Hot Chocolate on a Friday Night

Last Friday, after an improvised dinner of leftover Catering by Connie's Pizza tossed salad, our thoughts turned to ice-cream. Feeling adventurous and slightly flush, Kerensa and I ventured into the heart of yuppie-licious bucktown for a quick snack at Mindy Segal's desserteteria. We'd been only once before for a wedding cake consultation (with very delicious but ultimately too expensive cake proposition) and hadn't even had a full dessert course at that time, but what we'd tasted had whetted our appetite. On Friday at 8:15, we were seated immediately. If we'd shown up 20 minutes later, it would've been a 45 minute wait. We each had a bowl of chocolate. I went with the dark a thick bicerin-like ganachey concoction of venezuelan cocoa and a smidgen of cream. Kerensa had the "medium" a much milkier sweeter mix. I probably would go for some mixture of the two in the future - or passed on the dessert in addition to the hot cocoa - i got about halfway down my cup before I couldn't take any more chocolate.

I ordered the "warm brioche doughnuts with hotfudge" that came on a rectangular littered with terrific caramel corn and on the side a scoop of salt-caramel icecream. K had a chocolatey souffle cake on a choco-cookie base topped with a scoop of the same salt-caramel ice cream. The icecream was great - i'd go back for just a couple of scoops of that in the future. The doughnuts were also very good - a little banana-ey for reasons that I couldn't discern, and delicious dunked in fudge. Kerensa's souffle was better than the choco cookie base, which was a little sandy and muddy flavored. But overall, for a thirty dollar friday nigth outing, it was well worth it, and I'll be back to sample the rest of the menu.

Or, early on a Sunday night.

This was my first trip to Hot Chocolate, but certainly not the last. I actually feel very guilty about not going earlier. I just thought, maybe it would not be my kinda place, a little too hip for ol' big belly me. Turns out it is exactly my kinda place.

If you know Hot Chocolate and know their menu, you would know exactly why it's my kinda place. Any menu speckled with Carr Valley this and Nicholl's Farm that has me hooked. Ms. Siegal is proof (again) that eating local is one of the best ways to eat well.

There was five of us, in various states of hunger and interest and because of that, a wide range of menu got ordered and eventually passed around. Except for minor quibbles noted below, I have no quibbles with this place. It's not cheap-cheap, but for the quality, both in ingredient and chef skills, it is a very good deal. I think it compares very well (and better) to Lula's.

OK, here's what I tried:

- Cheddar sampling - about ten chunks of Wisconsin cheddars going from baby up to senior citizen, with a generous slab of Carr Valley as the encore. The side dish was as big and as good: membrillo, spiced and candied nuts, oatcakes and toasted raisin bread, plus a frise salad. For $12, this was a steal.

- Olive oil poached tuna sandwich - Well done, juicy and tasty.

- Mac n' Cheese - Liked

- Burger from local beef - Perhaps because it was from the local, lean beef, it came out a bit over-cooked. Still, the flavor of the meat was incredible and it was only enhanced by a wood grill and especially good pickles. Soon, (the pickles) we were told to be sold at a farmer's market near you.

- Strawberry milkshake - Oh, what a difference real strawberries make!

- Chocolate melted cake with salt carmel ice cream - As Seth notes, the ice cream is very good, the salt really adding something. The cake was fine, very good, but a bit pedestarian at this point.

- Root beer float - In the battle of hip woman pastry chef's, I prefer Hot Chocolate's root beer over Gale Gand's. The pecan tart with the cake is worth the admission.

Did I mention that service was top notch?

A keeper for sure.