Läderach Chocolate Shop

One of the places I was very happy to finally visit was Läderach on 5th Avenue. They have been in business since 1962, and originated from the Swiss town of Glarus, now known worldwide. The Swiss are famous for their chocolate and watches (Swatch is one of my faves) so there is no surprise this place is pretty amazing. They have opened a few shops within the city so you can find one easily where you may be strolling around. Let's take a peek inside: 

They are famous for the frisch schoggi, from their website:

"FrischSchoggi is a marriage of fresh Läderach chocolate with carefully sourced, quality ingredients, presented as delightful slabs. This Swiss German expression for fresh chocolate is synonymous with creativity and a unique taste experience. "

They can be purchased in small packages, or you can pick a slab flavor, and they will break apart how much you wish to purchase. It's pretty amazing! 

I tried the item on the left and they were to die for, the popcorn is still on my list. 

They also have regular chocolate pieces, there is so much to choose from here, it's lovely to have such hard decisions to make. 

Look at all those hazelnuts !! 

I first tried the assorted flavors, but, I prefer picking my own flavors from the whole slabs 

When I saw this site for the first time, I just had a very large smile from ear to ear 

Totally amazing to look at and to enjoy 

I would highly recommend a visit here if you love chocolate, and different types of options. They had a pumpkin flavor for the fall that was so amazing. What a fun way to enjoy chocolate confections! 

You can check out their website below for locations in the city, and they do ship as well which works best now we are in cold weather season. 

Läderach

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Mariebelle New York at The Pierre Hotel

Mariebelle New York at the Pierre Hotel (Photo Credit: Mariebelle New York)

How is it June already ? This year is flying by for sure, but I have some wonderful chocolate news to share with you. One of my favorite chocolate shops, Mariebelle New York, has opened a boutique in the historic Pierre Hotel on 5th Avenue. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Soho chocolate shop but this location will be easier for me to visit more often. 

Mariebelle New York Chocolates are as tasty as they are beautiful. You almost do not want to eat them! Her hot or cold cocoa is a classic New York treat and should be tasted by all. Please note the info on the shop hours and if you are in the location, drop by. You will not be disappointed, they make great gifts for family, friends or just for you. We all need fabulous chocolate in our lives. 

The iconic Pierre Hotel this season continues to be the place to indulge in the exquisite world of MarieBelle Chocolates.

Expanding from the popular shop in Soho, the famed chocolate house now serves customers on the Upper East Side Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at 2 East 61st Street at the latest luxury boutique.

The Pierre on Fifth Avenue provides a perfect setting for the highly desirable sweets made by the world-famous chocolatier. Since 1930, the hotel has been revered as a quintessential monument to New York City grandeur. Shoppers will find for purchase at the boutique prestigious selections of gift boxes in a perfect sophisticated setting.

About Mariebelle New York:

MarieBelle New York founder and CEO Maribel Lieberman was born and raised near the cacao fields of Honduras and, as a young girl, she made and sold sweets to the local community. She emigrated to the U.S. and studied at The Parsons School of Design where she developed her innate sensibility for luxury goods, fine food and elegant fashion, she launched her entrepreneurial career in the 1990s with Maribel Gourmet Cuisine, a catering enterprise serving high-profile clients, U.S. Diplomats, and a U.S. President. In October 2000, Maribel opened the doors of her first retail shop, Lunettes Et Chocolat. This was an eclectic boutique offering designer eyewear and handmade chocolates.

 Shortly after in 2001, Maribel opened MarieBelle New York in Soho. MarieBelle NY quickly gained a loyal following from local and international customers with discerning palettes. Word made it to Oprah about MarieBelle NY and her unparalleled Aztec Hot Chocolate, which she announced as one of her "favorite things.” From these beginnings. MarieBelle NY is recognized as a top chocolate house with stores in New York and Japan.

MarieBelle New York at The Pierre Hotel

2 East 61st Street

New York, NY 10065

(917) 204-1178

 

MarieBelle New York at The Prince Kitano Hotel 

66 Park Avenue (East 38th Street)

New York, NY 10016

(212) 885-7177

MarieBelle New York (SoHo)

484 Broome Street

New York, NY 10013

(212) 925-6999

As I stated, too beautiful to eat - almost like little paintings 

**this is not a sponsored post. 

Please be sure to follow me on Instagram for lots of photos and activity of my travels to NYC. I would be delighted to see you there, be sure to say "hi" 

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Nicola's Marketplace Biscotti

I recently had the pleasure of tasting biscotti from Nicola's Marketplace. The website has amazing Italian foods which all look really wonderful and freshly made. Nothing beats Italian cooking, you can use the most simple ingredients and the dish comes out amazing! 

A little bit from their website:

Founded by Chef Nicola, the Marketplace was started in 2021 with a mission to bring customers a delightful experience with every order. Chef Nicola is passionate about high quality and taste when it comes to creating the ultimate culinary experience.

