Vosges - Haut Hot Chocolate

After lunching on those delicious hand pulled noodles I told you about last week, Vicky and I headed over to Soho's Vosges Chocolat for another indulgent treat - chocolate!  Recently paying a visit to this amazingly sophisticated sweet shop with my friend Wanda, it was still very much on my mind and I couldn't wait to actually sit down at their communal table and enjoy a gourmet hot chocolate.

Atmosphere:
Located on the busy part of Spring Street, not far from Mercer Street, Vosges enjoys nice foot traffic from busy shoppers and of course from chocolate loyalists.  And though I've feasted on Vosges' truffles and chocolate bars in the past, I haven't visited the actual store until recently.

I love that the interior is decked in deep purple colors and overall, feels very girly.  Unlike some other haut chocolatiers, it feels chic but not stuffy and you'll find all sorts of clientele browsing its shelves. As I've hinted above, the Soho boutique doubles up as a little cafe, where you can sit down at the lovely marble table and enjoy a freshly made hot (or haut) chocolate.  That's exactly what Vicky and I chose to do, and aside from drinking our indulgent elixirs, we also feasted on amazing samples of truffles and bark.

Treats:

Hot Chocolate - We each ordered different flavors of hot chocolate - me going for the spicy Aztec and Vicky choosing the sweet Parisienne.  Aesthetically, both looked the same, being served in long tubular glasses that reminded me of oversized test tubes.  Once we took a sip of each respective drink, we fell in love - me really digging the spiciness of the ancho & chipotle chilies that warmed the back of my throat, and Vicky indulging in the dark chocolate with Madagascar vanilla flavorings.  Both drinks were rich and sophisticated, and a definite step up from your ordinary hot chocolate drink.  I also liked that even though saturated in chocolate flavor, they weren't heavy and weren't hard on the tummy like other versions that only taste good at the time (and which you pay for later, if you know what I mean).

Truffles - Seeing a handful of beautiful dark chocolate truffles, resting on an old fashioned scale at the communal table, we couldn't resist trying them.  Looking gorgeous, with a dark red dried cherry on top, they were irresistible.  Consisting of Kirsch, velvety dark chocolate and the tart Michigan cherry on top, popping this into our mouths felt like we went Paris and back.  All we had to do was close our eyes.

Service and Cost:
Even though I won't rant and rave about the service, there's also no reason to complain.  I felt that overall, the staffed lacked some general enthusiasm and umph that would've been nice to see from such a magical place, but they by no means faulted us in any way and provided satisfactory service.

Costs are expensive and are about $4 for each hot chocolate.  Truffle prices vary and you can check out their site for the specifics.

3 Chocolatey Mmmms

Vosges - 132 Spring Street, New York NY 10012
212.625.2929
6 Train to Spring Street
www.vosgeschocolate.com