Tweet Sweet

Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe
526 NW 23rd Avenue
Portland, OR 97210
http://www.moonstruckchocolate.com (Corporate Website)

My Ratings:

Review Summary:
While in Portland, Oregon recently I stumbled across the Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe on NW 23rd Ave. 23rd has all sorts of trendy/fun shops and restaurants and is a great place to find gifts for friends or for yourself. I must say first off that I am amazed at how beautiful their chocolates are. Wow. When they say “Minature Works of Art” on their “Meet the Truffles” page, they are not kidding. But not only do they look fantastic, they are even tastier. Very unique mixes of flavors. My only critique would be that they seemed very heavy on the dark chocolates as far as range of selection. Since I’m a huge milk chocolate fan, I guess this was one thing that stood out to me.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory: The Peak of Perfection in Handmade Chocolates®
510 Main Street
Park City, UT 84060
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Corporate Website)
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Location Finder

My Ratings:

Review Summary:
The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is a publicly-traded franchised company with locations all over the world. (There are 7 in Utah from St. George to Salt Lake City) They have good chocolates, hand-dipped caramel apples, and a friendly atmosphere. The Park City RMCF is located in the historic downtown area in front of Dolly’s Bookstore, with tables for fudge making, and a big kettle for melting caramel in the front window. Stop by when you’re walking Main and pick up a treat - I recommend the caramel apple with almonds - they’ll cut it for you to share.

My Visit:
I’ve been to at least a half dozen Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory locations in the past few months - in the Denver Airport, near Pikes Place in Seattle, in the Provo Riverbottoms (Utah), in historic Trolley Square Salt Lake City, and in downtown Park City. Each have their stamp of familiar franchisee posters and menus, but my favorite has got to be Park City. I don’t remember exactly when the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory moved into the front of Dolly’s Bookstore, but I do remember before it was there (I remember cats use to wander the bookstore).

My least favorite is the RMCF in Trolley Square - last time I was there, it was dirty, the display cases were covered in greasy fingerprints and the store looked unorganized and the chocolates unappetizing. When I visited the Provo Riverbottoms franchise location last month, it was clean and tidy inside, but the black covers on the windows from the outside made me pause at the front door thinking it was either NOT the front door, or this location had been closed (the Provo Riverbottoms loses lots of businesses - even the franchises).

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The Chocolate Bar: Where Every Hour is Happy Hour
1835 W. Alabama
Houston, TX 77098
City Search Review (They don’t have a website)

My Ratings:

Review Summary:
The Chocolate Bar has done it up right. They’re a chocolate-lovers store, a ice-cream parlor and a dessert shop all rolled up into one. With their extensive offerings of chocolate delights, you could come back again and again for something new or different.

My Visit:
After a healthy dinner at Salt Grass We drove around Houston to see some sights at night and to settle our food down in preparation for a big dessert at The Chocolate Bar. (Sometimes the phrase - “there’s always room for dessert” needs a little work to make happen)

Though it’s lacking a website (2006 and now website?!?), this delightful desert café will turn up numerous reviews when Google’d. The shop takes up the majority of what looks to be a strip mall, with very little parking. I was dazzled by all the colors in the windows when we arrived that I wasn’t paying to much attention to the outside. Designed in a large “u” shape, the inside is divided into a dessert area with tables and chairs, a center ice-cream parlor bar, and a chocolate gift shop with everything imaginable made from chocolate. All the help rotated around the center of the bar serving up dessert cakes, ice cream, or helping you purchase chocolate gifts.

Wow, I thought, it CAN be done. Tweet Sweet IS possible. I had been trying to balance in my mind how to divide up a space and still do all the things I’d like to do in Tweet Sweet. Ice Cream is a HUGE draw here in Utah - Cold Stone Creameries or Maggie Moos are on every corner. Ignoring the potential for income in this area would be stupid - especially in the Utah market. But how do you create a space that includes rich desserts, a retail area for chocolate delights AND an ice cream parlor? The Chocolate Bar did just that, and did it well. I do think that they incorporated too much seating in the dessert area, as bending down to look at desserts in the display cases would practically bump you right up against the customers already seated.

After arriving, I migrated over to the retail area where every possible shape and type of chocolate was on sale. All stamped with The Chocolate Bar logo - a bubby martini glass - there were chocolate bars, novelties, mixes, and assortments of all kinds. My favorite was the Chocolate Pizza. Placed in a pizza box and looking like an actual pizza - the 2 pound rich chocolate concoction mixed white chocolate, nuts and candied cherries into a work of art. No, that’s not cheese - it’s CHOCOLATE. “Cut me a slice!” I said with excitement. They had gifts for dog and cat-lovers, golfers, painters, sports-lovers, musicians, new mothers, and more - all crafted out of chocolate. The chocolate dipped fortune cookies and fresh or dried fruit looked out of the ordinary next to the chocolate assortments typical to most chocolatiers.

