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 Must Try Foods Upper West Side

I think every part of New York City has foods that you just need to try. A foodie bucket list perhaps. The Upper West Side has many wonderful restaurants, some that have been around for over 50 years. There is a reason why a place would be in business for so long, especially in a city like New York, where places open and close daily. If you should venture to this wonderful area, and get away from Times Square (not a favorite of mine), here are the foods you need to sample. In no particular order because that would be terribly hard:

1.   Levain Bakery - The cookies, you MUST try the cookies They are life changing.
2.   Zabar's            -  Matzo ball soup OR/AND bagel with lox and cream cheese
3.   Jacques Torres - Wicked hot chocolate AND chocolate covered cheerios
4.   Nice Matin      -  Short rib ravioli
5.   Parm               -   Perfect meatball parm sandwich
6.   Red Farm        -   Best Chinese food, shrimp dumplings that look like pac-man
7.   Epicerie Boulud -  Best snack food experience
8.   Maison Pickle    -  French dips
9.   Jin Ramen         -   Best ramen and steamed pork buns
10. Old John's Lunchoeonette -  Breakfast menu is suburb 

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2017 NYC Foodie Gift Guide

This is not a sponsored post 

I thought it would be a fun idea to do some gift guides this year. We are going to have one for foodies and a regular gift guide for 2017 and I hope they give you some ideas for your holiday shopping. I really love giving gifts, I like to really surprise people with unique items. I really feel with the internet, there is no reason for a boring gift. It shouldn't exist! Here are some items for the foodie friend or family member that will make them very happy Christmas morning. 

Our friends at L.A. Burdick have the most amazing chocolates, including these mice! For the chocolate lover, they will be thrilled to receive any gift from this shop. They ship from their website, along with some chocolate penguins and snowmen! A very unique gift! 

Eataly is the Italian dream for the foodie lover. Even if you cannot get there in person, they offer gift baskets online. Another fun idea is to purchase one of the cooking classes for someone as a surprise. The big thing lately is not purchasing "things" but "memories" and that would be something very memorable. 

For the coffee lover, Irving Farm Roasters has coffee subscriptions  which would make me very happy! With the popularity of iced coffee (I drink it all year) an Iced Pour Over Bundle is a very fun item for the java addict! Irving Farm Coffee Roasters was founded in 1996 when David Elwell and Steve Leven opened a much-needed neighborhood café in Gramercy Park. Fast-forward twenty years, and now Irving Farm is one of New York's most beloved hometown roasters with seven cafés, a bustling wholesale business, the only SCAA-certified Training & Education Loft in NYC, a brand new Roastery & Tasting Room, and a green coffee buying program led by Dan Streetman that focuses on direct relationships with farmers, sustainable practices, and a philosophy of quality over quantity.

The beer lovers have the amazing Brooklyn Brewery which has cool merchandise on their website for sale. You can also purchase a tour of the brewery as a gift, one memorable experience! The brewery was open in 1988 and has become one of the best breweries in the country. 

Another great coffee item, my personal favorite, New York Gourmet Coffee, which has every flavor of coffee available in Decaf. It is so hard to find lots of flavored coffee in Decaf, and these folks do it right! They do have non-flavored coffee and flavored regular coffee available. Josh, the owner, is the nicest guy and I am always happy to recommend his coffee to everyone! 

Our friends at Fat Witch Bakery ship most of their items from their website. Their brownies are like fudge, what a great gift for your friends and family! Gift boxes and gift tins (which are great keepsakes) are available,  logo mugs are fun and you can even send a Fat Witch cookbook! 

Fishs Eddy is a most excellent and fun shop! Whimsical designs, vintage pattern kitchenware at very affordable prices. Very unique gift ideas, great for the hard to buy person, and will give them a good laugh as well! I prefer purchasing online so I don't have to carry the items all through the city. 

Jacques Torres is known as Mr. Chocolate for a reason! His chocolates make a fantastic holiday gift. The hot chocolate and wicked hot chocolate are most memorable drinking by the fireplace on a winter night. The chocolate chip cookies are to die for as well as the mudslide for the chocolate lovers. My favorites are the chocolate covered cornflakes and cheerios. They make such a unique gift for folks young and old! 

