HoCho Fest Day 5: Put De Lime In De Coconut

After a hot chocolate hiatus involving career path searching, banana bread, and anxiety over what I am going to do with myself next year, I returned to my delicious trek today with a trip to Chocolate Arts.

It was tucked away on West 3rd in a location I would not have expected to find a chocolate artistry shop! However, I was pleasantly surprised when I entered and was greeted by a wave of chocolate aroma.

Then the decision: A Snowball's Chance in Hell or Put De Lime In De Coconut? One had ice cream, one had coconut milk blended with another milk of your choice... I went with the latter as I am always interested in trying new dairy-free creations. (Luckily my company chose the former option so I could sample both.)

Single origin Mexican chocolate with Mexican chili poured over house made chocolate ice cream. 
Accompanied by a flourless chocolate cookie.

Single origin Venezuela chocolate with organic coconut and kalamansi lime.
Accompanied by a toasted coconut shortbread. 

($6.25)

You read that first one correctly - there was chili in the hot chocolate that was poured over the ice cream. That sent a spicy flavour kicker right to the back of my throat when I tried a little sip of it!

As for my choice, it was laid out most elegantly with the kalamansi lime-vanilla mixture in a shot glass on the side, waiting to be added to the coconut-soy milk chocolate blend served in glass. The flavour of the hot chocolate (sans lime-vanilla) was surprisingly light - I had expected it to be thick from the coconut milk. The glass was rimmed with sugar and it dissolved ever so slightly as the drink passed over it - then I added the lime and my company added his chili to his ice cream.

The lime was quite tart - and I added more than I probably would have otherwise because I forgot to take a picture when I added the first touch (and neglected to sample the balance at that point). The vanilla with the lime helped bring some balance to its power, but the drink went from light and gently chocolaty to exotic and flavour-crazy very quickly! It was more than I would have liked on the lime side, but I enjoyed the interesting blend nonetheless - helped along by the sugar on the glass and the coconut shavings on the shot glass which I sprinkled into my drink. If you like citrusy lime flavours and the taste of coconut, this is a good one for you! The coconut shortbread on the side was delectable. I would return here for samples of all of their chocolate and the homemade cookies and other goodies behind the counter.

Until tomorrow,

Dining Discovery: Nuba - Authentic Lebanese Cuisine

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sampling a "mezze" lunch appetizer from a restaurant on Broadway called Nuba. For someone such as myself, the appetizer sufficed for a meal - it was the perfect size, and happened to be gluten-free and vegan in addition to being DELICIOUS.

My particular appetizer of choice was the Garden Falafel:

"Victor’s secret recipe of organic chickpeas, fava beans, veggies and spices [VE+GF]"

It was only $7.50 and filled me right up to the brim - with pita to spare (I myself do not generally like to consume a lot of bread anyways). They event sent me home with a generous amount of extra pita - perhaps based on my empty plate... 

A definite recommendation for anyone - meat- and veggie-eaters alike!

Click the link to check out their website.

Until the next discovery,
Still Salivating