I liked the fact that they were not rock hard, my Mom's recipe is for a very soft biscotti which I love. If I don't want to dip them in espresso or coffee or tea, I can eat them on their own. Lots of cranberry in this one and hint of orange. Just enough. 

I love chocolate in general but when you pair with hazelnut or walnut, it's magic! These flavors were right on point, not too sweet and just perfect. The biscotti is also small size which is nice as well, especially if you want a few for breakfast. They make a very nice light dessert after dinner, 3 of them would be perfect after a heavy meal. 

You can really see them up close in these photos, they are really wonderful and I would highly suggest you give them a try if you are a biscotti lover! 

Just look at all the cranberries and pistachio !!!

Nicola's Marketplace 

Please be sure to follow me on Instagram for lots of photos and activity of my travels to NYC. I would be delighted to see you there, be sure to say "hi" 

**I was sent biscotti from Nicola's Marketplace for the purpose of this review. The opinions herein are based on my own experience and are my own.

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Brooklyn Chocolate Tour Up and Running

I was thrilled to receive the email from Tony at A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours that my FAVORITE tour is staring up again, The Brooklyn Chocolate Tour ! I was honored to be on the first tour Tony did and it just blew my mind. It's so nice to have someone else handle the worries of travel for the day and take you to the best chocolate makers in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Chocolate Tour from A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours needs to be on your bucket list. I feel Tony's tours are the best to see Brooklyn, they are very carefree, and you can tell much work went into the planning of the tour.    

 

The new addition from when I did the tour is the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory in DUMBO, Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass, and who does not love ice cream! Such a great addition I think and will go well with the other fabulous spots as well. 

  

We also visited Valentino Pier  in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which had gorgeous views of Lady Liberty  

We were really very lucky with the gorgeous day we had on this first of many chocolate tours! When you go on a tour with someone who is from Brooklyn, they will take you places you probably won't know to go on your own. That is what makes it worth while. 

 

The Chocolate Room was a place I had heard about and always wanted to visit. It did not disappoint. How nice of Tony to hold the door for everyone to check out this chocolate heaven! 

We were able to meet one of the owners, Jon Payson, which was very neat. He talked about how they started the shop, and we were able to ask questions. Now I must say, the smell in this place was like being in the chocolate room of Willy Wonka! It smelled so, so good. I could have stayed all day.  

We were treated to the most tasty hot chocolate, think of a melted chocolate bar! 

Their famous chocolate layer cake was given to us to taste in cupcake form.  

This was truly an amazing foodie experience. This place was really the highlight of the trip for me!  

Adorable cafe, not very big, but oh so worth the trip. I hope they open one in Manhattan in the future as I would be really thrilled! They do ship some of their items online.  

Raaka Co. Chocolate Factory in Red Hook was our next stop. Raaka is Finnish for "raw" because they do not roast the cocoa beans. Most chocolate that you buy is made by roasting the beans, this is a different process that produces some of the most amazing flavored chocolate. 

Happiness is Unroasted 

We also had the pleasure of meeting the co-owner here as well, Ryan Cheney, who talked about what was important to the company. Raaka supports in-country growth and development by giving cocoa farmers around the world an effective 20 percent raise for their beans.  

We had a tasting of about 5 of their bars, and one was better than the next. The coconut milk and apple pie were my favorites, and came home with me. 

 

The bars' gorgeous wrappers, are pretty amazing as well. Printed with soy inks on 100% recycled paper and processed with wind-generated energy, it's good for the planet, too. This apple pie bar is just unreal, you can actually taste the crust from the graham cracker on top. Sublime. 

Li-Lac Chocolates in Industry City was our last stop on the tour. This is the oldest Manhattan chocolate shop, opening in 1923. I have been to their location inside Grand Central Terminal, but this was a nice spot to check out their new place. Industry City is really growing by leaps and bounds. 

I never met a chocolate shoe I didn't like! They have some of the best chocolate molds here. 

This was amazing to see the chocolate being dipped on what looked like cookies! I was looking to see if Lucy was going to come and try to work the machine! (I actually have a hallmark ornament of her doing just that!) They are also in Chelsea Market and Greenwich Village. A must stop for the chocolate lover! 

This Brooklyn Choolate Tour was just wonderful. The time went by too fast, I need to do another one with a friend! The tours run Tuesday and Thursday, leaving from Union Square area. The tours run about 4.5 hours, cost is $80.00 per person, children under 12 are $70.00. Advanced tickets are required, and you will not be disappointed in this tour. You actually may wish to take it more than once, to cater to your chocolate and Brooklyn fix! The tour is worth every penny, you are also patronizing  small businesses, the bus tour company and chocolate shops. 

Disclosure: I was provided one ticket to attend this chocolate tour by A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours for this review. There has been no monetary compensation for this post. I only recommend products that I feel will be of interest to my readers, and that I am truly impressed by. All opinions are my own. Thank you!! 

