Dining Out for Life: Thursday, March 24

I don’t know about you, but I have a tough time making decisions. I spend most of my day herding cats and correcting other people’s grammar, and when dinnertime rolls around, the last thing I want to do is make a decision. Cook dinner or eat out? Wine? Which one?...

Mast Brothers Stumptown Coffee bar

I’ve tasted chocolate that had distinct coffee notes, and I’ve also tasted coffee that tasted chocolatey. If you stop to think about it, that makes some sense. Chocolate and coffee are both tropical fruits that are fermented, dried and roasted. (Chocolate goes through a number of other steps beyond roasting,...

Theo Chef Sessions limited edition confections

The idea of limited edition is kind of like eating seasonally. Something that’s limited edition is less likely to be taken for granted, though you run the risk of turning it into something precious. Or, worse, a marketing scheme. Thankfully, in the case of limited edition things that are actually...

Lost and found: Nacional cacao in Peru

January was a busy month for the science of chocolate. First, The New York Times reported that the rare, thought-to-be-extinct Nacional strain of cacao had been found in Peru. Amid much excitement, Maranon Chocolate was hailed as hero in the chocolate world. (I’ll note, apologetically, that Canada’s Globe & Mail...

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

I’m back and nearly recovered from a crazy weekend in San Francisco. The good kind of crazy, though. Like eating Meyer lemon sorbet from Scream Sorbet while basking in the sun. Without wearing my winter coat. In January. Southern California, you’re so weird and wonderful. While I was there, I...