I love chocolate. I don’t understand the ones who say otherwise. How can you not love chocolate, am I right?
A pastry chef, Jacques Torres, started a chocolate store in Brooklyn, where everything is made from scratch. It is one of my favorite “local” chocolate here in NYC. From all the cute and tasty little chocolates to hot chocolate, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies… It has always served me well when it comes to Holiday seasons as well.
We recently visited the one located inside the Rockefeller Center for some sweets and relaxation. If you have never been to Rockefeller Center, you might not realize that there are shops, restaurants, post office, and other stores in the basement of the building. Just go in from the main entrance, take the escalator down one level, and there are a whole new world down there. Jacques Torres is just one of the tenants inside the Rockefeller Center.
Inside is very bright with their usual orange and dark brown, and of course, chandeliers. Just being in that color scheme and bright light filled with aroma of chocolate makes you happy. One side of the store is hot chocolate section, and the other, all the chocolaty sweets, and ice cream sandwich, cookies, etc.
We got a chocolate chip cookie ($3) and chocolate covered Cheerios ($6). The Cookie is rather large, and has chunks of dark chocolate in them. It is soft and moist, in that perfect way that it does not crumble but gives you a nice, gentle feel to it. The chocolate has a very good, strong flavor, and the sweetness of cookie and the a bit bitterness of the dark chocolate are match made in heaven. Their ice cream sandwich is made with their homemade ice cream and these cookies, so that is another item you totally have to try. The Cheerios were such delight. Yes I know it is $6, and it is not a large bag. But, it is really quality that speaks here. They coated the Cheerios with their awesome chocolate, without the Cheerios being soggy or too hardened or anything like that. It was just really great chocolaty snack. One bite and I was done. It had a nice crackling sound as you get from biting into a fresh bag of Cheerios, and gets that burst of chocolate flavor mixed with Cheerios flavor. If you are a fan of Cheerios and love chocolate, it will be very hard to resist.
And, of course, we got a cup of hot chocolate each. Wicked Hot Chocolate ($4.25/large) and White Chai Hot Chocolate ($3.25/small). They have Small, Large, and Frozen. The Wicked Hot Chocolate contains their special (secret) spices including ancho and chipotle flavors, which makes it a bit spicy. You first get the doze of sweetness from the chocolate, then the kick of spice hit you, powerful yet gentle, from the back of your throat. It is an interesting drink. I know many other chocolate stores offers their version of spicy hot chocolate, but some of them has too much spice, or not enough. They know the right amount of spice to mix with their chocolate. Now, the Chai. I have only seen Classic and Wicked on the menu before, never a Chai option. The staff told me that this was a new addition to their hot chocolate menu. I am always the one to try out something new, or limited time item, so I went for it! It is made with creamy white chocolate infused with their own exotic chai tea spices. I am not a huge fan of chai tea, I like it but not my go-to tea. However, this hot chocolate was sooooo good! The chai flavor was subtle, not too strong nor too weak, just the perfect amount. And I really love white chocolate, so I was happy to hear that it is made with white chocolate. The flavor of chai and white chocolate went perfectly together. It is now my favorite hot chocolate!
The staff here, 2 young guys, were really sweet and nice. They gave us a sample of their chocolate chip cookies (which we bought) when we walked in. As we were enjoying the hot chocolate and the cookies, they gave us more sample, even though we already had sample cookies and bought one. They were really friendly and answered any questions that we had, and gave us recommendations of their offerings. I wish if I got their names, as they were so nice and kind, which we don’t see often in NYC (sadly). So, next time you are around Rockefeller Center and craving something sweet, head over to Jacques Torres for some chocolate delights. I am sure you can find something that will make you smile…!
Jacques Torres Chocolate – Rockefeller Center, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112