Weekly Wine and Chocolate Tastings at Fantasy Candies in Lyndhurst

I like sweet things. More than I probably should. Ice cream. Brownies. Cupcakes. Riesling. Moscato...I could go on forever, really. But you get my drift. If it's sweet, most likely, I'll like it.

I was watching good old Fox 8 in the Morning a few weeks ago and I saw a Kickin' it With Kenny spot featuring Fantasy Candies, a chocolate/wine shop within walking distance of my house. Although I'd driven by Fantasy Candies nearly every day, I'd only stopped in once, years ago, when they were in another location. I was immediately impressed by the selection of chocolates that appeared on my screen and I was even more impressed when they mentioned having weekly wine and chocolate tastings in the store for only $10.

And so I went. Well, we went. Me and the new boyfriend. (more on that in another post) He and I joke that we're fat kids at heart, so before heading out to dinner last Saturday, we dropped by Fantasy Candies in the 6:00 hour for some booze and candy. Who says you shouldn't have dessert first?

We were warmly greeted by Joel, the owner and he got us set up with a plate full of some of his amazing candies and equally amazing wines. He took the time to talk to us about the different wines and how they complimented the various chocolates. Clearly, he knows his stuff. And you can tell how passionate he is about his business. I chatted with him for a little bit about other wine tastings in the area and asked him about business and he was more than happy to talk to me for quite awhile.

We were given 4 generous wine samples and 4 different kinds of chocolate, including Fantasy Candies' signature chocolate, SweetDreams 72, a high cocoa chocolate. I can honestly say that I liked all of the pairings. There was a zinfandel with a dark chocolate, a Riesling with a key lime truffle, a sparkling red wine with a milk chocolate truffle, and a milk chocolate caramel with sea salt with a port. I can honestly say that I liked all of the chocolates equally because they were all so rich and good. I'm not much of a red wine drinker, but the wines paired with the chocolates were all really flavorful and completely complemented the candies.

These tastings are held every Saturday from 6-8 p.m. right inside Fantasy Candies. Plus, there are other special events held intermittently that you can find out about if you follow Fantasy Candies' facebook page or sign up for their email list. They also have a really good sized space for holding private tastings or events. (think ladies night out, corporate meeting, or bridal shower!)

So if you're a sweets lover like me, you like supporting local businesses, and you're looking for something fun and unique to do on a Saturday night, drop by Fantasy Candies!

Thirty Days of Chocolate - Feast on Chocolate at Pier W

Although people think I'm weird when I say this, Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday.  Hands down.  There is no other day of the year that I enjoy more. (except my birthday, but that's only 4 days after Valentine's Day, so...)  Almost every year I throw a Valentine's Day party fit for a first grader (hello doilies, glitter, and stickers) and celebrate all things pink and heart shaped.  If you know me IRL, I'm not exactly girlie, so loving this holiday is a little out of character for me. 

I was just reminded of the awesomeness of the Valentine's Day season by a tweet I saw from Pier W.  Every year, from January 16 to February 14, they have an all you can eat chocolate bar for $12 a person.  They call it Thirty Days of Chocolate.  Sounds pricey, but not when you consider the items offered on their chocolate buffet of sorts - they have truffles, and mouse, and brownies, and tarts, and just about anything else you can think of, made out of chocolate.  I went to Pier W last Valentine's Day and got to sample just about one of everything from the chocolate buffet and left feeling fat and happy. (This is why I run...to indulge in gluttony every once in awhile.)

If you're a chocoholic like I am, this is a neat culinary event to check out.  I don't think you can find this kind of chocolate variety anywhere else in the city.

Too much of a good thing - Chocolate Bar

A group of my friends get together every month-ish for what we call "ladies who do lunch."  It's much less white glove and floofy hat than your traditional ladies luncheon.  Basically we just like to have a fun name for our outings.

Our most recent "ladies" outing/birthday celebration (because February is full of birthday celebrations for me, don't you know), we ventured out to Chocolate Bar, the new chocolate-themed chain restaurant/martini bar that opened in the E.4th neighborhood.  As the birthday girl, I got to pick the location of our luncheon.  I was a little nervous about picking Chocolate Bar because if you read any of the online reviews, you get the impression that this is the worst restaurant ever based on service AND food quality.  But, I like chocolate - a lot - and I like trying new places - and 2010 is the year of "why the heck not," so we went on a Saturday afternoon.  There were only a handful of people there.  But I'd imagine E.4th isn't hopping during the day (unless it's St.Patrick's Day - it's March now - let the countdown begin!)

Since we were celebrating my birthday, I figured I had to try at least one of Chocolate Bar's signature martinis.  I started off with the coconut macaroon martini.  

As with any chocolate martini, it was delicious - and dangerous.  Why dangerous?  Chocolate martinis generally taste like chocolate milk - or in this case, chocolate coconut milk.  How easy is it to drink a glass of chocolate milk (in theory, for those of us who don't drink milk)  Pretty easy, right?  Which is why you can drink more chocolate martinis than you should in a very short amount of time.  (not that I know this from experience or anything...)

