Valentine’s Chocolate Review

As a lover of all things chocolate, Valentine’s Day has always been one of my absolute favorite holidays. I don’t consider my February complete until I’ve devoured at least one heart-shaped box of chocolates. Typically, I’d just pick one up from the candy aisle at Target, but this year I was feeling extra adventurous. In an effort to branch out and support small businesses, I decided to pay a visit to a few of our local chocolatiers.

Laura Little’s

After years of driving by Laura Little’s Candies on 75th Street and wondering what was inside, I finally decided to check it out. After browsing their large chocolate selection — including hand-sized chocolate hearts that can be personalized — I chose a raspberry truffle. It was rectangular-shaped with a thick dark chocolate shell and creamy, chocolate raspberry filling. The raspberry flavor was subtle to the point where if I were to blindly taste it, I’m not confident that I would’ve guessed its flavor correctly. Even so, the dark chocolate was a perfect combo of bitter and sweet — just the way I like it.

Andre’s

Whenever I think of Andre’s, it reminds me of having lunch with my parents in their Swiss-style dining room surrounded by European flags. This time, however, I was there for some chocolate rather than their fan-favorite cheese pie. After much deliberation, I settled on a small box of their Valentine chocolate batons. Don’t be misled by the name — they’re not designed for directing an orchestra. Instead, they’re solid chocolate sticks infused with raspberry or cinnamon flavors topped with a stripe or heart pattern. The sticks had a nice snap to them when I bit down, and the smooth chocolate melted in my mouth. Although I tried both flavors, my favorite was the raspberry because of its sweetness and unmistakable fruity flavor.

Christopher Elbow

Christopher Elbow is my family’s go-to local chocolate shop to the point that all of our relatives have come to expect a box of Christopher Elbow chocolates from us each holiday season. On this trip downtown, I resisted my temptations to get my usual fleur de sel chocolate truffle in favor of opting for something a little more bold. A bright yellow, orange and pink chocolate called yuzu mandarin caught my eye and I knew I needed to try it. I found out after buying the chocolate that yuzu is a sour Japanese citrus fruit — and sour it was. The center of the chocolate was filled with a yuzu and mandarin orange blended caramel. Luckily, it was enclosed in a thin white chocolate shell that balanced out the caramel’s sourness perfectly, giving the fleur de sel some competition for my favorite chocolate.

Check out an interactive map of these spots here