Cool Hunting
Mindy Segal is well known to Chicago dessert lovers for her increbile desserts at well known MK. She's recently opened her own place, made her desserts more accessible (cookies are under a buck, a plate of warm doughnuts $5) and shown us that she has great flair for food too. Heading to Chicago? Stop by Hot Chocolate and admire its great design and hip Bucktown location next door to one of our favorite shops. Brunch, lunch and dinner are served and a case full of tasty treats ready to take out. Our brunch of donuts, fresh fruit, brioche french toast, housemade granola, and my favorite, a local fried duck egg on top of duck rillettes on toast, was a home run, and the cookies and brownies came to the rescue on a much-delayed flight home. Of course you can get the eponymous beverage, French press coffee and great shakes too.
Hot Chocolate
1747 North Damen, Chicago
+1 773 489 1747
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When the world's most desirable confection meets some of the finest spirits, it's bound to be a successful combination. Case in point, Les Shooters from Montreal's first chocolate lounge and boutique, Suite 88. The shooters, which appear to be average, conical truffles are actually chocolate containers filled with an assortment of 12 different liquors. To take the shooter, first bite the tip off before...
With adventurous flavor combinations, like Thai Coffee and Fig Port, made entirely from scratch using premium ingredients and a fudgey texture, Mari's Brownies are CH's kind of treat. We also like their refreshingly small size, making them a moderate indulgence rather than a "guess-I'm-skipping-dinner" kind. Neatly packaged in their signature Pumpkin-hued baton boxes and wrapped with custom ribbon, the dense, rich squares make perfect...
Chocolate-Pencils is the product of a collaboration pairing Japanese architect and designer Oki Sato with patissier (and Iron Chef champion) Tsujiguchi Hironobu, the man behind Tokyo's boutique dessert shops Mont St. Claire and Le Chocolat de H. Subtle tableware effectively displays the gourmet chocolate and includes a special "pencil sharpener" for grating over a dessert. The pencils operate under the concept that shavings, which...
Pearl-shaped and tiny, the Manhattan patisserie Trois Crepes' Dark Chocolate Pearls contain something like a buttery Rice Krispy in a coverture of bittersweet chocolate. A pleasing crunch and slight saltiness makes for a surprising experience, but the chocolate balances both the flavor and texture. The Perles are delicious sprinkled on ice cream or yogurt, but we also like pouring them directly into our mouth....
by Karen McGrane A shop combining tea, not-too-sweet baked goods and a love for the serenity of Japanese and French desserts seems like it would be a match for the Cool Hunting palate. Add in the fact that the charming shop got its start from a blog, Lovescool, and you've got a guaranteed hit around CH HQ. Amai Tea and Bake House recently opened its...
From the matchbox-like packaging to the slender bars of dark chocolate contained within, Alice Chocolate is an exquisite treat through and through. The brainchild of brand consultants Michael Felber and Steven Mark Klein, the pair are working to restore the tradition of Swiss chocolate by making their chocolate at a factory in Bern, Switzerland that has been around since 1919. Sourcing the chocolate (fairly...
