So I frequent Stumptown in the Ace Hotel because a)I work out of the lobby and b) Stumptown has the one of the strongest espressos in town and c) their baristas know how to make my high-maintenance foam just the way I like it.

But the other day during a long day of work I needed another beverage and couldn’t handle another coffee infusion. I asked for their opinion on their hot chocolate. Since they stock Mast Brothers chocolates, turns out they have a special syrup that Mast Brothers makes especially for them! SQUEE!.

So i had them mix me up a glass. I get to chatting with one of the cute young baristas (If they know me, they can make my foam just the way I like!) and he tells me his name is Dylan.

Ah, I ask, “did your parents name you after Bob Dylan?”

“No,” he says, “my mom had a crush on Matt Dillon when she was young.”

Once I took at look at him and realized I could have birthed him I put the cougar back in my pocket.

BTW the hot chocolate was fantastic, and Matt Dillon stole a cab from me after a movie once.

The only sweets you’re going to get at a traditional farmer’s market are honey and maybe maple sugar candy if you’re lucky (and you ARE lucky! Maple sugar candy is a bit of heavenly nom.) But the new Amsterdam market is more an artisan food market, thus, more treats!

The Bent Spoon ice cream: Being from the dairy state (Wisconsin) I know a good ice cream. And I must say I’ve been disappointed by the ice cream calibre in New York so far. Thank goodness I ran across The Bent Spoon. Or should I say I observed the rabid throngs pressing to the booth scrambling for a spooned sample of their ice creams and wanted to know, “what’s that?” I almost grabbed the spoon with a GIMME but decided to read the flavor board first. Green Apple Tart. NY Bourbon Salt Caramel. STOP. GIMME. And my tastebuds had a little orgasm.

Flavor: incredible.

Mouthfeel: velvety and buttery and sugary.

Verdict: perfection!

Disappointment: they’re not local!

Although I did hear a rumor they might be found at the Chelsea market in the near future!

Liddabit of sweets:The thing that drew me over to Liddabit was their caramels. It’s hard to get a good indie caramel that isn’t grainy. I think caramel-making is a lost art. They’ve got lots of interesting varieties too.

Mast Brothers Chocolate: Mast Brothers is a brotherly-run Brooklyn chocolate company that’s been selling at various markets around town. They have several varieties of chocolate bars, at $8 a piece. I tried the dark chocolate with sea salt. Quite strong.

While I consider myself somewhat of an expert in marshmallows, I admit I’m not one in hot chocolate (is anyone?) I led a Hot Chocolate Crawl recently for the NYC Chocolate Meetup, and the hot chocolates varied in taste as well as viscosity. Which is “true” hot chocolate?

“Gourmet” hot chocolate  isn’t the stuff you drank from a huge mug after sledding as a child. It’s thick, intense, and meant to be sipped and savored in small quantities.

We hit four locations on this particular tour, all in the East Village/near West Village.

Jacques Torres: Jacques Torres is a local chocolatier (becoming national!) and although he is famous for his chocolate products, at his SoHo plant they also have hot fresh cookies! They have an espresso bar and hot chocolate made of  his chocolate, and a spicy version made with chipotle and Ancho chiles. The “classic” hot chocolate was all right, but the “wicked” version tickled all of us. Some of us were still being “tickled” by it a half hour later! It really spiced up in the back of your mouth. I found the texture a bit fluffier than I’d like. In order to make a hot chocolate a bit “foamy” you need to either add cornstarch or corn syrup, and this version felt a little corn syrup-y. But that’s just my personal opinion.  Everyone chose the wicked hot chocolate as their favorite of the evening.
GROM: Our next stop was to GROM in Greenwich Village. The manager Richard was kind enough to give us a chocolate primer about the chocolates used by GROM. He and Stephano, (one of the Italian owners of GROM), owner told us the differences between chocolates from Africa (tends to be the cheapest, but also the weakest in flavor),  and that from Venezuela (more expensive but more flavorful. Richard even came prepared with a handout for us! Before we tried the GROM hot chocolate, he had us try samples of the deep chocolate Gelato and Sorbet. The sorbet is made without milk or cream. While it was certainly flavorful and deep,  in my opinion I missed the creamy mouthfeel that dairy provides. (Full disclosure: I am from the dairy state, Wisconsin). 

Although it wasn’t specific to chocolate, it was interesting to find out how the gelato is made and how it is different from ice cream (volume of air used!). GROM also uses a specially-sourced Italian mineral water, and has land allocated in Italy specifically for growing the fruit used in their products.

Now to the hot chocolate. The flavor Richard gave us was the “dark hot chocolate” and it certainly was. Very flavorful, but we could only handle a few sips – it’s basically chocolate melted down. More like a chocolate sauce.

Wishcraft was third place we visited. While the thin and watery hot chocolate was certainly a nice palate break from the thickness of GROM, it was unimpressive. Some people commented that the hot chocolate tasted like it was made from a powder.

Dessert Truck was last. I am a frequent customer to the Dessert Truck late nights in the East Village (where it’s parked on 4th ave & St. Mark’s place until midnight.) The Dessert Truck hot chocolate is made from Valhrona and Guittard chocolates. But he forgot to give us the marshmallows! 

Everyone agreed that the Jacques Torres spicy hot chocolate was the favorite. It was complex and wasn’t too thick or too thin. GROM and Dessert Truck hot chocolates were tasty but we all thought the texture was more like chocolate syrup.

All in all a fun trip on a cold night!