Once again, it was a hard decision to choose a desert I wanted to try… they all looked so good. And believe it or not, I can’t remember the one I chose (this visit was 2 weeks ago tomorrow). I do remember it was a rich chocolate, very heavy. It wasn’t as good as it looked, so perhaps I made a bad selection… they had so many good things. When I needed a glass of water, I was directed to the back of the shop where they had plenty of glasses next to the drinking fountain (nice idea with such rich desserts!) and on the wall were framed articles that have published reviews. Once again, I got 2 forks - a must for Tweet Sweet now. I noticed as I sat there that lights dazzled around the already bright and fun room - and looked up and there was a disco ball. How cool! The element went not only with their name theme (”bar”) but added a dynamic quality to the room.

Ideas for Tweet Sweet: Yes on the 2 forks (again), Yes on the ice cream parlor meets chocolate novelty store meets dessert shop, Yes on the “u” shaped approach to accommodate all the stores, and Yes on easy access to water glasses, and YES on the interesting lighting (disco ball) to bring a dynamic, fun quality to the room.

Dessert Gallery: Bakery and Cafe
1616 Post Oak Boulevard
Houston, TX 77098
http://www.dessertgallery.com

My Ratings:

Review Summary:
This second location for the Dessert Gallery is a little bit tricky to find, but well worth the sharp eye. The desserts are rich in flavor, beautiful to look at and the selection is good. The ambiance in enhanced by the brightly colored walls, and flat screens showing desserts being made. Though they suffer from the typical “I can’t see the cakes until I order” dilema, the display cases are orderly and attractive. Two thumbs up - and I can’t wait to visit again.

My Visit:
So I arranged to have a day layover in Houston on my way to Cancun, Mexico for a vacation with friends. One of my workmates, when he heard that I was going to stay in Houston as part of my vacation time, said “why would you want to do that?” Apparently he doesn’t like Houston at all. I happen to like the city quite a bit myself, so while I was in town I thought I’d check out a couple sweet shops. Houston was rated as the 2005 fattest city in America by Men’s Fitness Magazine Perhaps it’s dodging the heat in front of the boob tube, or just the fact that Houston has so many places to eat out! Houston’s official site claims that Houstonians eat out more than the residents of any other city and while visiting, you can choose to indulge in one of the more than 11,000 restaurants ranging from award-winning and upscale to memorable deli shops.

After arriving, I had one of my friends give his brother a call (a Houston local) for a dessert shop recommendation. He said we should check out the Dessert Gallery which was located in the Galleria area where we were driving around seeing the sites. It took a bit to find, as it was located in the back of a very plain brown building with an unrelated Café out front. We found the parking lot full, as well as the small restaurant space overflowing with people.

Walking in the front door, I found myself right at the back of the line that was waiting to order. To my left were full tables, some of which were booths on a raised platform with a birds-eye view of the shop, to my right, more full tables – most of them bar-height. I looked up above the brightly decorated display cases to see what sweet treats they were offering. The menu read “Before Dessert”, which I found quite comical. It included items such as wraps, pastas and sandwiches. I hear that their food is just as good as their desserts. I looked high and low for their dessert offering, but didn’t see it. So I let my friends stand in line while I walked up to the front of the line and grabbed a printed menu. Still, no desserts. Hmmm. It looks like the desserts rotate I thought, and so there is no printed version. How about a chalkboard or something? So I waited in line until I could see the lovely display cases.

I’ve found that one of the problems with display cases like the ones used at the Dessert Gallery, is there are all very low for viewing. This wouldn’t be a problem, but it seems the line always starts right in front of the cases, and you’re either staring at someone’s butt or getting a slight glimpse through the crowd to select what you’d like to order (and feeling like you’re being rude the whole time to the people already in line.) This also slows down the line quite a bit since you have to wait until you get right in front of the case to decide what to order – and by that time, someone is waiting to hear your order and you feel rushed. The solution? Taller display cases. (Mark that on the list for Tweet Sweet).

After getting to the front of the line, and deciding on the Oreo Cheesecake and a big glass of milk, I stood next to the cashier and browsed numerous articles that the Dessert Gallery had been featured in and had framed for their walls. I was at the second location of the Dessert Gallery, the original started in the Kirby district of Houston in 1995. The colors were of yellow and purples and all brightly swirled on the walls. One of my favorite features of the little shop was their six video monitors installed over the dessert counters that showed different activities gong on in the bakery - decoration Gourmet Graphics cookies, icing cakes and assembling custom gift packages. As I ate my cheesecake, I oogled at the monitor while they made designs in icing and layered chocolate cakes.

