Shauna Eats Sunnyside

things that make you go mmmmmm…

(aka shauna eats new york chocolate show)

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thursday night marked the opening night of the 11th annual chocolate show at pier 94, kicking off with a chocolate fashion show (benefiting susan g. komen for the cure), wine and food tastings, and aisles and aisles and aisles of chocolate.

for the record, many other foodies were in attendance, and serious eats posted their writeup today. holla to the chocolate fiends. here’s shauna’s take:

my coworker, AM, and i embarked on the west side choco convention at approximately 7pm. we were so anxious that our hands shook as we hastily tacked on press stickers, crammed event programs into our bags, and darted into the thick, sensual atmosphere of aerated cocoa beans.

no sooner had we set off in the direction of the vendor stands when this adorably in-character peanut butter & co. monkey mascot shuffled up behind me and nuzzled his head on my shoulder. one fiercely unswerving way to my heart—i LOVE MONKEYS!!!



after a photo-op-‘n-cuddle with monkey man, we hit the closest aisle. pr folks in general are a chatty, over-exuberant bunch, and i’m by no means an expert in market relations (to tell you the truth, they kinda make me nervous). but i will give ‘em credit, they sure know how to hustle…

at the palmer’s cocoa butter stand, AM and i slathered on palmer’s newest body formula, skin therapy oil with vitamin e. fun fact: the skin therapy oil’s top ingredient is canola oil.. *shudder*   $10 for 5.1 oz... drugstores nationwide.

next up was UK line green & black’s organic bars. there were samples on-hand of every bar they make, including:

• lust-worthy dark chocolate with contrasting textures of hazelnut & currant.
• B’s fave, the maya gold dark chocolate with spices and a twist of orange.
• the new push, toffee - a creamy stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth milk chocolate texturized with sweet toffee bits that meshes into each bite, but doesn’t clog up your molars. very nice.
• cherry, with hunks of sour (not sweet) dried cherry flair amidst dark choco.

well done, green & black’s. once a fan, always a fan… (find ‘em at gourmet grocers like whole foods, but several kinds are available in our ‘hood at the butcher block). $3-$4 for a 3.5oz bar, greenandblacks.com.

bonus: to bump up the culinary cred of your next cookie batch, g&b also makes baking bars!!



the romanicos chocolate stand had generous sample bowls of cocoa nib truffles (what tha fuck is a nib, anyway?). whatever. more power to the little people. we finagled a press “kit” which contained a sixer of dark-on-dark original sin truffles (only 38 calories each!). Their interior was kinda brown-and-cakey meal. tasty try, but not quite. prices vary, romanicoschocolate.com.

AM picked up a mini vase of mashed potatoes topped with veggie chili courtesy of certé, and though there is no picture to document its existence, it was exactly as one might envision a mini vase of mashed potatoes topped with veggie chili…

now back to the chocolate…

berkshire bark is a massachusetts-run op by two impassioned chocolate dudes. they both say the white lightning bar, with belgian white chocolate, whole roasted cashews, crystallized ginger, lemon zest and sea salt, is their favorite taste explosion. after repeated sampling, i actually bought a bar of the rich jumpin’ java with belgian dark chocolate, roasted almonds, espresso toffee (the trick, they say, is to infuse the toffee with the espresso to create espresso-flavored toffee rather than including separate espresso bits in the chocolate), caramelized coffee nibs (again with that word!) and crushed coffee beanage to bring home to B.  $6 for a 2.8oz bar… available in nyc at select locations of Amish Market, Food Emporium, and Dean & Deluca; also on amazon.com.

lillie belle farms artisan chocolates are the brainchild of jeff shepherd, a culinary vet with a big personality and west coast sensibility. his financial crunch sign was an immediate attention-grabber, as were the smokey blue cheese truffles, which smoosh award-winning blue cheese and roasted almonds into chocolate (unique, tangy, an unlikely palate pleaser, though i doubt i could handle more than two in one sitting). financial crunch: $5 per bag and smokey blue cheese truffles: 12 for $25 gift box, lilliebellefarms.com.

at this point, AM and i noticed that we were among the only “professionals” wandering the room without a glass of wine in hand. as we are meticulous problem-solvers, we beelined straight for the booze table and got us some spirits (they were serving random chardonnay and a terrazzo red).



