Couture Custard for Cool Customers
I had the best Giandujia ice cream made from Michel Cluizel chocolate and Piedmont Hazelnuts from the coolest gourmet ice cream truck parked outside of Barney's Coop on the Upper West Side. The guy who works the truck said that it was his friend's brilliant idea to bring the Van Leeuwen experience to the streets of New York. And while I'll always have a soft spot for Mister Softee 's Jingle and their vanilla cone with chocolate sprinkles, I'll definitely splurge for a few bucks more (a small cup was about $3.75) for the hormone free, locally sourced custard that tastes more like gelato than plastic. Even the cups and spoons were a nice tactile experience and when I checked out the website I learned that they were made from renewable sugar cane and corn husk. The Ginger ice cream was quite delicious as well. Can't wait to try the Red Currant and Pistachio or one of their sundaes which come with Cluizel fudge and whipped cream. Yum!

I feel pret-tea...oh so pret-tea!
Who doesn't love a fabulous makeover? I first encountered Joanie's Smiles (below) tea flavored chocolate bars last year at Subtle Tea during a stroll on Madison Avenue. I wanted to blog then, but Joanie, the Malibu based Cordon Bleu chef and chocolatier insisted that the re-design was well worth the wait. Now branded chocolatea from smilechocolatiers, the new packaging raises the bar by presenting the haute chocolate in a fresh, airy, new light with absolutely gorgeous watercolors, each as delicious and sublime as the experience it dresses. Joanie's perspective brings together the aromatic properties of tea with the richness of chocolate. Featured here are the 72% Dark with Pomegranate White Tea, 64% Dark with Coconut Green Tea, 37% Milk with Wild Rasberry Tea and 37% White Chocolate with Pistachio Green Tea. She also plays with Chai and ginger and beyond. The complex flavors are made to savor and range from subtle to more powerful. The Coconut Green Tea being my favorite so far as its flavor is by far more subtle than the others. I took Chef Joanie's brilliant advice and washed them all down with a nice glass of Prosecco, needless to say, I'm a very happy girl.

Drip Tease
What's brewed, sophisticated and made with beans? Wrong answer! It's not coffee, it's Cabaret! An entire pound of Mexican cacao beans are brewed to produce a single jar. Touted as an adult chocolate beverage, the purveyors of the sultry syrup promise an afterglow. Just add a teaspoon of the stuff to a cup of hot water and...well, let's see what happens. I'm expecting my jar to arrive this week. You can win your very own jar of Cabaret by being the first to post the correct answer to this riddle:

I'm seldom seen but always heard. I'm bi-polar and I eat lots of sugar but I'm always on top of things. I'm usually cramped up in my warm, dark, office but if I could stretch out, you'd be surprised at how big I am. Who am I? Good Luck!

Congrats to Light Traveler for solving the riddle. Answer: The Brain. Light Traveler and I will be sure to let you know how we enjoy Cabaret so check back soon!

Nip and Suck
Whoa! Even though I attended the Design and the Elastic Mind show at the MOMA earlier this year I don't recall seeing these. I'm actually glad I didn't because I'm freaked out by the photograph so there's no telling what my reaction might have been to seeing them in person. Suffice to say they are design and chocolate and that's what we talk about around these parts. Ana Mir designed these chocolate nipples and according to her they're interactive. I don't see how, you're either biting these or staying the hell away from them. Hopefully this is the last we've seen of anatomically correct chocolate.

Liz Lovely/Chocolate Nerd Cookie Contest Giveaway!
I've been raving about Liz Lovely's cookies for the past week. I decided to stop raving to give you a chance to see for yourself how moist and delicious they actually are. In ten words or less, tell us why you deserve to have this mouthwatering cookie sampler delivered straight to your door. The one with the funniest, nerdiest or most clever answer wins!
Congrats to Yumgivme Cookiemikoff for bagging this valuable prize. Let's do this again!