Av. Amsterdam may be my favourite street in Condesa. It is a wide road with a beautiful pedestrian path in the middle that is covered in greenery. Through the greenery you get glimpses of the interesting and diverse styles of buildings on either side of the street. Walking along this path with the locals you feel like you live here, like you could live here or in our case like we’d love to live here! You can never get lost on Av. Amsterdam, or perhaps it is actually that you are always lost if you walk on Av. Amsterdam. The road does a full circle around what used to be the race track of a hippodrome which was once here. The middle of the former hippodrome has been transformed into Parque Mexico, one block away, which appeared to be the meeting spot of all the trendy locals and their even trendier dogs.
So no matter which direction you walk in you will eventually reach Tout Chocolate at which point you will stop, walk in and smile. The walls are painted bright pink and the floor is covered in black tiles with white dots. It is like entering some sort of Alice in Wonderland world, complete with displays of cakes, cookies and truffles. We tried their Mezcal truffle with sea salt, and if you find yourself in Mexico city you must come here to try it. You just must. It was sensational.
So no matter which direction you walk in you will eventually reach Tout Chocolate at which point you will stop, walk in and smile. The walls are painted bright pink and the floor is covered in black tiles with white dots. It is like entering some sort of Alice in Wonderland world, complete with displays of cakes, cookies and truffles. We tried their Mezcal truffle with sea salt, and if you find yourself in Mexico city you must come here to try it. You just must. It was sensational.
The space isn’t big but it does have a small space to sit inside as well as a couple of big chairs outside on the sidewalk, perfect to watch the beautiful people and dogs of Condesa walk by. From the inside though you have a view into one of the kitchens where they create the chocolates. While we were there, a chef was busy weighing out apricots, then chocolate chips, then cocoa butter. We watched on as he dripped chocolate onto a tray and spread it thin and repeated the process a few times.
Hot chocolates are different in every country which is why they are so fascinating, and Mexican hot chocolates are some of the most complex and intriguing of them all. Lots of hot chocolates are one note. The sweetness can easily pull them down and make them…monotone lets say. In contrast, many Mexican hot chocolates are like a little melody. They have so many different notes, different spices, different characteristics to them and every sip you get something slightly different, a bit of nutmeg, a bit of cinnamon, a bit of chili perhaps, but nothing overwhelms or comes out too strongly. It’s like they are all there together, in harmony. You can tell that Mexicans have been making hot chocolates for a very, very long time. This particular one was rich and creamy, bittersweet with a strong hint of cinnamon and was beautiful.
Verdict: Not surprisingly fantastic. And don’t forget that Mezcal and sea salt truffle – it’s a must! Tout Chocolat, Amsterdam 154, Condesa, Mexico City, Mexico
