NORTH AMERICA Archives - Page 2 of 20 - Ultimate Hot Chocolate

A Love Letter Dandelion Chocolate, San Francisco, USA

If you are a chocolate lover, a lover of real, quality, fairly sourced chocolate, San Francisco is a place you should visit…or move to. While you have a lot of choices in and around the city, if you only have time to visit one, visit Dandelion. Dandelion is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory. It is the creation of Todd and Cam, two chocolate lovers who, like many bean to bar makers, started small in their apartment, did a lot of things right to the point where in 2010 they expanded into this Mission factory. This is where they roast, crack, sort, [...]

March 24th, 2017|California, NORTH AMERICA, San Francisco, USA|

A Pilgramage to Ghiardelli for a Hot Chocolate, San Francisco, USA

The last time I came to San Francisco was about this same time of the year. Everyone in the group wanted to do something different. I had one request; I wanted to see the sea lions. We spent the day visiting the bridge and the hills and the trams and everything that San Francisco is so famous for and at the end of the day we stopped for some clam chowder and a sea lion visit only to find that where they are usually hundreds of them today there was only one. Fast forward many years, 10 maybe, this time [...]

March 13th, 2017|California, NORTH AMERICA, San Francisco, USA|

A Hot Chocolate (and Thyme Lemonade or two, or three) at La Boulangerie de San Francisco , San Francisco, USA

If I lived in San Francisco (yes, it was very hard to leave as the whole time we were there I wished we did live there ….. but back to my post), if I lived in San Francisco and for the very short time that we did, our local became La Boulangerie de San Francisco. We came here over and over again, for breakfasts, for snacks and, especially for their gorgeous glass bottles filled with magical lemonade with a hint of thyme. I say magical because I have never had a lemonade in my life that tasted as good as [...]

March 7th, 2017|California, NORTH AMERICA, San Francisco, USA|

A Long Walk and a Hot Chocolate at Jane’s, San Francisco, USA

Japan town is a fascinating area. It is a six square city block area which is the largest and oldest Japantown in the United States. If you had been dropped here, you might even think you were in Japan. The architecture is Japanese, as are the restaurants. There is a shopping mall that goes for several city blocks filled with Japanese stores, bakeries, and more restaurants. We stayed at the nearby Kimpton Buchanan (highly recommended). This whole area was filled with interesting things to see (and a lot of hills, we are after all in San Fran). We spent some [...]

February 20th, 2017|California, NORTH AMERICA, San Francisco, USA|

A Hot Chocolate at Eve Cafe, Ottawa, Canada

It took three years and $360 million dollars, but the Rideau Centre, the shopping mall right smack in the centre of Ottawa, has been completely transformed from a sad and dreary place to a serious shopping destination. One of the new additions is Quebec department store Simmons. Go inside, walk to the left, take the elevator up to the top floor and you will find Eve. It isn’t obvious that there is a coffee shop here, probably the reason that it isn’t very busy. But if visitors knew it existed (as you now will know because I’m telling you), it [...]

February 14th, 2017|Canada, NORTH AMERICA, Ottawa|

A Hot Chocolate at The Scone Witch, Ottawa, Canada

A properly baked scone is a beautiful thing. Its slightly crusty outside protects a pillowy and light inside. The improve it further, slather it with strawberry or raspberry jam and a generous dollop of clotted cream. Then, pair it up with a nice pot of tea… I have been lucky enough to have some near perfect tea and scone moments in my life so far. Lavenham in the UK is perhaps the ultimate tea and scones destination. But across the pond, far far away, there is another spot where you can get a very nice cuppa, an unlikely spot. [...]

February 6th, 2017|Canada, NORTH AMERICA, Ottawa|

A Hot Chocolate at Red Door Provisions, Ottawa, Canada

You could easily drive past Red Door Provisions and not notice it, which would be a real shame. After years of wondering why Beachwood wasn’t developing into the ‘go to’ street I always thought it had the potential to be, there are now, finally, a few pops of greatness. In fact, this little stretch of Beachwood seems to be where small buisinesses that make it big in Ottawa start out. Bridgehead Coffee has a location here, one of its first locations (although, granted, not its first). Burger giant The Works started here (and sadly the little building where it all [...]

January 31st, 2017|Canada, NORTH AMERICA, Ottawa|