Down an anonymous alley, just above Ginza, the obsessive line up early to nab a mythical mousse cake – “the best in the world” – one man bakes as many cakes as he feels necessary for the day. He then calls it a day – the freedom of being great. The cake is not guaranteed past eleven so the necessary strategy is arriving early.

Thirty minutes before opening, I was the second person in line; fifteen deep with fifteen minutes to go; and an easy thirty people by opening time – go early – and scout the location out the day before. A five minute speech is rehearsed for the line, in Japanese, before the doors open; presumably “the rules” – including, but not obviously limited to, no photos, six per person, with some cakes only offered for the sit-down cafe. I know those rules – because I tried to break each one.

No time to lounge – Sushi Mizutani was an hour away – grab, go, and devour – which is an injustice to this genius. The line is slow and perplexing as it snakes around the small room. The shopkeepers operate on a 17th century timetable. Sushi Mizutani, twenty minutes away, was ticking closer and closer with each deliberate, and seemingly choreographed, movement involved in packaging the cakes. Greatest cakes, great sushi, little time, and smaller stomach (after the previous night’s Koju meal) – too much anxiety too early in the morning.

The cakes are spectacular, unlike anything I’ve had, every bit worth getting in line early. The texture is ethereal, “as light as air”, and yet, out of that nothingness, potent and vibrant flavors. The flavors are strong but well integrated, more classical than, say, the rock’n'roll stylings of a Pierre Herme. They fulfill that American stereotype of the Japanese – taking something “Western” – and perfecting it.

Eat That Yellow Snow has an obsessive post on Hidemi Sugino, the man, and a thoroughly detailed analysis of the cakes, complete with illustrations and cross-sections of their interiors – the reason we read blogs.

If Tokyo is not in your immediate plans – CaramelCorn, Chubby Hubby, Sweets & The City, & Nordjus’s beautiful blog.

- chuck

Cuyagua is a small region in Venezuala that is known to have great Criollo and Trinitario beans. It’s located near Ocumare, the site of the previous Amano Ocumare bar. From the Amano web site:

If you follow birds in Venezuela in their annual migrations, they flock to a series of cloud-forest covered coastal mountains. At their base is a small-secluded valley known as Cuyagua — home to cocoa plantations dating to the early 1700’s and some of Venezuela’s finest cocoa.

(Image taken from ParksWatch.Org)

After my favorable Amano Ocumare review, I was allocated a few Cuyagua bars to try (yes, I still paid for them) before their general release to the public (with no expectation of reviewing them.) I got very excited when I learned there was a new bar, especially when Art told me it might be his best yet. I still have not developed, or mastered, a chocolate bar tasting lexicon but these were my impressions as I tasted a few squares:

Sharp but not acidic, deep earthy chocolate flavors throughout, strawberry and plums in the middle, with a ting of orange and/or apricot near the finish, excellent mouth-feel, and a chewy rich chocolate finish, deeply complex – excellent.

I had a few questions so I fired off an email to Art. The brief exchange is below – if you have further questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and maybe Art can respond.

It’s a single origin bar (all beans are from the same area) but what varietals (different beans) make up the Cuyagua bar?

The beans are from the Cuyagua valley in Venezuela. In general, they
would be considered to be mainly Criollo and Trinitario. I find these
terms too limiting however to describe the complex genetics found in
cocoa growing regions. Instead, I simply like to think of what a
particular farm or region produces. This approach has its shortcomings
as well however.

You’ve expressed an interest in representing time and place in your products. What environmental factors give the Cuyagua bar its distinct taste? What did you try to capture?

Every area produces cocoa with its own unique genetics and
environmental factors such as soil and climate conditions play a huge
role in how productive the trees are. The combination of genetics and
soil and climate conditions give each area its own unique flavor
profile. When I work with a bean, I try to capture that uniqueness
and bring it to the forefront.

How do these differ from your Ocumare bar, which is a nearby region?

The Cuyagua bean is on its surface quite similar to to Ocumare.
However it has additional spicey notes whereas the Ocumare has more
fruity notes. I tried to bring this out through how we roast the
beans as well as how we treat the chocolate in several stages most
importantly, in the final conching process.

