Favorite chocolates? Local shop vs. Branded?

Hi folks-

Glad to have found this site....My questions are for the chocolate fanatics out there. Do you prefer chocolates made by a good local chocolate shop, or the well known brands like Godiva, Lindt, etc.?

Also, can anyone recommend a chocolate shop in Eastern Massachusetts that maybe isn't well known but has fabulous chocolate?

I'm trying to help a group that's having a chocolate tasting event next month http://www.billericacatcarecoalition.org/ and it would be great to know which type of chocolate people prefer.

Thanks!

In St. Louis, I would say Karl Bissinger is the place to go.

http://www.bissingers.com/

For mass market chocolate, I like the texture (and taste) of Dove chocolate.

Belgian chocolate from Leonidas. There is a Leonidas on Newbury St. in Boston.

www.leonidas.com

say no more

Thanks for the information everybody. I can add a recommendation of my own. If you're a fudge fan, and you're in the area north of Boston, check out Broken Wheel Farm.

They have the best fudge, and some neat flavors. Haven't had their chocolates yet, but they're made with cream from a local dairy farm. If they're anything like the fudge....

http://www.bwfarm.com/

They are not cheap, but the new Target line "choxie" is excellent chocolate. Most of it comes from Belgium. It is not sold around here, but I agree that "Sees" is great. I am also partial to Ethel M from Las Vegas (part of the big bad Mars empire), Savannah Candy Kitchen, and Lake Champlain Chocolates. Our local Heberts has fallen on hard times, but new ownership may bring it back to the glory days. Wrights Dairy Farm has a small line of excellent chocolate that they are building on.

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Belgian chocolate from Leonidas. There is a Leonidas on Newbury St. in Boston.

www.leonidas.com

There was, maybe 10 years ago, along with a Teuscher shop almost across the street. Sadly the Leonidas, at least, is long gone. (I worked around the corner from the shop until May '99, and it was gone before I stopped working there.)

I always buy a big box of Leonidas when I'm in Toronto, along with some of the wonderful Treecake Truffles from Eitelbach, a Canadian chocolatier. I also love See's (not only are their chocolate assortments wonderful, but their bridge mix is positively addictive) and Lake Champlain Chocolates - we were happy to stop at their factory outlet shop as we were heading home from a short trip to Burlington VT last summer.

Godiva is too sweet and not very flavorful, and Lindt is very good but I would never think of them if I were debating a choice of top chocolates - more like maybe a notch above the mass-market level of Dove.

To go back to the original poster's question, for an outstanding local Eastern Mass. shop I always go with Serenade in Brookline: http://www.serenadechocolatier.com/
Their filled chocolates and truffles just get better and better all the time. My very excellent husband gave me a two-pound box for Valentine's Day this year (yes, he does rock!) and after I'd inhaled about a third of it I had to put myself on strict restrictions to keep from finishing it all within the week.

I have never tried them .. but they come highly recommended
Esther Price Fine Chocolates - Cincinnati, OH
http://www.estherprice.com/

quote:

Originally posted by timberwolf

Also, can anyone recommend a chocolate shop in Eastern Massachusetts that maybe isn't well known but has fabulous chocolate?

Oops - I just remembered another one I really like. Green Mountain Chocolates makes wonderful truffles in a wide variety of interesting flavors. I think they're in Waterbury, VT (their website makes it impossible to tell) but their retail shop is in Franklin, MA. I've only ever gotten their products by mail order, but they were excellent.

http://www.greenmountainchocolate.com/