Back to Index

Sunday March 11, 2007

METRO NEWSPAPER

CHOCOLATE BARFLY

“After a trip to this “bar,” you’ll keep coming back – and never look at a snickers again.”

Upon entering Alison Nelson’s Chocolate Bar, it takes the discipline of a monk to pass by the Kahlua-and-cream bonbons or decline a peppermint mocha. But ultimately, Chocolate Bar is the destination for –you guessed it – chocolate bars. And, happily, it doesn’t disappoint.

With flavors such as milk sesame and white chocolate infused with lime, the big blocks of Brown Label chocolate ($6.25) are for true gourmands.

But there are also two lines that are more kid-in-a-candy-store fun. The Retro Bars ($3) boast such nostalgic ingredients as raspberry jam and caramel apple but are made with high-quality cocoa. Of the six flavors, the salty pretzel is most popular, with its nearly perfect sweet-salty balance and delicately crunchy texture. But the real draw is the Peanut Butter Caramel, which tastes like a Tagalong Girl Scout cookie-very nostalgic, indeed.

To counter the guilt of chomping into a 2.25-oz. chocolate bar, try the Artist Bar ($4). The 10 flavors come in wrappers designed by cool pop artists, such as Gary Basemen and David Hovrath, with a portion of the proceeds going to The Third Street Music School Settlement in the East Village. The Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts is enveloped in a portrait of a red cyclops in a mid-bite and is all the invitation you’ll need to tear in yourself.