If asked to rank your three bars, which bar accomplishes your stated goal best? And why?

It is a tough call. Each of our bars, I believe, represent well their
unique origins. I am very pleased though with our Cuyagua bar and it
is my current favorite. It has wonderful character to it.

You state on the web site you work directly with the growers to produce beans to your specifications. Without revealing any trade secrets, could you give us some examples of what you might ask them to change?

There are several ways in which we will work with growers. One is
impressing on them the need for absolute quality both during the
growing season but especially during the fermentation of the beans. In
many cocoa growing countries, cocoa is not fermented when it is used
locally. Because of this, many growers do not fully understand the
huge importance this plays when the cocoa is used to make chocolate.
The farmers ferment the beans simply because that is what the market
demands. To show them what we are making and how it differs from
local cocoa products really drives home to them the importance of this
final step.

In many cases the farmer is using inferior methods to ferment their
cocoa as well as drying it. I will do what I can to assist depending
on what their needs are. I’ve also spent time working on the farms
both during the growing season and harvest and so I know what it is
like to open literally tons of cocoa pods with a machete.

What might be next?

We are working on a Ghana bar right now. I would imagine it will be
out sometime in the next month or two. We also are working on
obtaining some beans from some new origins that should prove to be
exceptional. I am really excited about some of our plans. I can’t
say too much other than “Wait and see!” Once you see what we are
working on, I am sure you will be equally as excited.

For now, the Amano Cuyagua is my benchmark for chocolate bars. The depth of flavor and complexity is unequaled. While doing research for this post, I ran across an ice cream recipe using Amano chocolate – great food for thought – I will have to make a batch for myself.

The Amano Cuyagua is a limited edition bar that’s only available on Amano’s web site – you can order it here.

- chuck

Other Amano reviews of the Ocumare and Madagascar bars:

• https://www.seventypercent.com/chocop/bar_detail.asp?ID=343
  
• https://www.seventypercent.com/chocop/bar_detail.asp?ID=344
• Chocolate Obsession.com
• Candy Addict
• Candy Blog

Richart’s story can be found in other places but the short version is that Michel took the business over (from his father) and updated it using contemporary art as one of his primary influences. Indeed, design is the immediate distinguishing feature – bold bright colors that look too intricate and impossible to place on chocolates. The chocolates below, while striking in their simplicity, don’t show the detail and color of other designs. Designs are “printed” using cocoa butter.

Permanent flavor families are offered as well as special editions throughout the year. The permanent families include Balsamic, Roasted, Fruity, Citrus, Herbal, Floral, & Spiced. Special offerings include themes based on seasons, children’s themes, and even a yearly contest that features a lucky kid’s design.

The chocolate used is 70% minimum of the Criollo bean from Venezuala. From there, they claim to grind it finer than other chocolate makers – from 20 to 12 microns – to ensure an “ultra-smooth palate experience.” The chocolates come with a variety of fillings – ganache, praline, and coulis. The ganache is made with cream from Normandy or Bresse and the coulis contains actual fruit pulp.

The flavors are as vibrant as the design – crisp, bold, bright, and clean. Some flavors, particularly the orange, taste like an entire piece of fruit has been concentrated into the small chocolate somehow. It’s amazing how such small squares have such impact.

From Left to Right, Back to Front:

Grapefruit Praline – bitter grapefruit upfront yields to a sweet hazelnut finish.

Mandarin / Green Orange Ganache – very orange, nearly concentrated in impact, vibrant.

Kumquat Coulis – crisp kumquat flavor with some bitterness from its pulp in the coulis, fairly long finish.

Bergamot Ganache – the chocolate remains strong with bergamot inflections, the ganache quite creamy and very smooth.

Citrus Essence Coulis – orange, lemon, and bergamot flavors dance around, none dominating, but maintaining the citrus essence throughout.

Orange Zest Coulis – intense orange flavor with a fair amount of bitterness that slowly decays and cedes to the underlying chocolate notes.

Lemon Ganache – intensely strong lemon flavor, almost a concentrated lemon confit taste, big and very bright.

