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Tuesday May 3, 2007

FASHION WEEK DAILY

SWEET SHOPPING
Chocolate Bar arrives at Henri Bendel

NEW YORK – Despite the obvious irony, shopping and eating have always gone hand in hand—or, perhaps, hand to mouth. Saks Fifth Avenue has Café SFA, Bergdorf Goodman has BG, Barneys has Fred’s, and starting May 15, Henri Bendel will have the Chocolate Bar.

The Bendel location of this confection heaven will be the third outpost for owner and cocoa chicette Alison Nelson, who opened the Chocolate Bar on Jane Street in the West Village five years ago in an attempt to spread some cocoa cheer. “I think chocolate is the universal comfort food,” says Nelson, “and I always knew I wanted to be doing something that makes people happy!”

Her artisanal approach to chocolate is evident in her signature super-dark bars and famous hot chocolate, but she keeps her products fashionably fresh by dreaming up concoctions like salty pretzel bars and biscotti caramel clusters. And Nelson hasn’t traded her downtown roots just because she’s moving uptown. “Even though it is a very different space,” she explains, “the attitude of Bendel and the Chocolate Bar are very much the same. The Bendel’s girl doesn’t dress head-to-toe designer; she pairs different pieces together, just like we serve really great, high-quality chocolate, but we poke fun at it.” To that end, the third floor mezzanine has been transformed
Signature Chocolate Bar Set into a social salon both contemporary and nostalgic, where feminine chandeliers and Antoinette-esque elements contrast with modernist lighting and leather couches. And no food and fashion marriage would be official without designer uniforms, in this case a chocolate brown and white mod shift from Alice & Olivia.

The café will have seating for 26 shoppers, and will serve a full menu of both sugary and savory treats, as well as some sweet spirits. “We have a beer and wine license, and have created the Bendel Bellini, strawberry purée mixed with champagne!” describes Nelson. There are Fifth Avenue-inspired items like the Brown and White (a signature striped dark chocolate espresso and milk drink), standards like the Chocolate Bar sandwich (64% cocoa dark chocolate and peanut butter on honey wheat toast), and straight savories like tomato soup and pressed sandwiches. And for those who don’t want to go from a size 4 to 6 in one sitting, there’s the Bendel’s salad (grilled chicken, avocado, and radishes). “We’ve got some less indulgent items,” Nelson insists, “There’s the New York pickle plate, and smaller salads like pear, fennel, and walnuts, or cukes, radish, feta, and mint.” Nelson will also unveil a Henri Bendel tea service this September, as well as a new blend of tea called Ma Rose, inspired by fashion fable. “According to myth, Henri Bendel used to give a rose to each of his seamstresses,” says Nelson. The tea, chocolate, cookies, and other creations will be available for sale in a small adjoining retail section. The café will also be handling all the in store catering and private events, and will debut their breakfast bites at the Bendel’s New Faces: Fall 2007 press preview on Thursday, May 9.But will the fash flock be willing to indulge in more than just a little shopping? Will they trade their totes for truffles? “People can just come in and have one truffle, one tiny piece,” says Nelson, who admits to eating at least a bar of chocolate per day. “I think we can convert a few.”

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