Chocolate wars

After our return from France, we were in New York and D. felt like a splurge on chocolate. We have in the past greatly enjoyed Maison de Chocolate in Paris and in New York for truffles or a box of mixed chocolates. I prefer dark and D. prefers milk but dark is growing on him, as it is more pure and rich. I always find the studies interesting regarding cultural preferences, Europeans prefer dark (which is high in anti-oxidants and is high in actual cocoa content) while Americans usually prefer milk, which has a waxy texture and has much less actual chocolate in it.

The last several years in Provence, we have truly appreciated the originality of Joel Durand in St. Remy, and his chocolate creations, with truffles, and unusual flavors from lavender to basil.

So, we returned to Maison de Chocolate thinking we would find Joel's equal if not superior, but were vastly disappointed. While the chocolate was good, it was not surprisingly good. We often buy truffles from Whole Foods for $6.99 per box which are equal if not better than the $50.00 box we purchased at Maison de Chocolate. We realized that spending the $30.00 for a box of mixed truffles (with flavors by the alphabet complete with a menu) is entirely worth it. So we can say goodbye to our old favorite and look forward to next year in Provence for more Joel Durand.

I am also posting pictures D. took at the local Cave for his favorite Rose', including a photo of the "pull", where you bring your own bottle (often a plastic 2 litre water bottle) and they fill it with either a 12% or 13% alcohol for less than $4.00, while here in the US, to buy a reasonably good Rose' which he prefers in the summer, D. will pay sometimes as much as $12.00 due to import fees, taxes, and costs for bottling, and the dealers, rather than buying the wine from the vineyard.