One of the things I love most about my office is its proximity to Fog City News, home of San Francisco's best chocolate bar selection. This would be a conundrum if I worked with chocolate-haters, or worse, eaters of mediocre chocolate. Fortunately, the office is staffed by folks who let only the finest chocolate pass their lips, and while our weekly outings can add up in cost, the resulting endorphin rushes are well worth it.
In any typical week, there are an assortment of bars on offer in the kitchen which would sate any mood. Feeling feisty? Here, try the Chipotle bar. Catching a cold? Good thing we have orange infused chocolate! In a lull? There's bound to be an Earl Grey bar in here somewhere.
Until today, however, there was no chocolate bar suitable specifically for a missed lunch. Today, we remedied this with the exquisitely unique Basil & Lime bar from Rococo Chocolates. If ever there was a savory chocolate, this is it.
Based in 65% cocoa, infused with the scent of a Persian garden, and with a mouthfeel we all found pleasant -- not too fatty, not too chalky -- this bar enjoyed a 100% acceptance rate in the office. No small feat, that.
Rococo has an incredible assortment of flavors, some of which are becoming more standard these days (Cocoa Nib or Earl Grey, for example), while others are still quite unique (Cardamom, Orange-Geranium, and Peppered Mint are intriguing). They also have the Mystery Sense Bar:
"Anyone purchasing the bar will be biting into the unknown and have to use their senses to guess the flavour. For each chocolate bar sold, 50p will be donated to Sense."
Very clever, and very cool, indeed.
Rococo bars aren't cheap - I think they ring in at around $9/bar at Fog City - but the flavors are intense enough that you won't find yourself finishing a whole one too fast.
Oh, and for anyone wondering: Yes, we have tried Vosges' Mo's Bacon Bar. We weren't so impressed - the bacon flavor is rather muted, and the not-quite-crisp-not-quite-chewy mouthfeel of the bacon bits is distracting to say the least. We'll happily stick with the Barcelona Bar which, despite its lower cocoa content, hits the mark on the combination of sweet, salty, bitter and texture.
Tags: Chocolate, Fog City, Vosges, Rococo, Candy, Sweet, San Francisco, Food & Drink