After we ordered our meals, I decided to try another one of the staples of Chocolate Bar - chocolate shots.  You can select from a smorgasboard of liquors and have a half ounce shot poured into an edible chocolate shot glass.

 

(what's with the one rose petal?)

I went with espresso vodka in a chocolate shot glass.  I like chocolate.  And I really like espresso vodka, so this was a WIN in my book. 

It seemed like we waited for a little whole to get our food, but maybe that was just my impression after the shot and the martini.  When my entree arrived - the chocolate baguette (one of the restaurant's signature dishes)- I was kind of disappointed.  The presentation was less than spectacular.  And when I took a bite, it got even worse.  Essentially, my baguette had melted chocolate in the center.  Olive oil was provided as a dipping sauce.  I'm all about adventurous eating these days, but baguette + chocolate+ oil = not so great.  It seemed like a meal a little kid would make if no one was around to supervise.  "Yay!  Let me put chocolate on anything!"

My friend had another one of the signature dishes - a pasta in a white chocolate cream sauce.  I'll never do the dish any justice by describing it.  It was actually really good - not a hint of chocolate - unlike in my meal. 

While eating my not so great lunch, I ordered another martini.  A chocolate peanut butter martini.

I expected peanut infused vodka...but instead, got spoonfuls of peanut butter in my martini glass.  A little odd...a little difficult to drink...but still tasty.

We all ordered dessert before ending our luncheon.  I mean, we sort of had to.  Who doesn't order dessert in a restaurant named after dessert?

I got a triple chocolate mousse cake type thing.  Again, presentation was a little odd but it tasted good.

We were all pretty happy with our desserts, leading me to the conclusion that this restaurant is great for boozing and dessert, but probably not a meal.  And although I like the concept, I'm not sure that I'd ever make another special trip to this restaurant...unless it's in a party bus on my next birthday for some drinks.

Have you been to this new restaurant yet?  If so, I'd love to hear your take on it.

Do the Lakewood Chocolate Walk

I wonder what a choclate walk would look like? Maybe something like a waddle?

This Thursday, October 29, 2009, a delicious sounding event will be held in Lakewood to benefit the Lakewood Business Alliance - the Lakewood Chocolate Walk. For a mere $15, you can travel from store to store on Lakewood's main strip and get delicious chocolate goodies - everything from take home candies to "eat on the spot" (as they're calling it) lava cake and chocolate soup. The whole gluttonous evening is topped off, quite literally, with an ice cream sundae bar. Is this a formerly fat kid's dream, or what? Vegans - they haven't forgotten about you. At at least one of the stops, there will be candy from No Whey! Candies. (I'm embarassed to say I didn't even know that a place like this existed in Cleveland. I need to place an order ASAP.)

I love the city of Lakewood and its many vegetarian and vegan friendly establishments, so I hope to get to support this good cause. I might just need to wear some loose pants.

Trader Joe's Chocolate Souffles

Due to my loyalty to Whole Foods (and laziness), I rarely go to Trader Joe's. I appreciate the store for offering all sorts of organic/natural/healthy products, but I think Whole Foods has them beat. Hands down.

I happened to be in the same shopping plaza as a Trader Joe's waiting for take-out (more on that later), so I decided to stop in. Per usual, I didn't really find anything that wowed me until I went to the frozen foods section, where I happened to stumble across Trader Joe's Chocolate Souffles with ramekin cups. Had I not recently purchased a lava cake mix (which requires using ramekins), I might not have bought this dessert, but I figured I could kill two birds with one stone - try a delicious, chocolatey dessert and solve my ramekin problem.

At 270 calories and 10 grams of fat, I'd call one of these chocolate souffles a "special occasion" dessert - 1. because it takes some effort to bake them for 20 minutes (I'm lazy) and 2. they look fancy.

I made these little souffles last night and was pretty impressed. I have a tendency to burn or under cook just about everything and they came out perfectly. I expected them to be more oohey gooey in the center, but they were more like a mini chocolate cake. (think Easy Bake oven) They were good - but as a chocolate lover, I think they could have been more rich. My boyfriend, who isn't as big of a chocolate or dessert fan as I am, thought they were perfect. Before I buy another batch of these souffles, I think I'll try making my lave cake/souffle mix to see if I can have a more chocolatey dessert.

Free candy with Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act

While checking an alternate email account this morning, I was drawn in by one of the obnoxious ads at the top of the page. Apparently every Friday at 9:00 AM ET, the Mars candy company (M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, MILKY WAY® and DOVE®) will be giving away 250,000 coupons for free candy. It's their attempt at an economic stimulus package. And from the wording of their campaign, they're trying to sway people from eating chocolate "flavored candy" to eating real chocolate. (BTW - what's an example of chocolate candy that doesn't use real chocolate?!?)

If you're interested in trying to get a free bar, check out the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act site.