So where do I get my chocolate?  Artisan Confections, period, done, say no more.

Jason Andelman makes a fine selection of truffles, barks, bars, caramels, dragees and even hot chocolate.  The truffle flavors change from time to time to keep things fresh.  The passionfruit has a great distinction between rich dark chocolate and the tang of passionfruit, the caramel truffles are like bombs of oozing caramel goodness contained in a tasty, crunchy shell, the lavender honey is a personal favorite with a subtle but rich texture underneath a just thick enough, but not too thick layer of chocolate.

Of course then there is the Bittersweet bark with my other addiction: candied ginger and coconut.  This is a great little crunch which is ther perfect bite at 3:00 in the afternoon when you need just a taste of something sweet.

But if you are like my Hubby then you need the peanut butter bars, crispy peanut butter praline with honey topped with chocolate are the best little candy bars I know.

And then there are the fought after, sought after caramels which are so good.  While on the one hand the melt in your mouth goodness has just the right balance of sweetness, you also don’t want it to melt too fast because then it is gone and you need another!

Jason’s chocolate make great gifts and stocking stuffers.  I know my Hubby is probably headed there this season and me too!  And doesn’t it feel good to support a native Virginian?  There are also fantastic chocolate classes, and you can see him making his tasty chocolates right in the store!

Related posts:

1. The Narrative: Christmas Now I may be somewhat biased as the child of...
2. Chocolate in small doses is on the Wedding Diet, I swear. So Readers you are multiplying.  I am very excited, today...

The first good sign was that I actually found the place without getting lost.  I frequently get lost in Springfield, as there is just stuff all over the place.  Walking in there was a small buffett and tables on the left.  There was also a small menu on the wall of noodle soups available.  I got a beef noodle soup and one of the very pleasant staff asked me if I wanted the one similar to Pho.  As I was wearing a white shirt, I thought clear broth over red probably a good idea.  The noodles were thin rice noodles and there were some slices of brisket and some meatballs and scallions in what was a very nice complex broth.  All the normal Pho accompaniments alongside.  As there were torrential downpours outside, it felt quite nice to sit inside watching the rain slurping noodles.

I also ordered a bahn mi to go.  It had a mix with sausage, pate and a few other cured meats.  The bread was soft, warm and crusty, the condiments were very spicy, but had a little sweetness.  There was a good balance of meat, bread, condiments.

The bakery has to go plates of rolls and other Vietnamese dishes for carry out and more can be ordered.  There were all sorts of pastries.  I bought some peanut cookies and pastries with a cashew filling.  They seemed to have some pastries that seem a bit more Chinese to me, as well, but I am not good with those sorts of differentiation at this point, especially with the French influence.  There were also a variety of steamed buns.  There were candies and other sweets and cakes.  The people coming in and out for bags of sandwiches was promising.  This is a neat little spot well worth exploring.  I can’t wait to take Hubby there at some point.

Related posts:

1. San Francisco Report: 2011 The Grand Adventure Days 3 and 4 Day Three started with a Mini winding across the Bay...
2. Eating Around September Edition Well Readers, good news from the streets.  I have had...

We started with lunch at Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar.  This is a casual destination with small plates, entrees and a great lunch menu.  It is a little dark inside, but the kitchen and staff definitely make you feel welcome and at home.  (My Mother in Law is such a Saint- every time I come down there my diet seems to be even more restricted as my doctor and dietician try to figure out my tummy problems.  Right now I am eating gluten and lactose free.  But note I can’t garauntee anything is completely gluten free as I am just intolerant and there could be possible cross contamination.)  Looking over the bar menu before we sat down I was really excited, not only did all the food look good, they had a lot of things that I could eat!  We sat down and I had a lovely bowl of tomato soup with lamb stock- it was warm and had an intense but fresh lamb taste and scent with great fresh tomato flavor.  I then had a wonderful salad with grilled vegetables, rotisserie chicken and a wonderful lemon vinaigrette.  I loved the roasted veggies, especially the green beans with the warm, juicy chicken.  Looking around Hubby was devouring his meatballs, and MIL’s chicken sandwich looked amazing on really great looking bread.

