I am considering moving to New York in 2013 just for the month of February. I will find a place to live just near Union Square, more specifically above The City Bakery. Why you ask? Well, The City Bakery has a hot chocolate festival during the whole month of February. This is exciting stuff! They have been doing this for 20 years now (how did I not know!). Every day during the month of February they serve a different hot chocolate. The full list is on their website, February 6th was a lemon hot chocolate, on the 14th of February was the Love Potion Hot Chocolate, the 22nd was the Ode to the Polar Bear Hot Chocolate followed by the What would Faulkner drink hot chocolate on the 23rd. They even have a beer hot chocolate on the 17th!
Rich ordered the hot chocolate while I grabbed a seat on the mezzanine with a view of the full bakery and this was a smart move. From here I watched the whole hot chocolate operation. One of the staff, all of them dressed in blue with white hats and aprons, went to a large pot of thick hot chocolate, poured it into a white ceramic bowl and placed right in the middle a very large marshmallow that they make in store. The hot chocolate was thick with a nice rich consistency. The chocolate wasn’t sweet, more bitter. This isn’t a hot chocolate you can have every day but when you want to do it properly this is the hot chocolate you want. The marshmallow looks fantastic but it was perhaps the sweetest thing I have ever tasted in my life. But the whole thing was gorgeous.
When we left we ventured into the Chocolate room, yes they have a little, lightly dimmed room, almost like a cigar room, which is filled with chocolate. I’m guessing during the Hot chocolate festival this is stocked full of goodies.
Verdict: The kind of hot chocolate that is mandatory on a cold miserable day…or any day during the month of February. If you have a sweet tooth have it with the marshmallow, if you don’t, take it out. They also serve food and even have a macaroni and cheese station if you are hungry for more. The City Bakery, 3 West 18th Street, New York, USA
