The City Sweet Tooth

The third night of Chocolate & I was another winner (despite the blizzard) and I got to try some more wonderful chocolate! I’ve been meaning to give MarieBelle a visit and after tonight’s “Some Like it Haute” event, a sampling of their truffles and hot chocolate, my resolve has strengthened!

The truffles have a truly gorgeous look and I was interested to hear that the founder, Maribel Lieberman, started out in design as an FIT student! You can definitely see the strong design elements in the chocolate. Luckily, they also taste amazing with a selection of unique and classic flavors including Pistachio, Espresso, Champagne, and Dulce De Leche. I especially liked the Passion Fruit truffle (seen in the first row showing the couple in the above photo).

Their other specialty featured was the hot chocolate. We got to sample the Aztec variety (they have 11 varieties of hot chocolate!) which was thick, dark (60% Cacao), and excellent. A little goes a long way and I found it reminiscent of the hot chocolate at Angelina in Paris. We found out that they are developing some new truffle flavors including Sesame, Fennel, and Yuzu. So, plenty to look forward to from MarieBelle!

Then I got to sit in on the tasting and lecture, “Save The World Through Silliness & Chocolate”, from the folks behind Fine & Raw, local artisans who make use of raw chocolate, organic ingredients, and produce overall “feel good” chocolate! They paired their lovely dark chocolate products with various sweet wines and had a lively discussion with a rapt audience. I really liked their bonbons which incorporate coconut milk for that extra creamy texture. They had a Ginger Bonbon for us to sample which is not available officially yet, but I’m hoping it will be soon! They were featuring their limited Valentine specials some of which are pictured above. Wine note: my fave was the Cassis Black Currant Dessert Wine from Clinton Vineyards. All in all, it was a fantastic way to spend a snowy night!