roni-sue was hitting the crowd hard with their specialty, pig candy (my first time seeing deep-fried chocolate-dipped bacon in the flesh). chef rhonda, aka roni-sue, is a strong woman with carnivorous conviction. her daughter was there helping out, as well… gotta love the family angle when hocking pig parts. the pig candy was DELICIOUS—the fat is rendered out, leaving the bacon super-crunchy and almost mapley against the sweetness of the dark chocolate. as roni-sue puts it, “it’s not meant to be diet.” lucky for us new yorkers, roni-sue’s chocolate shop is at the essex street market at essex and delancey. pig candy (also available online), $38 per pound, roni-sue.com.



we downed a shot of this serendipiTea in passing. wish they had a more exciting vendor booth, cause some of the teas on their website look pretty dope. serendipitea.com for more info.

charles chocolates’s gorgeous chocolate hearts were on display… these had a raspberry center (tender with a creamy burst of fruit!), but awesomely enough, they sell combo boxes on their website with raspberry and their other two sexy flavored hearts, mojito and passion fruit. if i was more of a chocolate whore on valentine’s day, i’d totally want these… *hint hint* 24-heart box for $30, charleschocolates.com. In the city? Check Whole Foods, Garden of Eden, or the badass Amish Market on 45th St.



the phoenix, az-area fairytale brownies people had the brilliant idea of doubling the calories of an already rich-and-fudgy raspberry swirl brownie by dunking it in dark chocolate. we applaud this sentiment, though truthfully, i wasn’t impressed with ‘em— they kinda have the throwback gummy chew of those little debbie plastic-wrapped brownies topped with nut bits. i’m not all about revisiting the middle school cafeteria, so i think i’ll pass. but snaps for managing to secure the rights to the site name brownies.com.



fun fact: theo has partnered with monkey (excuse me, chimp) lover jane goodall, donating proceeds from a fair-trade dark chocolate bar to benefit cocoa farmers, preserve the rainforest, and help the jane goodall institute save chimps—all of which, we can respect. worldly chocolate varieties, $5 for a 3oz bar, theochocolate.com; also at Whole Foods.

we were immediate buddies with the mellow west chester, pa. crew at éclat chocolate. “master chocolatier” christopher curtin rocked euro for awhile, and is big on the use of pure, quality ingredients. beautiful, cocoa-dusted and melty-ganache truffles, stacked thin discs of rich chocolates, and most impressively, the caramel hot chocolate that AM and i slurped graciously, courtesy of these colorful flavored chocolate swirl pops. let me just say that these swirl pops result in the tastiest (slightly salty and sweet, without being overpowering or heavy on the gut) hot cocoa i’ve had in YEARS. a must, an absolute must. can’t wait til they start distributing these babies. eclatchocolate.com for more info.

grand marnier rolled out their new “navan” vanilla cognac in cocktail and straight-up form. AM went for a pineapple-‘n-navan girly drink (pretty sweet); i tried to be tough and took the liqueur straight (*gag*). after promptly disposing of my glass, i swiped an awesome red grand marnier shaker as a consolation prize when the bartender wasn’t looking. navan.com.



jacques torres baited innocent passersby with these ginormo choco chip cookies, but the bourgey bastards weren’t offering ‘em up as freebies, so we missed out. grrr.

chuao chocolatier’s popular firecracker blend of truffles, bars, bonbons and chocopods pack a killer punch of dark chocolate, chipotle, sea salt, and fizzy pop rocks candy. prices vary, chuaochocolatier.com.

as tongue-spazzing as this was, the spicy maya (dark with pasilla chile and cayenne pepper) was complex, with cinnamony sweet undertone. chuao’s pr team (and chef) were fun people, too… which made loving their venezuelan-derived cali-based chocolates that much easier. 3 bars for $18, chuaochocolatier.com.

the ergonomic cocoa bean-shaped chocopods (shown above with passion fruit, orange, and banana centers) are individually wrapped, only 60 calories each, and the perfect quantity of chocolates for a 4pm sugar kick or post-dinner sweet. 6 for $6, chuaochocolatier.com;

chuao is also available at select whole foods, borders bookstores, a&p, and food emporium stores.



