Skip to main content

Coping with Anxiety and Crisis: A Selected List of Fine Chocolate Stores in New York

Fears of recession, concerns about the state of the world, worries about job prospects, and anxieties about the future dominate the news headlines these days, but these kinds of stories are perennial, coloring the way we conduct our lives. Fortunately, we now believe that the 400+ ingredients in dark chocolate may alleviate some of the worst symptoms of this kind of external stress. Had a bad day? A little brisk walk to your local chocolate boutique may fix you right up.

It's funny, but studies show that taking a chocolate supplement doesn't work as well for a sense of individual well-being as the act of eating a piece of chocolate. I understand. I think aesthetics matter. Eating beautiful chocolates can make you feel all yummy and special on the inside. My chocolate cravings can even be satisfied by unravelling the classic and minimalist Hershey's bar. Yet, I still prefer a visit to the city's finest purveyors of chocolate. At the following places (links provided), chocolate is considered a fine art. While the state of the economy may not allow a large ticket item at this time, chocolate makes for a nice little investment.

MarieBelle
484 Broome St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-6999
A chic chocolate boutique in Soho with an elegant tasting room. Select your choice of chocolates for a box, or find a ready-made selection. The hot cocoa is superlative here.

Kee's
80 Thompson St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 334-3284
A specialist in truffles, try whatever is recommended the day of your visit. Their green tea varieties are lovely.

Jacques Torres
350 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 414-2462
and
66 Water Street (DUMBO)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
On some days, only Jacques Torres will do.

Vosges
132 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 625-2929
Red fire, people. There's nothing quite like a spicy ancho-flavored chocolate bar, unless you go for the red fire chocolate-covered tortilla chips. A perennial favorite.


La Maison du Chocolat
1018 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10021-0113
Phone: (212) 744-7117
On days when the stock market goes up, consider the Madison Avenue branch of the fine French chocolate house.

Scharffen Berger Chocolate CLOSED (see comment section)
473 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024
(212) 362-9734
The Upper West Side favorite. Available at many venues city-wide.

Payard Patisserie & Bistro CLOSED
1032 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10021
212-717-5252
A classic New York setting with a French twist.

Chocolate Bar
127 East 7th Street, between 1st & Ave A
212.366.1541
also
Henri Bendel
712 Fifth Avenue
3rd Floor Atrium
New York, NY 10019
212.582.8283
Terrific boutique selection of chocolates. Their spicy brownies changed the way we bake brownies at home.

Max Brenner
141 2nd Ave (corner of 9th st)
New York, NY 10003
and
841 Broadway (between 13th and 14th Streets)
Beyond belief for chocolate lovers, The Bald Man offers a full range of chocolate products in many forms.

The Chocolate Room
86 5th Avenue
(between Park Pl & Warren St)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 783-2900
Popular with the Park Slop crowd.

Images of MarieBelle and Vosges by Walking Off the Big Apple. See also the post Wee Willie WOTBA's Downtown Chocolate Walk.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous11:56 PM

    Thanks, Teri, but sadly, Scharffen Berger closed just days after you and I visited. Fortunately, their wonderful chocolate is sold in finer supermarkets such as Whole Foods, Fairway and Gourmet Garage and has even been seen (although not in the darkest formulations) in some Duane Reades. Finding limited series blends, such as their recent 10th Anniversary Finisterra, may be a challenge. As a last resort, there's always the company's website: http://scharffenberger.com/ .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Teri Tynes6:33 AM

    Was there a connection between our visit and their closing? That would be terrible! Thank you so much for the information about where to acquire Scharffen Berger chocolates.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:00 PM

    More likely the closing followed the death in September of the company's chocolate maker, Robert Steinberg.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Teri Tynes3:36 PM

    Oh.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous6:47 PM

    I'm a long time reader and I guess a lurker. I've never participated, but I love your blog. I follow it as I plan for visits (not often enough) from LA to NYC. This year we're spening the holidays in December and this chocolate lover list is perfect. Then I'll walk a lot.

    Doris

    ReplyDelete
  6. Teri Tynes6:55 PM

    Hi Anonymous,
    Thank you so much for writing. I am so happy that you love my blog. And I'm pleased you find the chocolate list useful. I hope you'll have a great time here during the holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:37 PM

    I just discovered your "chocolate" walk in the lower part of NYC. Wow. Looks like a great way to take in a number of the stores.

    We're staying around the corner from the Bryant Park Hotel.
    Are any of your walks along 6th avenue or 49th street or near-by? We'd like to try one. They look like about 2 hrs or so to walk and enjoy.

    Also liked your book store and coffee pairings.

