I Love Chocolate: Nostalgia Desserts

by Stephanie Zonis

Nostalgia Desserts

Hi! My name is Stephanie Zonis, and welcome to the January, 1999 edition of I Love Chocolate. Once again, dear reader, you've survived the holidays—congratulations! This month, the column will focus on comfort/nostalgia desserts and a snack or two for the Super Bowl.

Chocolate Find of the Month:

I Love Chocolate It's January, it's cold and grey outside, and you've got winter lethargy (the opposite of spring fever). What to do? Go to Boston for a weekend and eat chocolate, of course. Luckily for you, that's the express purpose of The Chocolate Bar, an all-chocolate buffet held at Le Meridien Hotel, 250 Franklin St. in Post Office Square. Every Saturday afternoon (Labor Day through Memorial Day), from 1-3 pm, Le Meridien's Cafe Fleuri presents more than 25 chocolate desserts in an all-you-can-eat buffet. You pay one price (as of this writing, it's $16.50 per adult, though the price might be less for kids), and you can go back to the buffet as many times as you like. Everything is made on the premises except the ice cream.

I consider Le Meridien in Boston a fancy place, but casual dress is just fine for The Chocolate Bar. There are a few "standard" items, but everything else changes about every 6 weeks. Not all of the desserts are wonderful, in my opinion, but most of them are at least good. Don't miss the "Light and Dark Chocolate Cake", if available, and try the "Floating Island" (poached meringues drizzled with caramel on a milk chocolate custard). The "Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding" is thoroughly enjoyable. Desserts aren't always labeled, and when a dessert is gone, it may be replaced with something entirely different—but that just gives you more to try! Kids are welcome here, and there were a number present the day I was there. Reservations are strongly recommended. Call Le Meridien at (617) 451-1900 (Cafe Fleuri is at extension 7125), or check out their website at: www.lemeridienboston.com. One further note: I believe the Le Meridien in London, England has a similar buffet, but I'm not sure about any others in the chain.

Chocolate Question of the Month:

A reader has asked if I know the names and contact information for chocolate cooking schools in this country. What a great idea! An entire cooking school devoted to chocolate! Unfortunately, I don't know of any. I think that a web search of cooking schools would be the way to go here; certainly some must be on line by now, and I'd expect them to advertise any chocolate classes or programs they have, as chocolate desserts are so popular. If I'm wrong, however, and any chocolate cooking schools do exist, I ask my readers to tell me about them.

I Love Chocolate wants YOU!!! Do you have a comment, question, or suggestion? How about a recent chocolate "find" you'd like to share? You can contact me at: sdziadwm@[email-address-removed]; I'd like your input on this column. Thanks!

'Til next month,
Yours in chocolate,

Stephanie