The coulis citrus chocolates are the best – the fruit flavors are boldest and cleanest, presumably from the inclusion of actual pulp. All are intense and pack more flavor than most chocolates from any other producer. The chocolate shells are not always the freshest, unlike Paul Young (London) or Kee’s Chocolate (NYC), but the explosive flavors make up for deficiencies in the shell. If you could get them fresh from Lyon (Richart’s home base), they could oust Paul Young from my top ranking.

- chuck

Official Site: http://www.richart.com/

Manhattan adores her too – lines are frequent and if you arrive too late, you’re out of luck.

How good are they?

Their freshness is their distinguishing factor. The chocolates are made in small batches all day long – and carried over to the adjacent store-front for sales. It’s tempting to save them, and it’s hard to eat an entire box in one sitting, but I’d recommend eating the most appealing flavors first. Let them warm up a touch since they come out of the display case a little too cool.

You can see the menu online but, sadly for chocolate lovers nationwide, she doesn’t ship. Nor should she – it would compromise the chocolates’ most valuable characteristic. There is a marked difference in quality after 1-2 days. They are still delicious, and I find myself taking orders for others back home, but they’re best enjoyed of the day.

According to a Chocolate.com article, Kee uses “heavy cream, cocoa, cocoa butter, milk, sugar in different proportions according to my own recipes.” She doesn’t add butter or sugar, which can be hard to believe. From ChocolateZoom.com, the cocoa percentag is between 62 and 72; any higher and Kee feels the bitterness overwhelms the (delicate) flavors. She doesn’t make her own chocolate (hardly anyone does) – she uses Cacao Noel chocolate from France.

When you bite into one, the first sensation is one of freshness. It’s hard to write in words but you know it. Immediately thereafter, the texture distinguishes Kee’s from the others. The shells are crisp and yield immediately to the ganache inside. The ganache is usually very smooth and extremely creamy – often, sublime. The best flavors are subtle and complex; at worst, they can be muted. They can also veer towards the sweeter side but not offensively so.

Crème brûlée – Dark chocolate bonbon filled with creme brulée
If Kee has a signature, this is it. Met with nearly universal acclaim, I haven’t found a negative word written about it. Nor should one be written. Fresh cream and eggs are used. They will warn you this one must be eaten immediately because of the custard inside. Bite and vanilla custard gushes out, intense, and terribly delicious. A must-order for any first-timer; if they are out, place an order, do some shopping, and come back later in the day.

Thompson – Whipped cream over milk/dark chocolate, smothered with a milk/dark coating
However, this my new favorite flavor. Not normally a fan of milk chocolate, this piece delivers everything connotated by those words – milk and chocolate. The “ganache” inside is heavenly light, milky in taste, and ephemeral.

Some other favorites include Balsamic and Lemon Basil. You can read reviews of other flavors at CandyBlog, Lovescool, The Girl Who Ate Everything (and I might believe it!), and a quick review at Fork and Bottle (who has also tried nearly everything!)

I’ve been eating Kee’s since she opened and they get better with each visit. Best in America? Yes, but that may not be entirely fair. I’ve tried a few others in the past few months: John & Kira (better than average), Grocer’s Daughter (lacked freshness), and DC Duby (far too sweet); but none tasted as good as Kee’s; however, all were through mail-order. Nonetheless, Kee’s philisophy stands for something – don’t mail-order if it compromises the experience. Obviously, this isn’t financially viable unless you have a concetrated mass of chocolate lovers (like Manhattan) but it’s good to see people sticking to their ideals.

If I were to rank my favorite chocolates in the world, the list would read:

• Paul Young (London) – best all around and he uses Amadei chocolate
• Richart (Paris, SF, & NY) – the citrus, fruit, and floral varities pack intense flavor
• Kee’s (NY) – freshness and texture
• La Maison du Chocolat (Paris, London, Cannes, & NY) – traditional but very well done
• JP Hevin (Paris) – the cheese chocolates are the novelty (and they can be very good) but everything is solid

- chuck

Official Site: http://www.keeschocolates.com/

Some Other Profles:
http://en.epochtimes.com/news/4-12-13/24926.html

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/the_amateur_gourmet/2005/11/theres_a_store_.html

My first visit to Doughnut Plant left me wondering what the hype was about. Sure, more-artisinal-than-normal ingredients for a doughnut but the end result left me unsatisfied. The doughnuts are made by hand with natural ingredients – fresh fruits, sea salt, fresh milk, fresh butter, and unbleached unbromated flour. Glazes follow the same formula. It’s a study in dialectics – healthier junk food and hoity toity doughnuts that are affordable for nearly everyone.