After lunch I wandered over to the Organic Butcher of Charlottesville.  This is a brother shop to the Organic Butcher of McLean.  Had we not been a day and a drive away from home, and the McLean location being so close, I would have taken home a lot of great items like: rabbit, country style sausage and some fantastic stocks.  If you haven’t checked these stores out it is worth a peruse.  Some things are a bit on the expensive side, but many are really reasonable.  And I really think if you care about where you meat comes from or how it is raised, what things the animals are given then it is really worth a stop.  And if you are trying to find more interesting items such as oxtail, but want better quality than you can get at the Asian grocery store this would be on the top of my list of places to call.

Hedge is a fantastic little shower shop with lots of different stems to choose from, with clean modern pairings.  I found it really tasteful and a nice place to stop in if you want to mix and match stems.  They have a network of local growers, but also get some exotics.  They also do floral delivery and arrangement design.  Click through to see their really awesome, modern, chic, but beautiful and romantic designs on their web site.  If you need flowers in C-ville, this is your place.

Also I had no idea there was a great little spot for some staple Japanese items, and a few Chinese items too at Seafood at West Main.  They also had some incredibly fresh fish and sushi grade fish, as well.  No fishy smell here, everything is super fresh and great looking.

We then wandered through Feast.  This is a great little gourmet grocery with a fantastic cheese and meat counter, sandwiches and lunch items perfect for a picnic through wine country.  It was so warm and inviting.  Hubby and I picked up some salami and pepperonis, pears and Easter candies!  But there is so much more there, dried fruits, nuts and really everything you could need for a day trip or great meal!

I skipped Ablemarle Bakery- no need to add insult to injury, but we did stop by Calvino Cafe for some coffee and tea on the way out!  Anyway great stop if you are in or around Charlottesville.  I can’t wait to go back!

Related posts:

1. Eastern Market Gifts So as a good kind-of-boss and friend, I am always...
2. Overwood in Old Town- A Hidden Gem on a Back Street Last night I met up with a few girlfriends at...

I got a beautiful knauckwurst- a little spice, but a lot like a big flavorful hotdog, on a homemade bun.   What I love is if you are unfamiliar with the taste of their wursts they will give you samples to help you decide.

We split some sides of homemade German potato salad (a mix of skin on potatoes, caramelized onions, vinegar and spices served warm), pretzel and apple strudel.  This was a huge meal even when you split the sides.  But everything is prepared with care and baked fresh.

They have picnic tables over on the grass some with umbrellas, so you can sit outdoors enjoy company with fellow diners and enjoy the splendor of nice weather in Virginia.  Max got to run around in the grass and sniff for sausage, of which he found none, a big disappointment I am sure.  We got some time in the sun and very good food.

The shop itself has pastries, breads and deli.  Whenever someone asks where to find some sort of baked good, I always end up seeing it at Heidelberg.  Their Black Forest Bread is exceptional for sandwich making.  And while their pastries are not as artistic as Patisseries by Randolph, I have found that they have a great variety of the German favorites my Amish Nanny used to make me.

And to top it off, with my hands full with drinks and Max, they carried my lunch to the table for me.

Related posts:

1. In honor of spa week: The Natural Body Spa & Shoppe So in honor of spa week I am reviewing a...

Williams Sonoma can still guarantee standard shipping in time for Christmas if you order by 9am on Tuesday.

They even have some good deals still like this:

I know so many people who could use a decent knife in their kitchen.  So many people have knives that just don’t cut it, literally.  Wusthof knives are classics that stand the test of time.  And a sanotoku knife is really a handy knife.  I prefer chopping a lot of my veggies with a sanatoku over a chef’s knife.

Or EVEN better: Cutlery and More has FREE delivery until midnight on many wonderful items, like these:

I love Chef’s Choice, it is the knife sharpener that I have and use for everything, but my Shun and Global knives.  It keeps your knives nice and sharp.  This one not only comes FREE, but it comes with a free 7″ sanaktoku knife, as well.  That is 2 gifts with free delivery for $150, not bad.