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10 Best Chocolate Easter Shops in NYC

I don't know about you, but I am not sure where this year has gone! I cannot believe Easter is in about a month. Since many fast on chocolate and sweets for Lent, now is the time to enjoy all those goodies! I decided to give you a list of my favorite candy shops in the city, there are so many talented chocolatiers out there. The amazing combos they come up with really blow the mind! Vosges Haut-Chocolate is famous for their bacon and chocolate bar, I also love their Peanut Butter Bon-Bons. I am really quite a peanut butter egg lover myself! Royce Chocolates are very unique as established in Tokyo in 1983. They have an amazing selection of Matcha items that will blow your mind. 

You will make some amazing Easter baskets with items from the folks listed below, and, many of them do ship if you can't get to New York City by next weekend!

In no particular order, here they are:

1. Vosges Haut- Chocolate

2. L A Burdick Chocolate

3. La Maison du Chocolat

4. MarieBelle

5. Jacques Torres

6. Neuhaus Chocolate

7. Li-Lac Chocolates

8. Dylan's Candy Bar

9. Royce Chocolates

10. Economy Candy

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Awesome New Dessert Spots on UWS

Hope you are all doing well. I am going to be posting some information regarding new openings in the city as well as old places that have re-opened for business. Who would have ever thought the long road this pandemic would be, I sure did not at all. So many business have closed in NYC and around the world, and we need to try to support those who remain open or are re-opening as best we can. I have been ordering from many places online having food and other items delivered. 

If you are planning to travel to NYC, keep in mind to check the hours of places you wish to visit as their hours may have changed. It seems places are not open their normal hours as they were prior to COVID. As of September 13, 2021, you need to provide proof of at least 1 does of coronavirus vaccine for a variety of activities, indoor dining - gyms - Broadway shows - performances - museums. 

The  Excelsior Pass  (for those vaccinated in New York) and NYC Covid Safe (for those vaccinated outside New York), are the 2 apps you need to use, but paper is fine too. 

The Upper West Side is one of my favorite places in the city. They are having some wonderful new dessert spots opening that I thought I would tell you about! Mark these on your Google calendar for places to go when you are able to visit the city again! They all sound pretty amazing!! 

The amazing Italian chocolate and gelato company, Venchi, is planning to open a new shop in the location where L'Occatine was located after closing this year being in that location for 31 years. The spot is 198 Columbus Avenue (corner of 69th Street) and although I was sad to see L'OCCATINE close, replacing it with Venchi makes me smile! Venchi also opened another shop at Columbus Circle 1796 Broadway between 58th and 59th Streets. Founded in 1878, the gelato will just make you very happy and the chocolate selections are out of this world good. They do ship their products, you will need to wait till summer is over for chocolate to be able to be shipped but I would highly recommend if you cannot get there in person! You will not be disappointed! 

Venchi just makes me so darn happy 

Magnolia Bakery is opening a new location right across the street from the soon to be open Venchi. I was never a person to stand in line for Magnolia baked goods, they are tasty but for some reason, they don't rock my world.

 

Kee’s Chocolates has opened at 228 Columbus Avenue, between 70th and 71st Streets. I had the pleasure of trying their chocolate at an another location and all I can say is "WOW" - just amazing flavors and texture. They do ship their fantastic chocolates once summer heat is over, so if you can't get there in person, support them by ordering online. 

Truffles to die for 

Two additional recent dessert spots that have opened  include Janie’s “Life Changing Baked Goods” at 212 West 80th Street (pie crust cookies) which do ship online as well and Zai’s Dessertery at 468-470 Amsterdam Avenue which is their first location in NYC. They have wonderful French macarons, ice cream, cupcakes and stuffed crepes. They both look like two fabulous places I need to check out asap! 

A few more awesome dessert spots opening soon are Chip City Cookies at 370 Columbus Avenue - I have yet to try these cookies but from what I see online, they look pretty amazing! 

A second Blue Marble Ice Cream at 2058 Broadway - I am a huge ice cream lover and the Blue Marble is quite tasty indeed! 

Maman, at a location which is currently undisclosed. Maman is a very exciting French spot so elegant  for desserts, a light bite to eat and coffees/teas. I have visited their shop in the Nomad area, but only when I was in the city for 4th of July holiday as they were always too busy before. I am glad to see they are opening more locations in other spots in the city so hopefully they will be easier to enjoy. They do ship their cookies, and I have had some sent to me while not being able to get to the city. They are also coming out with a wonderful cookbook September 14th if you wish to check that out. I somehow think I will not be able to create their masterpieces at home but I just may try! 

The most amazing banana bread you will ever enjoy ! 

I hope you all stay healthy and that you can venture back to NYC very soon. The city needs us back just as much as we need it. The city has so much to offer, Broadway - Architecture - Dining - Culture - Art just to name a few! Thank you for following the blog and here's to more wonderful posts about where to go in NYC ! 

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