divalicious chocolate! rents festive choco fountains for personal and party purposes. they look delightful, but must be a bitch to clean up. and the liquid brown dip wasn’t even remarkable… meh, just meh. from $450 (for a small fountain… that was a big ‘un), divalicious.biz.

we put in to win a trip to the cayman islands… they gave us a slice of rum cake.



as part of the concurrent cook. eat. drink. live. tastings event at pier 94, the grape exchange’s mike grossberg graciously invited us to “sample any wine we want.” when given such freedoms, my mind tends to momentarily reel with power then promptly clam up. wine dude rec’d etude pinot noir, which delighted the senses with light, delicate grape-iness and a smooth, refined aftertaste relatively new to my peasant palate. i also crashed back in for seconds on the barrel monkeys shiraz after i heard mike telling another (far more promising) customer that it was “the big hit” of the night. sweet, sweet shiraz that’s sexy, subtle, and downright chug-worthy. i get the feeling it’s rather expensive. thegrapeexchange.com.

the chocolate fashion show was spectac. unfortunately, my camera was succumbing to battery depletion and got all blurry on my drunk ass. smudge sequence to follow:



“ironman” with edible breast- and back-plates. but that cup? yeah, not biteable in the least.



chick with buildings on her head. made in chocolate. the creativity is endless…



AM enjoying tavalon tea (the after dark blend—sugar and caffeine-free with fruit and flower flavas). big ups to the salesmen at the tea bar. they were cute and down-to-earth, without that overbearing sleaze angle. after dark starting at $5.50, tavalon.com.



“barbarella” (the hotness) with choco gun and sexy swagger.



superhero outfit was thrilling, and we’re guessing she squats about 600.



um, “batgirl”? whatever.

oddly ingenius invention of the evening: andao tea was handing out these reuseable tea cups—cardboard cups with built-in teabags. the “rare and organic Chinese” tea was just okay (truthfully i didn’t want a refill, but felt awkward throwing out a perfectly good teabag cup). teas are available at sweet leaf cafe in long island city! QUEENS, REPRESENT!

AM posing with the hybrid we entered a lotto for. she swears it will be her’s.

sweetriot had a festive display, but with all those handheld tin packs, the clique was quite stingy with handouts. ‘riot’s new 70% dark chocolate unbar was divine, but hasn’t hit the web yet… sweetriot.com.

no idea how these chocolates tasted, and that’s probably a good thing. but they had some pretty hot packaging… see bunnies, second row.



at the french culinary institute of new york, students learn to make chocolate power puff girls… charming. moving right along…



lara croft: tomb raider costume. mannequins in general freak me the fuck out.. but this one had an edible bra, skirt, and holster — so faceless plasticity and creepy frozen postures are ultimately forgiven.

another favorite of mine were japanese maker mary’s chocolate co.’s ganaches (in black sesame, sake, and green tea) feng-shui’d up in a glass sushi display case. at this point, the ravenous crowd was circling, and i got elbowed every which way as starving, lecherous fashionistas moved in on the samples. if there wasn’t a delicate ganache already getting melty in my fingers, i would’ve turned and punched one of the b*tches right in her adam’s apple.

at this point my fearless compadre AM and i were high on sugar and looped on cocktails. what next? we did shots of vodka out of chocolate cups from a tree. gotta keep it classy!

the peanut butter & co. monkey was nowhere to be found, but the ten-year-old company’s specialty peanut butters were hard-hitting with bumps of cinnamon raisin swirl, maple bursts, and cayenne heat. awesome, just awesome. visit their sandwich shop on sullivan street in the village, or hit up ilovepeanutbutter.com. and find me that monkey!

maison-boissier brings french sophistication with floral-tinged chocolate petals (great for table displays)—i only tried the lavender white chocolate petal, with real bits of french lavender, and it was beautiful, fragrant, and smooth. but m-b’s true love juice lies in its white chocolate mango jam, which i could’ve (and very well should have) guzzled straight, just on principle alone. you can tell jam makes me happy. maison-boissier.com for more info.



autographed pele ball up for auction.. for all the high-rollers who don’t worry about job security and health insurance and can blow the bank bidding on an obnoxious yellow ball in their spare time.



spread of freebies booty, in full effect… B was beside himself.