It’s an easy story for the media to latch onto (and they did) so I viewed the place with some scepticism after that first visit. (And there are others who believe the popularity has led to a decrease in quality.)

On a second visit, I tried the infamous Coconut Cream doughnut and then I fully understood. Coconut and sugar on the outside of a yeasty, coconut cream center – it could easily be a daily habit if I lived on the island. The doughnut has a nuanced and subtle coconut flavor permeating it. When you bite in, the cream doesn’t gush out as it might in an inferior doughnut; instead, its ratio is near perfect for the amount of bread.

They sell the doughnuts throughout the city (Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca, etc) but I’d suggest visiting the source. Get there by early afternoon to ensure there are still a few left. If you happen to be in Tokyo, they are popping up all over the city – the Japanese love affair with desserts.

The innards – while the picture may not be appetiziing, you can see the lightness of the doughnut.

It’s the sort of formula that could be copied anywhere. Take a comfort food from our past (doughnuts, ice cream, pizza, hot dogs, ramen, etc), create a high-quality artisinal version, stream-line some of the production while maintaining the artisinal roots, and sell it in low-rent bare-bones storefronts and/or farmer’s markets. The anti-business argument is that people are conditioned to pay cheaper prices for these foods but I think people are beginning to recognize and value quality, thus the few places you have seen pop up.

What are other places in your area that fit this criteria?

- chuck

It is ironic then that LA, that sprawling and fragmented pastiche of modern urban design, has Boule – a one-stop shop for many great desserts. It’s a can’t-miss destination for any LA trip.

Boule is owned and operated by Michelle Meyers, a co-founder of Sona restaurant. If you sit outside, you can watch pastry chefs hauling pots and pans from the mother-ship restaurant, directly across the street. Boule fashions themselves as fashion themselves as a Patisserie, Glacerie, and Confiserie. They have everything – chocolates, macaroons, pastries, cakes, marshmellows, and ice cream. Many items are good to very good and some are outstanding.

The Ice Cream

Boule ice cream is some of the best around. The flavors are crisp and precise with a smooth, creamy, and very satisfying texture. The butter fat is higher than most (that’s a good thing.)

I had a Santa Barbara honey ice cream. This was a honey lover’s dream. After the creaminess of the ice cream melted and gave way, the mouth was entirely coated with a sweet slightly sticky honey. Excellent.

Cannelés Bordelais

My first lunch in Paris was a trip to the Bon Marche Grand Epicerie “store”. I picked up an Iberian ham sandwich, creamy Brittany vanilla yogurt, and a cannelés bordelais and ate them in the adjoining park. Of all the fancy lunches I’ve had in Paris, this combination is still one of my favorites. The ham sandwich was ok (nothing like Spain), the yogurt ridiculously creamy, and the cannelés bordelais is a perfect ending to any meal.

It might be my favorite pastry – it’s got a completely satisfying caramelized outside with a rum and vanilla custard inside.

The Boule version deserves to live in Paris to be with its kind.

If you want to try making your own, both Sweet Temptations and Chocolate and Zucchini have recipes. I will put this on my to-do list next week.

Banana Bread

Alas, not everything can be excellent. They touted their banana bread as “exceptional” but it was too dry for my tastes. It reminded me of the inferior breads I’ve been sent home with after meals at 11 Madison Park and Alain Ducasse; perhaps Sona intended to do the same.

Fromage Blanc Cheesecake

On the previous day, I had a Cowgirl Creamery fromage blanc cheesecake. I tried to make one of these once and ended up with a quiche – that might be why I eat instead of cook. This was creamy and fluffy with a slight nutty taste. Unfortunately, the top (as seen in Foodie Universe’s mini-review) was rubbery – perhaps fromage blanc cheesecakes are not big sellers at Boule. Not quite as good as Lady M or Chikalicious in New York, but satisfying.