    THanks, Doris

    ReplyDelete
  8. Teri Tynes3:50 PM

    Hi anon,
    I was thinking about the walks near your hotel. On the site, look at either the Classic New York, The New York of Raymond Hood, Architect, or the Holly Golightly/Breakfast at Tiffany's Walks.
    You will be centrally located near the Theater District, so you should have fun walking in any direction.I'm planning a theater-themed walk soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:40 PM

    This is a great list! It's too bad about Scharffen Berger, but this is definitely a chocolate all star list. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Teri Tynes1:32 PM

    Thanks, cocoazilla.
    I went to your website, and you are like some chocolate goddess! I feel very honored that my list held up to your standards.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Teri Tynes1:38 PM

    See also the companion chocolate-themed walk for downtown shops:

    http://www.walkingoffthebigapple.com/2008/02/wee-willy-wotbas-downtown-chocolate.html...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous8:55 AM

    Thanks for this list!
    I have recommended it on our blog to anyone planning a shopping trip to New York from over here in Ireland.
    Check if you are a REAL choc-a-holic with our "Chocolate Lovers 40" list
    Chocolate Heaven

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

25 Radical Things to Do in Greenwich Village

A list of 25 things to Do in Greenwich Village with history of protest, old cafes, and signs of change. Hipstamatic iPhone images of contemporary Greenwich Village by Walking Off the Big Apple (Revised and updated.) Flipping through  Greenwich Village: A Photographic Guide by Edmund T. Delaney and Charles Lockwood with photographs by George Roos, a second, revised edition published in 1976, it’s easy to compare the black and white images with the look of today’s neighborhood and see how much the Village has changed. A long shot photograph of Washington Square taken up high from an apartment north of the park, and with the looming two towers of the World Trade Center off to the distant south in the background, reveals a different landscape than what we would encounter today.    On the north side of the park, an empty lot and two small buildings have since given way to NYU’s Kimmel Center and a new NYU Center for Academic and Spiritual Center Life. The Judson Me...
Read more

Museums in New York Open on Mondays

UPDATED July 9, 2024 Please consult the museum websites for changes in days and hours. • Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)  10:30 am - 5:30 pm •  The Metropolitan Museum of Art  10 am - 5 pm • Whitney Museum  10:30 - 6 pm •  American Museum of Natural History  10 am - 5:30 pm • Jewish Museum  11 am - 6 pm • International Center of Photography (ICP)  11 am -7 pm • Guggenheim  10:30 am - 5:30 pm •  The Museum of the City of New York  10 am - 5 pm •  Cooper Hewitt  10 am - 6 pm •  Neue Galerie  11 am - 6 pm The Whitney Museum of American Art General Information  American Museum of Natural History Central Park West and 79th Street See the post, Big Things to See at the American Museum of Natural History . Cooper Hewitt 2 East 91st St. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 1071 Fifth Ave Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave The Metropoli...
Read more

10 Short Walks from Grand Central Terminal

(updated March 2017) Famously crowded Grand Central Terminal functions as a major crossroads for the city, hosting busy commuters as they come and go from the suburbs via the Metro-North Railroad or within the city via a few subway lines, but the terminal also happens to be a good place to launch short walks. With its south side fronting E. 42nd Street and its massive structure interrupting Park Avenue, Grand Central provides quick access to many of the city's most well-known attractions. The New York Public Library and Bryant Park are only a couple of blocks away from the terminal, a quick jaunt on 42nd Street. And from there, Times Square is just another block or two farther west of the library, its neon shimmering in the distance. One wonders, standing near the intersection of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, how many souls have been lured away from their well-meaning library studies by the beckoning lights of the Theater District. Grand Central Terminal : Before setting...
Read more

From Penn Station to New York Landmarks: Measuring Walking Distance and Time in Manhattan

(revised 2017) How long does it take to walk from Penn Station/Madison Square Garden to well-known destinations in Manhattan? What are the best walking routes ? What if I don't want to see anything in particular but just want to walk around? In addition to the thousands of working commuters from the surrounding area, especially from New Jersey and Long Island who arrive at Penn Station via New Jersey Transit or the Long Island Rail Road, many people arrive at the station just to spend time in The City. Some have questions. Furthermore, a sporting event may have brought you to Madison Square Garden (above Penn Station), and you want to check out what the city offers near the event. This post if for you.  The map below should help you measure walking distances and times from the station to well-known destinations in Manhattan - Bryant Park , the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the Empire State Building , Times Square , Rockefeller Center , Washington Square Park , the High Line ...
4 comments
Read more

25 Things To Do in Chelsea

On the High Line, with the Whitney Museum of American Art (revised and updated 2018) The phenomenal popularity of the High Line on the West Side has no doubt introduced many visitors to the pleasures of  Chelsea , the multifaceted eclectic neighborhood that stretches out below. On the west side of the rails, between W. 14th and W. 29th Streets or so, the  Chelsea Gallery District  is home to hundreds of contemporary art galleries in repurposed warehouses. New luxury residences rise up around these spaces, taking advantage of the stunning Hudson River views. On the east side of the line, the iconic Empire State Building comes into the picture, but closer in, the Gothic Revival outlines of the General Theological Seminary represent the neighborhood's roots in an earlier century. Chelsea is a remarkable neighborhood bound together by an artistic and visual history, but it's also a community held together by social institutions - schools, historic houses of worsh...
Read more

25 Things To Do Near the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

(updated 2016) The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) at 11 W. 53rd Street is near many other New York City attractions, so before or after a trip to the museum, a short walk in any direction could easily take in additional experiences. Drawing a square on a map with the museum at the center, a shape bounded by 58th Street to the north and 48th Street to the south, with 7th Avenue to the west and Park Avenue to the east, proves the point of the area's cultural richness. (A map follows the list below.) While well-known sightseeing stops fall with these boundaries, most notably Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the great swath of famous Fifth Avenue stores, cultural visitors may also want to check out places such as the Austrian Cultural Forum, the 57th Street galleries, the Onassis Cultural Center, and the Municipal Art Society. The image above shows an intriguing glimpse of the tops of two Beaux-Arts buildings through an opening of the wall inside MoMA's scu...
Read more