Where: Chocolat Michel Cluizel
When: Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
What: Hot Chocolate
My husband’s birthday was February 2nd and after we saw Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days with Fiona Shaw at BAM in Brooklyn (fantastic, btw) and before our dinner reservations at wd-50 on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, we had some time to kill and happened to have a wee bit of a sweet tooth. We had intended to go to The City Bakery for their deliciously rich hot chocolate, but as we got off the subway at Union Square, I remembered having read about a place located in ABC Carpet and Home that was supposed to have great hot chocolate and thought that we might give it a try.
Chocolat Michel Cluizel is located in what used to be a hallway at the back of the ground floor of ABC. It does indeed still serve as a hallway of sorts as the little cafe grant access to three restaurants also on the premises. Still, it is a cozy little room with bar and cafe table seating, and a large island in the center that houses the rather over priced to-go confections ($50 for a small box of chocolate chip cookies, anyone?). The island was notably quiet, but every table in the cafe was filled with people sampling hot chocolate and bites of dessert (they also serve wine and champagne).
We took a seat at the bar and ordered a pot of hot chocolate for two [$12]. The hot chocolate was delicious: rich, extremely chocolaty, and not too sweet. The pot gave us each two full cups of chocolate. It seemed a little thin, and I missed the whipped cream, but as the chocolate itself was made of (non-whipped) cream, I decided to endure this hardship stoically. After about 5 minutes, the drink developed an oily film on the top–no doubt from the high fat content–and also seemed to turn a bit lumpy, but the good flavor persisted and we continued to enjoy it until the last drop.
The service was attentive and the presentation elegant–I especially loved the neat little tea pot the hot chocolate was served in that had a flat, plate-like lid that you could hold down with the thumb of the pouring hand, freeing the other hand to, I don’t know, catch up on dusting.
All in all, though, I must say that I prefer the City Bakery hot chocolate, though it it served in paper cups and one must wait in a cafeteria-style line to order it. Their hot chocolate has a baked, liquefied-brownie, flavor that is unusual and totally irresistible. It also has a thicker texture than Michel Cluizel’s, and lacks the oil slick on top and lumpy texture.
City bakery’s hot chocolate isn’t actually much cheaper than Michel Cluizel’s, and the experience of drinking it not so refined, but the flavor and texture are superior. So if you want a decadent and delicious cup of hot chocolate to warm you up, go to City Bakery; but if you want to drink chocolate like the ladies who lunch, you might as well check out Michel Cluizel.
(Note: February is City Bakery’s Hot Chocolate Festival!)
The City Bakery
3 w. 18th Street (b. 5th/6th Aves)
212-366-1414
Chocolat Michel Cluizel
ABC Carpet and Home
888 Broadway (at 19th St.)
646-602-3262
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