Macaroons

There were no macaroons on this trip. The macaroon lovers in LA fight to the death over their favorite macaroons – Boule or Jin Patisserie. Neither are in the Pierre Herme or Laduree league but I’d take Boule’s over Jin’s (although Jin does have its charms.) The Boule macaroons have good flavor but they are overly sweet and their texture isn’t quite right – they flake instead of giving the slightest of yields to the teeth. However, macaroons are too personal of a preference – you should try them for yourself.

Chocolates

No chocolates on this trip either. They are too sweet for my tastes but they do have interesting flavors – rose caramel, candied ginger, scotch bonnet pepper, and many more.

Condiments

They have a wall full of condiments that will try to part you with your cash – marshmellows (yum), chocolate sauces, teas, honey, and anything else you can imagine.

Sitting Outside

You can order some desserts and coffee and sit outside. If you’re into cars, you will see and hear every high-end car imaginable – open-exhausted Ferraris, blacked-out AMG’s, street-illegal British TVR’s, countless Lamborghini Gallardos, and even a Porsche or two. There’s nothing better than LA if you like hearing cars racing down the street. If you hate cars and all of the smog they cause, just look at the plants.

Boule is a great place to stop in for a (sweet) lunch. Pick a few things, take them outside, and gobble them up. Go back in and order some more for the trip home.

- chuck

Official Site: http://www.boulela.com

1 – I haven’t tried Pâtisserie Philippe or Petite Patisserie yet. Next week is supposed to be sunny; perhaps a long walk is in order for lunch one day. I know Miette Patisserie has its fans but I only care for their chocolate pot de creme.

]]> http://www.chuckeats.com/2007/04/20/boule-la-a-patisserie-fit-for-paris/feed/ 3 http://www.chuckeats.com/2007/03/25/amano-ocumare-best-chocolate-in-the-us/ http://www.chuckeats.com/2007/03/25/amano-ocumare-best-chocolate-in-the-us/#comments Sun, 25 Mar 2007 07:27:25 +0000 admin http://chuckeats.com/blog3/2007/03/25/amano-ocumare-best-chocolate-in-the-us/ We interrupt these tales of Paris and truffles to bring you late-breaking news – the discovery of Amano chocolate bars.

I was at the local chocolate shop (which happens to be a news store) when I spotted the bar. I’m always willing to give something new a try so I picked it up. I plucked it alongside the two Amedei bars on the counter. The store manager asked me if I had tried it yet. “Nope.” “Hmmm, it will be very interesting for you to compare these 3 bars in a tasting.”

What? How is that possible? The Amedei Porcelana and Chuao bars are the two best chocolate bars known to man – they are without peer – even my favorite fine chocolates in the world are made from Amedei. How could this American upstart be considered in the same league? Somehow, I managed to finish all of my shopping without ripping into the chocolate.

It appears as if The Art of Tasting Chocolate got the initial scoop but there’s not much of a review there (but you can find one here.) I’m not very experienced with wine nor chocolate tasting notes, both definitely an art; but I scratched down my initial reactions as I ate the bar:

“Very rich, almost espresso like upfront, an extremely satisfying texture that thickens as you chew it, red berry at the end, lots of chocolate overtones throughout, balanced acidity with absolutely no bitterness.”

That’s the information that’s supposed to guide your mouse to order this $6 bar from Amano’s web site. I still rank Amedei Porcelana #1, but this Amano Ocumare is my new #2, pushing the Amedei Chuao back to #3. I have to run back on Monday to buy their other bar – the Madagascar Single Origin bar.

What makes these bars so special?

First, like Amedei, and unlike most chocolate bars (and truffles) you buy, Amano makes the chocolate themselves – from bean to bar. They purchase the beans directly from the farm and use their own artisanal techniques to create a chocolate, and taste, they want.

Second, the bars are made in small batches. Like all artisanal products, there are rarely enough raw materials to make mass quantities of an item. When you purchase mass-produced food items, you’re buying a compromise between quality and quantity.

