewood smoked bacon + Alder wood smoked salt + deep milk chocolate). Very intriguing but I haven't been brave enough to try--yet! I like bacon and of course I like chocolate, so why not??!

Vosges's truffles are amazing, and also diversely flavored! --and named! I'm always hoping my husband will gift me with a Lunar Chocolate of the Month collection of truffles. Okay, maybe that's a little much; how about the Gatsby collection (available only during January and February)? Who wouldn't love this?:

Inspired by the famous love story of the Great Gatsby and the love of his life, Daisy, I [Vosges Owner/Chocolatier, Katrina Markoff] created a collection of two decadent truffles. Rich dark chocolate swirled with bubbly brut Champagne and topped with a red rose petal completes the Gatsby truffle. The delicate Daisy truffle pairs white chocolate with pink rosé Champagne from Reims and a few drops of rose water, kissed with a pink rose petal atop. The 16 piece box arrives dressed in a prim pin-up girl wrap with secret love notes tucked inside and includes 12 Gatsby and 4 Daisy truffles.
Or maybe something a little more unusual on the palate, such as the Collezione Italiana?:

Sweet and savory, reinterpreted. Lift the purple lid and experience Italy in an interpretation of savory + sweet. Your tasting begins with the Rooster truffle, a mélange of Taleggio cheese, organic walnuts and Tahitian vanilla beans draped in bittersweet dark chocolate. A bit salty, slightly tannic and rich in mouth-feel with an undercurrent of sweetness.
Um, whoa.

Everything is pretty pricey but a worthy occasional splurge. If you do purchase one of the Couture Cocoa mixes, follow the recipe on the back of the box, or I like blogger Topsy Turvy's method.

So, what are your favorite Vogges chocolates? I'll be flying through O'Hare on the way to Washington DC this weekend; I may need to pick up some chocolates at the Vosges boutique in the airport! Recommendations welcome!

9 comments:

the Preppy Princess said...

Oh, you taunt, you tease, you tantalize with the pictures and the mouth-watering descriptions Miss Chez, all of them TDF.

Excuse while we grab a hankie to clean up the keyboard, we experienced a most unfortunate little drooling episode here. Oops.

Fabulous post!
tp

Tippy said...

I've never had their truffles, but I adore their candy bars and love that they make miniature sizes now too. I tried the bacon bar and I thought it was horrible. And I love bacon. But the smokiness along with the chocolate was not a good combo, in my opinion. I LOVE the Barcelona bar. If you don't like nuts, it's not for you but it is chopped almonds and sea salt in milk chocolate. I love anything with salt and sweet. TDF!

vicki archer said...

I will take one or more of each thanks....xv

M.Lane said...

Oh you are killing me with this! I LOVE the Red Fire truffle it is my favorite combination of flavors of all. BUT a close second is the bacon thing...I'm not much for milk chocolate but they make one in dark that is so good you'll go crazy.

ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com

QueenBeeSwain said...

oooh la la- how decadent!

one cannot go wrong with orange flavored milk chocolate!

kHm

The Daily Connoisseur said...

How divine! There are few things more decadent than a fabulous piece of chocolate... I love anything with caramel... Belgium chocolates are my favorite! xo

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I've only been by the Lincoln Park location. I'll have to check out the downtown shop sometime. I'm a weirdo, I'm not that into chocolate. I like to give it as gifts b/c everybody likes Vosges! Especially Mr Madras!! Yummy post!

Bee said...

I've heard of these chocolates, but never tried them (or even seen them). Since I love any and all nuts, it sounds like I would have an almost bewildering array of choice.

The literary association makes me chuckle.

Maggie May said...

you're alive!