So here's the deal: On a recent vacation to San Francisco, Dirk and I found ourselves trying samples (or larger versions of samples…) of chocolate shops while circulating throughout the city on foot. We started out saying, “Let’s just stop at this little chocolate shop”, and ended up visiting several of them. I have compiled my list of winners and almost-rans in this blog. Not every store made this list, but most of them did.
Along with general observations of each store, I will list favorites. In addition, I made sure we tried at least one caramel at each location. To me, caramel is the vanilla ice cream of a chocolatier. If their caramel is meaningful, other confections are likely following suit! Let’s see how each place fared.
Recchiuti
We visited the Recchiuti store at the Ferry Building Marketplace, a bustling wharf location that contains dozens of stores and mini-restaurants. Recchiutti was filled to capacity, and it’s a small shop! Plenty of foot traffic crosses paths in this market.
We tried a box of varieties plus two sale boxes of Burnt Caramel.
Best of the bunch: honeycomb malt, a perfect blend of honey and malted flavors with a little kick of crunchy texture thrown in. The Burnt Caramel should have been called Burnt Cocoa. Although smoothly delicious with a dose of brulée in the middle, there was not a distinctive enough caramel taste to warrant the title.
Recchiutti founders probably wouldn’t agree with me. They think so much of their concoction that they conjured up a companion to it, Burnt Caramel Sauce. To me, it is of good quality, but not indicative of true caramel nature. Those of you who are fellow caramel lovers, you know what I’m talking about. This is chocolate, folks. A reliable basis for chocolate truffles; butter, chocolate, slight toasty flavor.. But not caramel. To be sure, there was butter and charred goodness, but no caramel per se. Oh well. We had better luck with other caramel endeavors.
Richart
Snootiness of the Richart shop associate aside, we loved the eclectic flavors of the Garden Collection. We were looking for something extraordinary, and found it in the collection, which consists of the following varieties. I’m devoting a lot of space to this, but it’s necessary when you consider the unusual nature of some of these flavor combinations. Disclaimer: I lifted some parts of the descriptions from their website and provided my own additional comments.
PUMPKIN COULIS ON A BED OF CHAMOMILE FLOWER GANACHE
The chamomile is very soft underneath the rest of the flavors. The pumpkin is subtle, intelligible really until you’re nearly done eating the truffle. Suddenly, you notice the unmistakable taste. Luscious.
BLACK TRUFFLE IN CRIOLLO GANACHE ON A BED OF POTATO COULIS
They describe the coulis section of this truffle as ‘recalling rich homemade potato purée', which I completely understood once I ate one. Even the flavor recalls potato purée. Very odd as it mashes with the ganache to produce a savory masterpiece.
CARAMELIZED CELERY ROOT COULIS ON A BED OF GANACHE FLAVORED WITH MILD SPICES
All I remember about this truffle is that it contained a burst of different flavors, yet it was quite mild in the end.
KALAMANZI IN SOY MILK GANACHE ON A BED OF CARROT COULIS
The kalamanzi is tangy, but I’m not a fan of soy since I found out last year that I’m allergic to it. But that carrot coulis provides a great bite! It’s worth it for the carrot-y finish.
PEAR COULIS ON A BED OF CASSIS DE DIJON GANACHE
Oh, yum. This is pear goodness. Pear is a perfect fruit to blend with savory flavors, since it is so subtle and mild on its own. It isn’t a tart citrus, nor a tangy berry or an all-American apple. This is the exotic yet somewhat intangible pear. What better to blend with the cassis liqueur=like texture? A beckoning finger made of fine smoke calls you to your pear-ish destiny.
ROASTED CORN PRALINE ON A BED OF CREAMED CHESTNUT COULIS
I admit it; for all of my adventurous spirit with food and especially desserts, I have never considered mixing chocolate ganache with chestnuts and corn. I wish I had, because the corn lingered in my memory longer than most of the others in this batch. Unusually smooth and rich, yet not sweet except for the slight smack of the corn.
TOMATO ON A BED OF BASIL GANACHE
OK, this was a no-brainer, right? Tomato with basil and…chocolate? The idea of this one was easier to digest, so to speak, than some of the others. It was good and I liked it, but I can’t say it’s sticking in my memory banks to dredge up again, like that corn combo.
This was truly a taste experience. I can’t say that each chocolate was a resounding success, but they were all worth exploring. I’m sure others may find that they like some of the ones we found less exhilarating.
I’ve given more than enough space to Richart, especially considering that it was not my favorite store. However, I have to devote one more paragraph to their decadent, true-lover’s preferred caramel.
The caramels came in a variety of ways. We chose the nine-pack; three with dark chocolate coating, three with milk chocolate and three with white chocolate. I wouldn’t kick any of them out of bed, but the seriously superlatively best one was the dark chocolate, no doubt about it. Perhaps it’s the aficionado in me, the one that favors 99% Teuscher bars and the like, but that dark chocolate melded with the saxophone-inspired lazy trailing caramel dancing down my tongue made me fall in love with my husband all over again. Not that I need inspiration to stay in love with him, but that's a different blog.
Cocoa Bella
Cocoa Bella is in the Union Street shops area, located in the Marina and Presidio neighborhood. It was the last chocolatier shop we visited. I am sooo glad we went in there, because as it turned out they had one of my all-time favorites! It was not a caramel, believe it or not.
We tried a variety of chocolates from a slightly bored young male attendant. There appeared to be several bored young male attendants from which to choose, so we just chose the first one we saw. We tried a Crème Brulee that was an amazing, praiseworthy substitute for the dessert after which it was named. The crowning glory of this shop though, hands down, is the Pralineur Van Coillie Amandel Vanille, a light caramel buttercream rolled in biscuit flakes. Wow! This white chocolate-coated experience danced on the tongue before sliding affectionately into our memories.
Cocoa Bella allows you to order online, using a ridiculously complicated barrage of shopping techniques to place your order. It’s worth every “What the hell is this?” moment though, just to get Amandel Vanille from San Francisco in your Chicago (or New York, or Chester, VA or Fort Worth, Texas) home!
Schoggi
We visited a place called Schoggi, which was located next to an eclair shop that we also visited. My husband loves eclairs, and claimed the shop here contained the best he had ever had. I had a bite and had to agree that it was pretty amazing. I don't like eclairs, so for me to restrain myself from a second bite, it had to be memorable.Anyway, back to Schoggi. I can't say much about this place because I neglected to write down the particulars, and once we got home, all was lost. I do remember having a decent key lime pie truffle, and Dirk and I both liked the caramels. Since any caramel details would be murky at this point, feel free to try the place yourself and let me know what you remember! The Schoggi environment was tasteful if a bit sterile in nature; very clean and polished, with beautiful signs, but lacking a coziness that you want to see in a chocolatier. Richart suffered from the same affliction. I suppose they want you to get in, order and get out. At least, that's the feeling you get. No lingering here! Schoggi at least has some seating. Richart's sight lines led you into the door and right back out.
Well, there you have it; my synopsis of possibilities in San Francisco chocolatiers. This turned out to be a profitable week of visiting, chocolate-wise. Here is to our next yummy venture into the cacao bean!
