Sweet & Savory

Hot Cocoa!

It was a gloomy and raining morning in the rolling city of San Francisco. We had roused ourselves from the confines of the warm bed and made our way to the San Francisco Ferry Building for a little adventure. Going to the Ferry Building on a Saturday morning to browse the shops and the fresh produce in the stands is always fun. You never know what new things you will be introduced to!

On this trip, we were especially delighted to make the acquaintance of the hot chocolate from the fairly recently opened Boulette's Larder, a beautiful store inside the building. The shelves to one side of the entrance housed an enormous variety of colorful spices in apothecary jars, most of which I've never heard of but would love to try. The counter to the left of the cash register featured tempting array of desserts. (Try the chocolate hazelnut tart. It's really good!) There were so many other interesting products on display that I had to practice great willpower to refrain from buying one of everything in sight.

After seeing three customers in front of me buy the same thing - a steaming cup of hot cocoa - I had a lemming-esque moment, my willpower caved and I bought one too.

I am by no means a connoisseur of hot chocolate as I must confess that my hot chocolates normally originate from those brown unidentified powders sealed in a paper pouch that you mix with hot water. This time, my taste-buds told me, the hot chocolate was different. It was wonderful. Chocolatey. A little bitter. Not too sweet. Creamy. Hot. The perfect hot drink to ward off the dreary February weather in San Francisco. The cup was empty all too quickly.