Hot Chocolate Brunch

A blend of Belgium chocolate, French bitter - sweet chocolate & French milk chocolate with a hint of salt and an creamy marshmallow on the side.  It was like the mother ship was calling me home.  Heaven. Mindy's Hot Chocolate Restaurant and Dessert Bar in Chicago not only has a wide assortment of drinking chocolates, but is actually know for their brunch menu.  Along with my creamy hot chocolate cup of splendor, I had the Veggie Scramble - a tasty combination of fresh seasonal summer squash, eggs and cheese with a side of potatoes and Pullman toast.  My husband loved his Brioche French Toast with seasonal fruit and sausage.  Great food and great vibe.  My new motto in photo below.

Rolling Dunes Hot Chocolate

Great crepes and other surprising delights are found at Rolling Dunes on Lakeshore in Oakland.  One of my favorite discoveries is the rich hot chocolate. Try it by itself or with another favorite the Eggs Blackstone, eggs Benedict with grilled tomato and bacon. All the crepes I have tried are great, but the Italian style Milano and apple Mirage for desert keep finding their way back to me.  We also stop in to satisfy our desert cravings with the apple pie for my husband and, of course, the chocolate cake for me. 

Poetic Hot Chocolate

While strolling in North Beach, I stopped at my favorite North Beach hot chocolate spot - Caffe Roma. A beautiful coffee grinder adorns the front window, I have been told this is the sign of a good coffee shop. They are know for their coffee, but I only know about the hot chocolate. I sipped my favorite North Beach hot chocolate from the tall glass mug and felt inspired to write the great Italian novel. Buttercup played on the sound system. The atmosphere is relaxed, with free wi-fi. The perfect place to hang-out and dream. For all you budding poets, Friday night is now open mic night.

Bittersweet

San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area are loaded with specialty chocolate shops. They pop up as I am innocently strolling through a neighborhood when chocolate the last thing on my mind. Not really, chocolate is always on my mind. My first stop on my chocolate journey is one of my favorites - Bittersweet. They did have several locations in the Bay Area and learned sadly today they now have only one location in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. I first discovered Bittersweet when I was strolling along Fillmore Street in San Francisco. I stopped in for a hot chocolate and have been a fan ever since. When I was dating my husband, we would frequent Rockridge for dinner and discovering a Bittersweet in the neighborhood definitely helped in my decision to move to the East Bay. They have a spicy hot chocolate brownie that I crave. We love stopping by here after dinner for my much needed chocolate fix. It has the atmosphere of a local coffee shop with rustic wooden floors and chunky wooden tables and chairs. The difference is the smell when you enter. It has a wonderful chocolate smell that wraps around you like a favorite warm blanket. Their website states their mission is “to bring the best the world of chocolate has to offer home to you”. They not only have hot chocolate, but SEVEN types on their regular menu and several specialty hot chocolate drinks for the holidays. They also have coffee and many other delicious pastries. There is a wall of chocolate with chocolates from around the world with exotic flavor combinations. Yes, I am extra bitter that I can't have this everyday.