April 2007 ALL THINGS CHOCOLATE A European Chocolaterie In Brooklyn By Zain Deane Tucked away under the Brooklyn Bridge, amid the cobblestone streets, warehouses, and million-dollar lofts of DUMBO, lies a hidden homage to a charming European tradition: the Chocolaterie. Jacques Torres is well known to fans of the Food Network for his mastery of all things chocolate. And honestly, wouldn’t you want to visit the headquarters of a man who has earned the moniker “Mr. Chocolate”? Anytime is a good time for chocolate, but the best time to go to Jacques Torres’s haven is in the dead of winter, on a gray afternoon. Because, that’s when this experience is winter’s equivalent to discovering an oasis in a desert. There’s no direct access from the subway or the bus, so you’ll need to trudge over to the store, walking through a neighborhood that, for New York, is often strangely silent. But once you cross over the glass-paned, green wood doors, you realize this is no mirage; you’ve stepped into another era. The actual retail portion of Jacques Torres’s facility is quite small. Much of the space, which is separate but visible, is the workroom and showroom where the chocolate gets made. If you’re lucky, Mr. Chocolate will be there himself, spinning magic with the cocoa bean. The rest of the Chocolaterie is composed of a Lilliputian seating area of three wrought-iron café table-and-chair sets, shelves ling two walls selling confections and home goods, and the counter area. My footsteps almost always take me directly to the marble-topped bar, where a barista waits to take your order: regular hot chocolate, or wicked. I confess, I’ve never, ever ordered regular. On a cold day, that cup of wicked (or spicy) hot chocolate, which is blended with chipotle and ancho chiles to give it that delicious zing, is like a little stream of heaven trickling into your system. You can even take the powdered hot chocolate mix home, but they manage to achieve a thick consistency here that I’ve never been able to duplicate (for those of you who’ve had Spanish hot chocolate, it’s similar in texture). Of course, there’s a lot more than hot chocolate here. At the end of the store is a counter where you can see, and order, Jacques’s concoctions. These are no ordinary chocolates: the ingredients range from the expected—the usual assortment of nuts and all kinds of fruit infusions— to the exotic—such as the wicked or enigmatic “love potion #9” pieces. It makes for a refreshing change, seeing the not-quite-perfect square shapes and realizing that these are all made by hand, not squeezed and molded by a machine. Most everything is available in a dark- or milk-chocolate variety, and you can pick and choose from the ample supply. Jacques sells boxes of 12, 25, and 50, which you can buy online at mrchocolate.com if you can’t make it out to Brooklyn. The all-things-chocolate theme doesn’t end there. Besides the individual pieces, you can buy rich slabs of milk and dark chocolate (“bark”), fresh pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants), bags of chocolate-covered nuts and pralines, and even cookbooks specializing in … you guessed it. And the staff is—again, for New York—amazingly friendly and warm. (I guess I would be to, if my job rivaled that of an Oompa Loompa.) Jacques has opened up another, larger branch on Hudson Street, for those who won’t or can’t leave Manhattan, but I prefer the rustic charm of the Dumbo branch. I love its quiet, secluded tranquility; its friendly ambience; and its dedication to one of life’s sweet indulgences. 66 Water Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 718-875-9772 www.mrchocolate.com |
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