Or not one, but two Calaphalon skillets for $50.  I have this skillet in a smaller size and can attest that it works very well.

Last, but not least the mini-keg dispenser.  My husband would have really liked this, and at $100 it is a real steal, since it originally listed for $400, but alas Honey, sorry I already ordered your gifts.  I don’t know many men that would be disappointed to open this gift.  Again with FREE shipping guaranteed by Christmas from Cutlery and More.  They have lots of other great gifts like an electric water kettle, or stove top smoker, so if you are still looking for that great gift and like me hate paying for shipping, give this place a browse.  I have always found their prices to be the most competitive for really great products.

Related posts:

1. Loose Leaf So I  know earlier this week I posted a tea...
2. Wedding Wednesday- The Registry Ok, ok so it isn’t Wednesday I will give you...

On a past fall weekend to my delight the Hubby and I ventured down for a fun packed weekend in Charlottesville.  Saturday started with a trip to Bread Works Bakery and Deli where we picked up some tasty sandwiches on really good bread and some excellent molasses cookies (previously endorsed by hungry Bachelorettes after a good amount of wine). I highly recommend both the veggie and chicken salad sandwich.

We then ventured across the street to Mona Lisa Pasta to pick up some cheese and crackers, it is so nice in the back refrigerated section they have small pieces of cheese that are just the right size to pack for a day trip to the wineries and really nice gourmet crackers.  Now be forewarned the pizza here smells really good and is pretty darn tempting.  And to make it even worse they have a variety of homemade pastas that are fresh.  You can get their pasta in many different cuts and flavors so they really have a nice selection.  I picked up some garlic rosemary angel hair for dinner in the coming nights.

We then went out to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples.  With all the fall festivities this place was packed.  There were wagon rides, live music, crafts and so on.  We picked up some great apple cake doughnuts, apples and cider.

As the place was a little packed for their fall festival and we had other fruits to sample we moved on to Barboursville Vineyards who by chance were having their twice annual bottle tastings, which allows you to have tastings of different vintages of many of their best wines and their normal tastings, plus tours and special tastings of Octagon. Before tasting the wines we ate our sandwiches and cookies and people watched as urbanites, families and couples enjoyed the day. My favorites of the wines offered for tasting were Octagon 1999, 2004 and 2005, Cabernet Franc from 2001, Barbera Reserve 2006 which had hints of honey with a good balance of tannins, and the Rose 2007 which really surprised me.  I normally don’t care for many of the sweeter varieties of wine, but this Rose had great flavor and balance. There was so much wine to sample that if you tasted everything you would have drank a whole bottle of wine, and believe me did the cheese and crackers we picked up earlier hit the spot. They had shady trees at the bottom of the hill that were a perfect place to relax and listen to the live music.  The sheer amount of wine offered at this event and discounts on rare vintages made it a really great destination for a wine lover.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

After drinking our fill and purchasing a few bottles of Octagon 2005 and 2006 we took a stroll up to the Barbour Manor designed by Thomas Jefferson himself. It was fun to watch the kids and dogs play in the grass as people picnicked and enjoyed what was an absolutely beautiful day in Jefferson’s eden.

That night we had a great dinner at Zocalo.  Located right downtown on the mall Zocalo has Latin American inspired food.  I appreciated the balance on their menu between meat, fish, chicken and vegetarian entrees.  There was something for everyone and all our entrees were satisfying.  I had Grouper with a pea risotto that was homey, but fresh at the same time.  There was a nice acidic balances to the fish, which a nice fresh pea flavor in the risotto.  Hubby had a really tasty strip steak with chipotle demi-glace that I stole multiple bites of.

And to bring this long night to a close we stopped by Splendora’s for gelato.  This time of year I really crave pumpkin flavored anything and especially pumpkin gelato.  I had a small half maple half pumpkin that I really enjoyed.  They feature seasonal flavors along with your old standbys in a cozy, but fun atmosphere.  They also have espresso and cappuccino for those who prefer to have a toasty refreshment. It was a wonderful day to check out all the fall flavored goodness in the area and enjoy some down time with family.

