$50 lighter at Jacques Torres

All I wanted at Jacques Torres was a little cocoa.

But how was I was supposed to resist?

Chocolate-covered Cheerios, chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered espresso beans…



Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate mudslide cookies and chocolate bark…


And bonbons infused with booze, fruit, and nuts.




All I wanted was a little cocoa.

But I should know myself better by now. It's an affliction.

A warm one for the road

If there is anything better than a chocolate chip cookie, it is a warm chocolate chip cookie. This is something Jacques Torres knows.

On my final day of New York City binging (until December, that is), I wanted to follow up my Momofuku, Max Brenner and Dishes cookie sampling with a classic. So I went to Mr. Chocolate.

The plate of giant chocolate chunk cookies looked perfect. But perfection was realized with the warming griddle, on which a half dozen cookies were waiting to go. Genius.

Big, buttery, sweet and veeery chocolaty. It was clear the rest of the cookie was there just as the vehicle for eating melty chunks of dark chocolate.


I love New York.

V-Day countdown: Jacques Torres

We can't forget about Mr. Chocolate. There have been so many exciting indie chocolate shop openings (Nunu, Bond Street, Bespoke) that Jacques Torres feels practically as huge as Hershey's. But his bonbons are still to die for.

Skip the Valentine's chocolate lips and raspberry body paint (or… don't) and bring home some classics to your lovebug.

350 Hudson at King
212.414.2462

285 Amsterdam between 73rd and 74th
212.414.2162

66 Water Street, Dumbo
718.875.9772

Manhattan's best 5 cups of cocoa

Because it's snowing in New York. Because it's the holiday season. And because it's one of the silver linings of winter: these are the hot chocolates you don't want to miss.

Jacques Torres
When you walk into Chocolate Haven Soho, the heavenly scent of chocolate is all around you. Belly up to bar and order my personal favorite: the peanut butter hot cocoa.

Vosges
That their cocoa is called "drinking chocolate" and served in elegant glassware is telling. I like to change it up at Vosges and get the Bianca Cocoa: white chocolate with vanilla, lemon myrtle and lavender.

Dessert Truck
Insanely thick. Made with Valrhona and Guittard chocolates. Don't expect to drink the whole thing. Even I can't.

City Bakery
If hot chocolate could be landmarked, City Bakery's would be the first to receive the designation. Start training for February's Hot Cocoa Festival by sipping their small portions now. It's habit-forming.

MarieBelle
I was going to give the fifth spot to La Maison du Chocolat. But since this blog is all (or mostly) about NYC, MarieBelle—with a proper cacoa salon, six varieties, and the option for European (made with water) or American (milk) style—gets the nod.

Peep, peep

I’m not really sure what the connection between Jesus Christ and the Easter Bunny is, but I do find it curious that Jesus and Peeps were both born in towns called Bethlehem.

And it’s strangely fantastic how everyone loves a Peep. This year, Jacques Torres honored the holy marshmallow creations by enrobing them in dark chocolate. You might think they taste just like chocolate-covered marshmallows. But there are two distinct differences.

One, those gritty bits of sugar that coat a Peep add extra chemical-y sweetness and a nice crunchy texture. And two, it’s Jacque Torres dark chocolate, which is of the highest order. Not unlike both Jesus and the Easter Bunny being equally adored on this day, the chocolate-covered Peeps are an unexpected marriage that works despite the odds.

Danger on the UWS

Cupcake, cupcake, chocolate, cocoa, cookie, cookie.

Within a very concentrated area of the Upper West Side are a number of pitfalls for a trying-to-be-good Sweet Freak. Magnolia’s second branch is in a sprawling corner space at Columbus and 69th, awash with sunlight, packed with baby strollers, and churning out bake sheets of pastel cupcakes. They seem a wee bit smaller than the ones downtown, but anything is worth not enduring that god-awful line.

Onward to 72nd Street, walking west—boom: Buttercup Bake Shop. More cupcakes. But not much atmosphere, so it’s time to carry on. (Though it’s worth noting that Krispy Kreme used to inhabit this very same location. Bonus points for the auspiciously sweet heritage.)


Jacques Torres’s new outpost is on Amsterdam, between 73rd and 74th. It’s smaller than his Soho factory, but bigger than his original Dumbo shop, and they’ve smartly tucked a few cushy seats in by the windows so you can snack in-house. The truffles are piled high, the cocoa bar is fired up, and there are some new treats to behold: chocolate-covered lemon pound cake, for one.

And on to the grand finale: around the corner to Levain for whopper cookies. It seems more crowded these days, but it still has the allure of a subterranean hole-in-the-wall that just so happens to have the best cookies in the city. Or at least the heaviest. Seriously: 6 ounces of chocolate-studded goodness. Cookie monsters.

Summer Snack

Another irresistible treat from Mr. Chocolate.

When you’ve been a New Yorker for some time, chances are you’ve warmed up more than one cold winter moment with a cup of Jacques Torres’s wicked hot chocolate. So what to do in a summer of soaring temperatures? Dig into the polar opposite: an ice cream sandwich.

Made with homemade ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, these frozen sandwiches give credence to the expression of two great tastes tasting great together. The cookies: loaded with bricks of thick dark chocolate. The ice cream flavors, they vary according to what Torres is creating in his factory. Rotating options include everything from espresso and hazelnut, to raspberry and banana, to standard chocolate and vanilla. There’s even a Wicked sandwich, made with the same spicy chocolate as his cocoa, to remind you that the chilly days of winter won’t be too far behind.

Chocolate Haven
350 Hudson at King Street
212.414.2462