My friends ordered a key lime cheesecake, and another a chocolate mousse cheesecake. I found both of theirs much tastier than mine, though mine was rich and very Oreo-ish. The key lime was not as tart as the version I had at the Cheesecake Factory (I like both, but the sweet one seems to go down easier) and was appropriately colored yellow. Anyone that has visited Key West Florida, as I have, knows that yellow is the true color of anything Key Lime. The presentation was simple – swirled colored sugar stuff on a small white plate topped with the cake. A nice touch was that every plate came with two forks – one for you and one to share. (I seem to remember a cute quote painted on the wall that was written about happiness and two forks.)

Ideas for Tweet Sweet: Yes on the monitors showing baked goods being made, Yes on higher display cases, Yes on a dessert menu that is displayed, even if only in chalk to make ordering easier and quicker, and Yes on 2 forks for every piece of cake.

Sweet Afton’s: Fresh Fudge, Speciality Candies, Gifts
At Historic Gardner Village
110 West 7800 South, #10
West Jordan, UT 84088
http://www.sweetaftons.com

My Ratings:

Review Summary:
Overall I’d have to say that “cute” is not a nasty word when describing Sweet Afton’s. Located in Gardner Village (which screams of “cute”), it’s a nice stopping point at the end of the bricked village road for a sweet treat. The help is friendly, the treats are tasty and the historical building an ambiance make up for some of their make-shift candy displays in parts of the store. It can be quite the jaunt to get to if you’re just looking for a quick chocolate fix, but it’s worth the walk.

My Visit:
I’ve been to Sweet Afton’s before on a couple occasions, the first time they were in a much smaller location next door to where they are now. I typically don’t find my regular paths bring me to the land of cute in Historic Gardner Village where typically I’m the only male not pushing a stroller. But today I was glad to find a couple older fellas in the store grabbing a quick sweet. (I’m sure their wives were in a craft store nearby) One of the guys grabs a bottle of Apple Beer on the shelf and says, “Can we get some of this without the Apple?”

It’s a quick drive from the freeway to Gardner Village, and then a bit of a walk through the village to get to Sweet Afton’s. Gardner Village (for all I tease about so much “cute”) is a grouping of historic houses made into 22 speciality retail shops. Each historic house has a plaque on it that outlines the history of the building and when it was re-located to Gardner Village. The day I was there a few kids were riding ponys by the entrance.

Sweet Afton’s has been the village candy store since 1990, and is located in the relocated historic Riverton City Train Depot. You get your first sense of history when you arrive to find a sign on the door that asks you to push hard because the door sticks. Walking in you find before you a fine dark wood display case of chocolates, with wood cabinetry on the wall behind - very reminiscent of a old fashioned bar. The dark wood cabinents carry around the the south side of the building and are covered in sweet treets including a large section of gummy in glass jars.

In the north part of the restaurant is an area dedicated to making fudge. Their specialty is homemade, fresh cream and butter fudge - over 60 different flavors. As I walked around an employee offered me a sample of this famous fudge and suggested the German Chocolate Cake flavor. It was a yummy mix of chocolate butter fudge with walnuts, coconuts and carmel. (I took some home and just finished it off - yum!)

In addition to having a large selection of taffy and Jelly Bellys, they also had a bunch of branded confectionary treats like Pez and other novelty candies. Over 2,000 square feet of treats their website says.

The Melting Pot: A Fondue Restaurant
340 S. Main
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
http://www.meltingpot.com/saltlakecity/home.html

My Ratings:

Review Summary:
If you’ve never had a fondue experience or even if you have - dessert fondue at The Melting Pot is a must-do. Their location is prime - near Exchange Place, just off of Main Street in downtown Salt Lake. The simple ambiance of the restaurant combined with the relaxed atmosphere makes this new dining experience and enjoyable one. The servers are friendly, and the deserts are tasty. If I were giving eBay feedback, I’d put A+++++.

My Visit:
So my first contact with The Melting Pot was a couple weeks ago when I was looking through a postcard mailer packet that I received in the mail. On the front of their card it showed swirling chocolate and had a coupon for $10 off. I thought Wow, that’s a great coupon and set it aside. After looking through the coupon pack, I read further on The Melting Pot card, and noticed that the meal per couple was $89. Wow, that’s steep. Though I’ve had fondue before, I’ve never been to a restaurant that was built around fondue. I set it aside, and didn’t think much more about it.

