A BERKELEY DAY: LUNCH AT ECCOLO; CHOCOLATE AT CHARLES CHOCOLATES

On our day in Berkeley, MA joined us. We started at the Fourth Street shopping/restaurant area with lunch at Eccolo. You might recall that my Valentine's Day dinner at Eccolo was less than satisfactory, but, this time, the restaurant was its "normal" excellent self with great service and plenty of room in all dining rooms between tables. Note to Self: REMEMBER holidays and special occasion days like Valentine's and Mother's are the worst times to go to restaurants.



At my suggestion, we started our lunch with a shared order of the Roman-style fried Artichokes, which are served with aioli for dipping. The Artichokes are amazing...way better than Fries, but I must say that when the table next to us started with not only the Artichokes, but also the Tuscan Fries, we really wanted to try them too.



MA could not pass up the Lobster Roll, which she throughly enjoyed and recommends.



Amy and I could not decide between the Sicilian Tuna Sandwich and the Cuban Sandwich, so each ordered one and shared them. Made on Acme bread, they were both excellent. The Tuna was Italian tuna mixed with capers, olives, roasted peppers, and aioli. The Cubano was the typical combination of sliced pork, ham, cheese, and dill pickles, served as a warm sandwich.

We passed on dessert, knowing that there was chocolate ahead in our day.

After lunch we spent some time browsing in the many Fourth Street shops. We spent a lot of time in Sur La Table and couldn't resist buying a few kitchen/home items. We also dashed into Bryn Walker to look at clothes and purses, and made a quick run through the Crate & Barrel Outlet Store. We would have spent the rest of the afternoon there, but we had to get to Charles Chocolate for a 2:30 p.m. tour.

So, off we went to Emeryville for a tour and tasting at Charles Chocolates.




With the closing of some of my favorite local chocolate makers, Joseph Schmidt and Scharffenberger, I've been searching for another outstanding local candy maker. I had tried some of Charles Chocolates confection around Christmas time and was impressed with his use of fresh fruits in his fillings. The fillings all have intense natural flavors.

It is only recently that I heard about tours at his factory. The tours are conducted every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. There is no charge for the tour itself, but, if you wish to follow the tour with a formal tasting of 5 different chocolates, that costs $10. A more extravagant Deluxe Tour is offered for $75 per person and includes the tour and tasting plus a gift set of Charles Chocolates' most poular products; it is said to be valued at over $100.

We signed up for the $10 Tour and Tasting.





Much to our delight, owner Chuck (Charles) Siegel, was our tour guide.

The tour and tasting take place in the factory's Chocolate Bar, where at other times, visitors can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and, of course, a piece or two of chocolate.

The Chocolate Bar overlooks the kitchen where just about all the processing of the confections is done. We learned the difference between molded and enrobed chocolates. And, everyone got to sample a few pieces, even those who were not signed up for the tasting. Chuck guided us as to what and how we were supposed to taste. We were particularly intrigued by the Fleur de Sel chocolate covered Caramels. Also of interest is that Charles Chocolates does not make its own chocolate but rather buys premium chocolate from some of the best chocolate makers in the world. Chuck describes his product as Confections, most of which are covered with chocolate. It is his fillings...caramel. ganache, marzipan, and more...that make his confections unique. The tour is very informal and Chuck encouraged us to ask questions.






At the end of the "formal" part of the tour, those of us who had signed up for the tasting, tasted 5 handmade confections. Chuck guided us through this tasting and provided us with more insights into Charles Chocolates.



Even after 7 pieces of chocolate, we still could not resist purchasing a few pieces of candy to carry home with us. The complete selection of Charles Chocolate confections is sold in their small retail store here at the factory.

THE END OF THE JOSEPH SCHMIDT ERA

For longer than I can remember, Joseph Schmidt, the artistic, San Francisco based chocolatier was my favorite chocolate maker.

Many times during the year, I'd make special trips to his small shop on 16th Street in San Francisco, a few blocks from Mission Dolores. Each month, the windows of his shop would feature chocolate creations for either a holiday or season that occured during that month. Inside were handmade decorative paper boxes filled with his chocolates.

While most people know Joseph Schmidt's truffles, it was his Slicks that were my favorites...these thin chocolate disks with a thin layer of flavored filling in between, were a unique and special treat. At Christmas time, most of my gifts were boxes of Slicks.