Baked by Melissa is just a really fun, fun gift for anyone! They make fantastic mini cupcakes, muffins and french macarons! They offer shipping on their website, and whomever receives these will be very happy, and will probably not want to share! My faves are the cupcakes and macarons, but the muffins are tasty too! 

Being the foodie that I am, I do have quite a cookbook collection. Bonnie Slotnick Cookbook shop has been in the city for a long time and features vintage and out of print cookbooks for purchase. If you need to buy for someone who already has many cookbooks, this could be a great experience to find something they do not have. I have a few vintage ones that my Mom had, and they are so fantastic inside, very different from what we know today. A true gem of a shop, located at 

28 East Second St.

New York, NY 10003

212-989-8962

bonnieslotnickbooks

@earthlink.net email inquiries

For those wine lovers, how cool would it be to make your own wine at home? Brooklyn Brew Shop features beer making kits as well. These kits start at $40 and go up to $70 which is a pretty nice price range for gift giving! 

Afternoon Tea is a wonderful experience especially in New York City. You can give your family or friend a gift card to take them to Afternoon Tea! This falls into the "experiences" part of a gift, which I feel are so much better than "things" because it is a memory they will have forever! I cherish the monthly teas my Mom and I attended as they bring back such happy memories. You can check out my top 10 Afternoon Teas in the city to make your choice. The Plaza and The Peninsula are my two absolute top faves! 

Momofuku Milk Bar birthday cake truffles are one heck of an experience. These make a fabulous gift, and you can have them shipped from the Goldbely website. The assorted cookie tin is a good pick as well, and for the chocolate lover they have chocolate malt cake balls. Goldbely has many items from New York City available for shipping to make a food lover so happy on Christmas Day! 

Last, but not least, the wonderful food tours that New York City has to offer makes one heck of a great gift experience. I remember all these tours I have taken with such fond memories and a really great time in the city. Here are some of my favorites that offer gift certificates or you can make your own within a card and take your friend/family member on a food tour of a lifetime: 

A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours

Like a Local Tours

Ahoy New York Food Tours

Sex and the City Tour with Magnolia Bakery Cupcake

Cloud 9 Living New York Food Tours

I hope I have given you some ideas you may not have thought about for the upcoming holiday season. If you have any questions about shopping in the city for your favorite foodie or gourmet, feel free to send me an email. I will gladly help out any way I can. 

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Jacques Torres on the Upper West Side

Jacques Torres is known as Mr. Chocolate and has earned that title over the years. His shop on the Upper West Side is really adorable and inside you will find some of the BEST chocolate in the world!! In the warmer months, he even has homemade ice cream to all visitors delight!!

You can also find here chocolate covered cheerios and corn flakes. Yes, you read this correctly. Yes, they are pretty amazing and would make great gifts to bring back home. He even ships them to you from his website. Happy Day!!

The inside decor is really lovely, very elegant. The chocolate deserves to be in such a setting.

How can you choose just one item here? Pretty hard, which is why you need to come back more than once. His cookies are out-of-this-world. You can purchase his chocolate to add to your own cookie recipe and make it sublime.

Chocolate bars in very unique flavors and names you will find here. I love when you walk in a shop like this and it makes you smile at every turn. I think that is what shopping in New York City is all about, smiles!!

More cookies. Life should be all about cookies, don't you think? And a big glass of milk as I am really a big milk drinker. Speaking of milk, he makes what he calls "Wicked Hot Chocolate". I told you this guy was amazing, didn't I? He has many locations within the city, but I find this shop on the Upper West Side quite fabulous. When I am in the area, I am sure I will be stopping in for some type of grand chocolate creation.

 You can always pick up some gorgeous flowers to go with your candy at Daisy Flower Shop and then, you are set for the night. Chocolate, flowers make a happy person. We all need some happiness in our lives!!

Today's Words of Wisdom: “My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.” ― Dave Barry

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