Last week, I was trying to think of a cool place to take my friend for his birthday. Hmmm. What would be a unique and fun place for a birthday? Then I remembered The Melting Pot. It’s so much easier to make myself splurge on something new when it’s for someone else’s special day. So I mentioned the Melting Pot at work, and one of my workmates raved about their chocolate fondue as well as their cheese fondue. So I made a reservation for 4 online.

Though they offered valet parking, I didn’t need to use it – I found a space open on Main Street just a short walk from the restaurant. The ambience in the restaurant was nice – very darkly lit with colors of brown, mustard and deep salmon. They specified a dress code of “business casual” when I made the reservation, and it seemed the majority of the clientele were dressed for going out to a nice place on Friday, and the other half were well, “Utah casual”. I’m surprised when some people think flip flops and tattered shorts are proper attire for an evening out at a $$$ restaurant.

We arrived 15 minutes early for our 8:30pm reservation, and were asked to “wait until” our reservation. At 8:30 we were sat in an area of about 10 booths, one of which remained empty through out whole dinner. (I mention it, because it seems odd that we had to wait until 8:30 when there was space available.) Every table at The Melting Pot has a built-in burner in the center of the table, larger tables have two. The place has a slight funky smell – a blend of cheese and chocolate (go figure). Our waiter greeted us and when finding out it was our first time visiting, he introduced us to the menu and the fondue style of eating. A whole dinner can take over 2 hours he said, as everything I prepared before you in the fondue pot. We ordered a cheese appetizer, which was prepared before us. The waiter told us each ingredient as he put it in the pot. Once it was entirely melted, he brought a selection of vegetables, breads, and chips to dip. It didn’t take long for the 4 of us to clean it up.

After the desert menu was brought to the table, we debated on what chocolate fondue to choose. There are several selections with names like “Yin Yang, Flaming Turtle, and Chocolate S’mores. I let the birthday-boy choose, and he selected Cookies ‘n Cream Marshmallow Dream: Dark chocolate topped with marshmallow cream, flambéed, swirled together and garnished with crushed Oreo cookies. Our waiter arrived with the chocolate in the melting pot, swirled in the marshmallow cream, and then lit it on fire while he place plates before us of fresh strawberries, bananas, pineapple, slices of cheesecake topped with chocolate covered cherries, Oreo dusted marshmallows, pound cake and brownies to dip. So needless to say – it was just as good as it sounds.

Chocolate Cottage: The Ultimate Sensation
720 East 10600 South
Sandy, Utah 84094

My Ratings:

Review Summary
The Chocolate Cottage is a home-grown, mom-and-pop neighborhood chocolate and confection shop. What you can expect is friendly service and a wide assortment of candies and fresh chocolates. Though it’s close to the main drag (106th South) it’s strip-mall location behind a gas station leaves much to be desired, as does some of the decor inside. Have a chocolate-covered grape and instantly you’ll know you’re in the right place.

My Visit
I drove out to the Chocolate Cottage on my lunch break, and found them located right off 106th South past 7th East behind a Tesoro Gas Station in a rather old-looking strip mall. There were several people in the store when I walked in, one of which – a young boy – seemed overwhelmed at all the packaged confectionaries and brightly-colored candies covering the walls. I was immediately drawn to the well-ordered chocolate case, where I selected some milk chocolate haystacks, mint truffles, nut-covered toffee, and a couple other tasty items with the word “divine” in their names to take with me. All the chocolates in the case were neatly placed in glass dishes on paper doilies and rung up by the pound as I chose them. I thought it cute that when I went to unknowingly select a “sugar-free” chocolate, the lady that was helping me said “you might want this one over here, since those are sugar free.” (I’m rather slim, so I suppose she thought I could handle the sugar). The shop itself had a very “home-grown” look that seems very common in Utah - the whole lace and wallpaper approach.

It was no surprise after seeing the shop that I didn’t find a website for them (see below), it’s a very neighborhood-like place. As far as appearance, it was very different than the way I image Tweet Sweet looking – it was more like a candy-store meets grandma cute.  I grabbed their business card while my treats were rung up. Founded in 1991 (according to the card) and run by Gary and Kim Smart, it looks like they’ve been successfully serving the area for over 15 years. Their tagline read “The Ultimate Sensation” (hu? what’s that?) and also had “Candies and Gifts for All Occasions” stamped on the card (ahhh, that’s better).

Their shop had a little to be desired as far as it’s “look”, but their chocolates were tasty. I shared a few with people down at work and they agreed. On the way out she gave me a chocolate-covered grape – my first time eating one of those. It was awesome – a nice flavorful pop inside a sweet chocolate layer. They also dip strawberries and rasberries daily. I’ll be back for more of those.