Related posts:

1. Virginia is for lovers- of wine. I am lucky enough to have in laws who live...
2. Sparkling Chardonnay from Virginia With all the hoopla involved at the State Dinner, you...

So I have spent the past few years exploring the wineries in Charlottesville and other parts of Virginia. So here is my advice of what is worth a stop and sip.

Flying Fox-

A quaint little country store front located in Afton, Virginia.  With Veritas and Pollack wineries nearby you might pass right by this little shop and think it isn’t worth a stop, but you would be wrong.  The red and whites presented here offer a good variety of tastes and very well blended wines.  The Petit Verdot is the perfect porch sipping red, while the 2006 Cab Franc presents an excellent crisp red, that will only get better with a little age.  The chardonnay wasn’t too oaky or fruity, but a nice balance.  The staff are also personable and knowledgable about their wines.  I went here with a group of ladies and we all expressed the opinion that Flying Fox was much better than Pollack and Veritas, which are pretty wineries, but not the best in terms of taste.

White Hall Vineyards and the Greenwood Gourmet Grocery

I was at White Hall quite recently and was really impressed.  The location is really beautiful.  Located on the slopes of Break Heart Mountain it is nestled into its location, not overbearing the landscape.  It is nicely landscaped with grassy areas and picnic tables, a beautiful arbor in front and nicely manicured gardens.

It would be a lovely place to pack a picnic for, they don’t sell any food on sight, but you could certainly pick up something in Crozet, in fact if you take the Crozet exit off 64 there is a little grocery called the Greenwood Gourmet and Grocery, pictured above, that stocks local products and produce including fresh bread.  They also have sandwiches and prepared items.

White Hall had whites and reds that were really good.  The highlights were the 2006 Chardonnay Reserve which was crisp, refreshing and fruity with a nice rounded flavor of oak, the Break Heart Red is a steal at $10, it can be sipped like a white, but has the rounded flavor of a red we bought extra bottles to take as presents to people, the Touriga is also very good another lighter red wine, but if you like a full bodied rich red wine the Cuvee de Champs is your wine.  This is the answer from White Hall to Barboursville’s Octagon, but at $10-15 dollars less without the discount.  Even the 2006 Soliterre a sweet dessert wine shows refinement, it is not overly sweet and sappy, but has a crispness that makes it lovely and delicate.  It would be great drizzled over some peaches and fresh ice cream.  All in all this is perhaps one of the best wineries to visit as they really have a nice varied selection.

Barboursville Vineyards-

I haven’t gotten to go to this winery yet, but it is high on my list after having a few bottles of their lovely Octagon and their chardonnay.  Octagon is very full bodied, yet it has a crispness to it that makes it refreshing, as well.  This wine was served at a Inaguration Conservation Gala.  They have Palladio restaurant, which I am eager to check out, as well.

The last winery I am going to feature in this post is the King Family Vineyards-

This winery is in a lovely location overlooking their vines and fields.  They have polo matches and outdoor seating.  Inside not only do they have wine they also offer a variety of meats, cheeses, crackers and other accompaniments so you could have a nice meal outside.  Their wines are not as good as Barboursville or White Hall, but they are still much better than Veritas and Pollack and some other wineries in the area.  And they really are nice wonderful people.  My favorites were the Meritage 2006 a nice blend to make this a full bodied red with a smooth finish it can also be aged until 2012 to let the flavors age.  The Pedit Verdot was another nice sipping red, but it is a little spicier than your typical Petit Verdot.  They also have a nice Chardonney and Brut sparkling wine.  They have sold out of the Cab Franc so I won’t tell you about it as they should have a new vintage out this fall.

So go explore!  And after all that wine go to Three Notch’d Grill in Crozet.  It has a nice variety of entrees and each come with a salad.  After our last visit I highly recommend the shrimp penne with cream sauce, sundried tomato, pancetta and spinach.  Both the shrimp and spinach were very fresh and had great flavor.  The dish was so rich you won’t want dessert, but the entree is good enough to not care.  The lasagna was also particularly good made with fresh pasta.