Third, Art Pollard (the founder), thinks the altitude of Salt Lake City plays a great role in the final flavor of his chocolate. I emailed him for a further explanation of this point and he replied with:

“The altitude plays a couple of important roles. Higher altitudes give a different flavor to the roast compared to that of lower altitudes and in my opinion create better flavor development. The high altitude allows the cocoa beans to be roasted for both a shorter period of time as well as at a lower temperature than they would need at lower altitudes. Since roasting is one of the important steps for flavor development, this can have a significant impact in the final flavor.”

“Similarly, during the conching of the chocolate, the conching may be accomplished at lower temperatures and it proceeds quicker than it would at lower altitudes given the same temperature and conditions. One of the primary roles of conching is to allow various volatiles to escape enhancing the flavor of the finished chocolate. With the lower the vapor pressures at higher altitudes, this happens more rapidly and at lower temperatures.”

“Chocolate is very sensitive to the conditions in which it is made. A factory may be moved only a few miles and the final flavor of the chocolate for a given recipe will be a little bit different. I believe that the high altitude where our chocolate is made plays a key role in the flavor development of our chocolate.”

You can learn more at Amano’s web site in the FAQs section.

- chuck

PS > With this post, I’ve created a Chocolate / Candy section.

]]> http://www.chuckeats.com/2007/03/25/amano-ocumare-best-chocolate-in-the-us/feed/ 3 http://www.chuckeats.com/2007/03/23/pierre-herme-vs-laduree-paris-macaroon-might/ http://www.chuckeats.com/2007/03/23/pierre-herme-vs-laduree-paris-macaroon-might/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2007 07:56:01 +0000 admin http://chuckeats.com/blog3/2007/03/23/pierre-herme-vs-laduree-paris-macaroon-might/ Laduree is the old guard on the Champs Elysees, Pierre Herme the rock’n'roll master on the Left Bank. Laduree’s macaroons are more traditional in flavor; Herme’s current collection revolves around the theme of “Fetish.” Laduree has a tea shop, no doubt a symbol of its properness; Pierre Herme launches his new dessert lines at strip clubs. Herme used to work at Laduree and apparently felt stifled.

Herme has an extensive collection of desserts that have been well documented by many. The store itself probably has a homing device that draws in anyone with a sweet tooth. On every visit to Paris, I’ve allocated a lunch at this hot spot. To date, I’ve limited myself to the macaroons but after reading SweetNapa’s pilgrimage to Pierre Herme, I will put all of the desserts on the to-do list.

While Herme’s macaroons are always decadent, they are inconsistent. They are generally too sweet for me (which means I can only eat 2-3 in a sitting instead of 4-5) but one visit during this trip yielded perfectly-sweetened specimens. Their texture is a touch mushy – I’d prefer my macaroon to not yield so quickly. Nonetheless, their flavors are always intense. The rose will envelop your mouth like a great perfume, the olive in the middle of the olive/vanilla will decisively cut through the vanilla’s sweetness, and the caramel in fleur de sel will burst in your mouth. The flavors are as bold as the man and his methods it seems.

I had tried Laduree’s macaroons once here on American soil. Their memory was one of a perfect macaroon – a firm texture with an acceptable sweetness. After Pierre Herme one day, we ventured to Laduree the next. The lines were just as long for these more traditional macaroons.

On this day, there were some hits and misses. The macaroons generally had a firmer texture (re: preferred) than their Herme counterparts but the flavors were not as explosive. The rose was more subtle, the fleur de sel didn’t burst with caramel richness, and the lemon was more bitter than sweet. It’s a more subtle, traditional approach. If one could somehow harness the impact of Herme’s flavors without using so much sugar and stick them into a Laduree macaroon for texture, they too might have lines snaking around their storefronts.

They also differ in sustainability. After a few days, the Pierre Herme macaroons will get very soggy and mushy while the Laduree will get rock hard. I wouldn’t suggest bringing any back for your friends unless you’ll see them (and they’ll eat them) the minute you step off of the plane. As for recommendations – I think they’re too subjective and you’ll have to fly to Paris and try them for yourself. I will probably visit both on any future trip.

- chuck

Pierre Herme Official Site: http://www.pierreherme.com/

Laduree Official Site: http://www.laduree.fr/

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