On my last trip to Atlanta, I went to this really cute yarn
shop in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood. I planned to go there again when I
went down for the Blogalicious conference, but my college roommate told me that
the yarn shop was gone – and was replaced by a chocolate shop. Wow, even
better! (Could you imagine if it
was combined? Although, then you may end up with a bunch of chocolate
finger-printed skeins of wool which would not be too cute. Okay, so better that
they stay separate shops.)
Cacao Atlanta is a delicious boutique of chocolate. It’s all
white and cocoa-y colored, and with the café tables, you feel like you just
want to sit and eat chocolate all day.
And read a good book! In multi-tasking on this trip, I scheduled a book
signing for my novel, Life in Spades, in the shop – it wasn’t cupcakes, but it was sweet,
close enough.
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| My debut novel, Life in Spades - available in paperback, Kindle & Nook |
For the book signing, they provided champagne and macarons – pistachio, lavender orange, and of course, chocolate.
I have become quite the fan of macarons since my PR friend took me to
PAUL in DC and got me hooked. I
don’t ride the Metro often, but when I do, I try to come up with an excuse why
I have to get off at the Archives stop just to get a couple. Note, these are macarons – with 1 “o” –
they are light, almond based cookies with a filling, kinda like a grown-up,
fancy, much more decadent version of an Oreo. Macaroons – with 2 “o”s – is a coconut cookie, which I do
not like at all.
A completely unique treat was the salame di Cioccolato. It looked like, yes, salami that you
would pick up in a real deli with the rope tied around it and all. The chocolate is rolled with shortbread
and Amaretto cookies mixed in and you slice it, enjoying a delicate sliver at
a time. And the slivers,
literally, melt in your mouth. Yum.
Onsite, they make custom bark. They melt the same chocolate
they use for their candy bars, give you a choice of mix-ins like pretzels,
nuts, and dried fruits, slather this all on a board and let it cool. Ta-da!
If you love chocolate, they’ve got all kinds of treats for you. In
fact, even if you don’t love chocolate, like one of my friends who was with me
(yeah, I don’t really get it, either), they’ve got a slightly bittersweet bar
for you, too. So if you’re ever in
the city, take a little trip over to the Virginia Highlands shop (there’s
another in Buckhead) and satisfy your sweet tooth.
Home-made Chocolate Bark
Just in case, you can't hop a flight to Atlanta: A school-mom-friend of mine makes a homemade version of chocolate bark using chocolate chips and pretzels.
Simply melt chocolate chips (your choice what kind) in the microwave; line
a baking pan with parchment paper and lay out broken pretzels, peanuts,
peppermints, whatever on it; pour the melted chocolate over your mix-ins. Let
cool, break with a wooden spoon, and enjoy. Be careful because these are so easy to make, you might find yourself making them all the time. They are also a nice quick gift
wrapped up in festive gift bags.