Well, as with most things, times change.

A few years ago, Schmidt sold his business to Hershey's. He stayed on and oversaw the local production of his chocolates, but I certainly noticed that his store seemed to carry more packaged items and less of the chocolate sculptures and bowls and such.

Now, Hershey has decided to drop the Joseph Schmidt line completely!!!

At the end of June, his San Francisco store will close forever.


This week, I made one last visit. I stocked up on Slicks...enjoyed seeing a huge chocolate bunny and sadly, left what I consider a special San Francisco landmark.

STICKERS & CHOCOLATE

I can't think of anything that stickers and chocolate have in common, but that's what a good part of my day involved.

My first stop today was in Petaluma at Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory. Today is the day of one of their two yearly warehouse sales. The other warehouse sale is in the Spring. For the sale, Mrs. Grossman's opens up part of their warehouse to the publlic. Everything is discounted at least 20% and lots of items are marked down even more.
In their upstairs retail store that is open throughout the year, everything was discounted 20%, except for decorated items made by employees, which were being sold at full price.

I shopped both areas and came home with a bag full of stickers, papers, journals and more.

Of course, some of the doggie employees were keeping watch in the warehouse.

Mrs. Grossman's is a dog-friendly workplace where employees are welcome to bring their dogs to work.

From Petaluma, I drove to Berkeley to Chocolatier Blue, a new premium chocolate shop.



Owner Chris Blue creates his chocolates using the finest chocolate in the world. Many of his fruit fillings are made with organic fruit that he purchases at his local Farmer's Market. While I chose my small selection, I sampled a Lemon Chocolate.

My selection, from left to right is Tangerine, Palet d'Or, Lime, Pumpkin, and Eggnog...These will be the little something sweet at the end of our Thanksgiving dinner.




Chocolatier Blue chocolates can be purchased by the piece for $1.50 each. Gift box selections are also available. Coming up on December 7 is Chocolatier Blue's 1st Annual Chocolate Festival..it is at the shop from 5 to 7 p.m. The cost is $15 and that includes chocolates, hot chocolate, entertainment, chocolate desserts, and some special surprises.

TOURING & TASTING AT SCHARFFEN BERGER CHOCOLATE

Sister V's California visit was a staycation for me and a vacation for her. With gasoline prices inching towards $5 a gallon daily, sstaycation has become an important part of my vocabulary...it means staying home and visiting attractions close to home. I think many of us will be enjoying summer staycations this year.

We spent an afternoon in Berkeley at the headquarters of Scharffen Berger Chocolate.



We started our visit with lunch in their restaurant, Café Cacao (510/843-6000), then we took a guided tour of the factory (free; reservations required; reserve online or by telephone), and, finally, we did some chocolate tasting and shopping in their Company Store.




Café Cacao serves lunch/brunch daily and dinner on Friday nights. Wonderful chocolate desserts, pastries, and drinks complement the menu of savory dishes. Dogs are welcome to dine with their companions on the café's outdoor patio.




We started with a shared order of Sweet Potato Fries



and followed with the day’s Quiche with Salad for both V and J and Chilaquilles Rancheros for me.




To drink: steaming hot mugs of Scharffen Berger Cocoa...Impossible to resist!




Scharffen Berger’s one-hour tour starts with a presentation about the history of cacao and Scharffen Berger chocolate. The second part of the tour is a walk through the factory and packaging rooms.





The tour ends in the Company Store, where there is more tasting and, of course, the opportunity to shop. From time to time, Scharffen Berger produces a limited edition single-origin chocolate which is only sold here at the store. When you visit, be sure to ask about any special limited edition bars.







Although Scharffen Berger is now part of Hershey Chocolate’s Artisan Confections Company, it continues to
operate independently at this factory, making its chocolate in small batches, using vintage European equipment.


A few notes on tour rules: Not having read the Tour Guidelines carefully, I did not realize that closed-toe shoes must be worn on the tour, for safety reasons. They provided me with a pair of clogs to wear on the tour. Also, everyone is required to cover their hair with a hair net, which they supply.



One of the men on our tour had a beard; not only did he have to wear a hairnet on his head, he also had to wear one over his beard!!!