Related posts:

1. Another fabulous weekend in Virginia Wine Country. So have I told you how much I absolutely love...
2. Sparkling Chardonnay from Virginia With all the hoopla involved at the State Dinner, you...

1. The Italian Store- known to make a mean Italian sub, less known as a place in our area you can get a muffaletta.  Their best seller is the Milano, but my favorite is the Napoli as it has spicy pepperoni.  Hubby likes the Capri.  I have heard rumors that A. Litteri in NE makes similar goodness, but can’t report back yet.  I get it with everything- lettuce, oil, oregano, sweet and hot peppers.  This place is a legend.

2. PS7- The Primanti Brothers Sandwich is a Pittsburgh legend.  They make one at liberty that has ingredients closer to the real deal, but this one for some reason tastes closer.  For $7.50 you get sopresetta, pepper slaw, gouda, fried egg and french fries.  Washingtonian has a video and recipe on how to make it, but for $7.50 I am going to PS7 and ordering mine with a happy hour $4 glass of wine.

3. Earl’s Sandwiches- situated in an unassuming building in Clarendon this place makes some serious goodness.  The sandwiches and soups are homemade and don’t skimp on the meat.  My favorite is the Roasted Earl.  Juicy, tender slices of pork loin with roasted green peppers and homemade garlic mayonnaise.  It has just the right amount of pork au jus and hint of garlic to create a balanced, but enjoyable fullness in your mouth, and the green pepper gave it good crunch and sweetness.

4. Lost Dog Cafe- There are so many good choices here.  The sandwich list is a couple pages here.  I think they have a good cheesesteak- nice crunch, thin authentic cut of meat, nice cheese, good carmelization on the peppers and onions.  I also like the Republican sandwich.    And they deliver!  I like the warm sandwiches a bit better than the cold, but both are good.  Make sure you get their on tap root beer.  It isn’t over carbonated which makes it smooth and refreshing without being over sweet or tangy.  I don’t drink root beer often, I don’t care for it all that much, but when it is real deal root beer, that I can get into.

5. Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli- located on 17th and H is an often overlooked place.  It was about a block and a half away from Breadline, so the competition was fierce.  But there is something that Heidi’s does better than Breadline- the meatball sub.  I think many of their sandwiches are pretty good. They bake their own bread, slice fresh a lot of the meat.  They clearly warm the meatballs up in the microwave, but they are still awesome.  They are oozey and gooey with lots of sauce and cheese, but the meatballs are very large and meaty more like a homemade meatball than a subway/sheetz meatball.  I love these.  They remind me of the Mom and Pop Americanized Italian places you love.

6. Dicky’s Frozen Custard- I go here for one reason and one reason only: The Cuban Panini.  They will use cuban bread if you ask.  The pork is real roast pork with ham.  The pickles are sliced thin, the mustard isn’t overwhelming.  It tastes crispy and juicy, tangy and spicy and uni all at the same time.  An overwhelmingly good panini.  I don’t know how Ceiba’s will stack up, I need to try theirs as I have serious love for the cuban sandwich, but I think the pressed grilled panini part of the sandwich really does something for me.  And at $7.25 on Monday with chips and a drink, I will take it.  Their frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries is really good this time of year too.

But no one can replace my roast chicken and goat cheese or sausage sandwich.  Good thing it was only a test.  I don’t know if the emergency broadcast system is ready yet for the real deal.

Related posts:

1. Hiedelberg Pastry Shoppe- Long Live the Wurst They other day while running errands with the Pup and...

Trust me I may not seem like I understand this, what with my love of anything for entertaining, but until mid-June when I have my counter-top extended slightly so new cabinets can be installed in the unused space where they put an area for a bar (we don’t use a bar we eat at a table like civilized people), I do have only moderate cabinet space.

I don’t want to give up chic for function, it really isn’t my thing but a girl can only have so much china that will fit in her small apartment.  So I have brought you a compromise.  I found this when I was strolling through a wonderful little kitchen shop in Sonoma called Sign of the Bear.  It is a lot like a William Sonoma or Sur La Table, but in cute country general store format.  Anyway if you are in Sonoma it is a must stop little place.  Conveniently enough they ship too, so I have a nice little box of goodies that they shipped home to me being held hostage in the package room downstairs.  Anyway without further ado:

The Wine Glass Plate Clip.

So these really aren’t as cute, but with my China pattern that is white and silver they wouldn’t look THAT bad, nor would they on plain white plates or black plates.  They are small enough to throw in a drawer with your wine tags, bottle stopper and cork screw (which I know you have a drawer for).  And really their functionality is so great, I think the fact that they aren’t as cute as the snack set may be able to be overlooked until you get more cabinets.  See girls, there are always solutions.  Always.

Now they can’t be used with flimsy plastic plates, which in all honesty you shouldn’t use unless you have a very large group size and in that case you shouldn’t have enough of these to go around so it should all work out.  You can get these in multiple places, The Container Store has a pack of six stainless steel ones for $14.99 which seems to be a pretty good deal.

These from WineOpeners.com are a bit cheaper, but are not as nice in quality.  I mention them because you can buy in bulk and get them printed with a logo or picture.  I know many of you in the DC/Arlington area throw big corporate functions so I thought I would mention them as a reference.  How nice would it be to receive this at a big function?  I promise I would take mine and hubbies home to use.  You could also get them printed with a cool picture to make them a nice present.  Even better might be a wedding favor if you are having a reception that doesn’t have a sit down dinner.  (Sorry I love weddings, I could spend my whole life planning weddings if only it paid as well as my current profession)

Related posts:

1. Loose Leaf So I  know earlier this week I posted a tea...
2. The Snack Set Have any of you ever heard of a snack set? ...

For the record my office assistants often come into my office and say. “O.M.G.” not “Oh my gosh” but the letters O-M-G.  And other such non-sense so I blame them for my corruption.

All this, plus you know a wedding in 16 days makes for a lot of stress, and stress means eating things I shouldn’t.  But those things are often tasty.

For example after a bad bad day where I was perusing www.scanwich.com, I made myself a steak, goat cheese and sun dried tomato sandwich with a little hot sauce and red pepper flakes and lettuce all on sourdough bread from Boudin Bakery that Fiance brought me from San Fransisco.  Soo good.

BTW do not look at their online catalog of seasonal breads that I linked to above, unless you want to buy sourdough online and ship it across the country to serve at your next dinner party.  Seriously if you open it up your chances of not buying bread is slim.  I mean look at them:

So adorable… MIL gave me the big turkey gobbler to take to Thanksgiving with my little cousins, oh they loved that Turkey, we all liked how good it tasted too.  Two yummy turkeys that day.

After my sandwich though then I needed something sweet.  You know how it goes.  Now I might have already partially blown a good bit of calories on the sandwich, but when you need chocolate you need chocolate.

So I reached into my not so secret “secret” stash for a small piece of Chocolove with carmelized ginger.

I love this chocolate.  I am not a huge milk chocolate person, but I also don’t love really dark chocolate, I put my chocolate number in the 60% dark range.

Add in the crystalized  ginger for texture and a little spice, and this chocolate bar really does it for me.  It keeps my awful snacking cravings at bay.

They make other flavors I am going to try next like these:

I will let you know how it goes.  The cherry and almonds sound really promising.

So thank you Chocolove.  I love you.  If you ever want to advertise your Crystalized Ginger chocolate bars here, you can pay me with a big box of them.  But really I have pretty much completely set you up right here, so now I won’t get my big box of crystalized ginger chocolate bars, NOOOOOOOoooooooooooo.

Anyway you can buy them in many place including Wegman’s, Whole Foods, World Market and Target  just in case a big box doesn’t arrive on your door care of Chocolove.  And if they don’t carry it, here is a handy link on their website where you can tell them what store near you that you wish to carry it, and they will work on that.

Love is a cruel thing…

Related posts:

1. Christmas is Good: Artisan Confections I am a chocoholic.  I am also a chocolate snob....
2. A Large Thank You For Small Deeds Readers, I was let go from my job last week. ...