« Blink - Malcolm Gladwell | Main | Fargo Rock City - Chuck Klosterman »
February 14, 2005
XOX Truffles
I'm not a huge chocolate fan. I have a few things I enjoy every so often, but rarely do I go out of my way for chocolate - or any sweets for that matter. I concentrate more on the "bitter" end of the tastes spectrum.
That said, Cubby and Shada were in town this weekend and we decided to go on a tour of the city in the drizzling rain. We went to some of the usual tourist spots - the Mission, Twin Peaks, and Alamo Square. As we made our way past China Town, and headed to North Beach I suggested we stop at XOX truffles.
This is the home of one of the "top ten chocolatiers in America" (as awarded by somebody or another who knows about such things). It's an unassuming store front West of North Beach on Columbus Avenue. If you walked past the place, you'd assume that they are a small cafe. Upon entry you find a large glass case to your left with three shelves of the most oddly shaped (and endearing) truffles you'll ever see.
The place was started by Jean-Marc Gorce. He had some background in the food industry, but decided he wanted to start something of his own. So he opened shop with is wife in 1998. You can read more about him and his success at the website.
These truffles aren't the polished truffles of Godiva or other upscale chocolatiers. These are tiny, misshapen, handmade lumps. If you judged them by appearance, you probably wouldn't buy them. But taking a bite of one changes you whole impression. These are amazingly deep in flavor, texture is smooth, creamy and dense. They really are amazingly dense. The flavor of the chocolate is there, and the overtones flavor (or undertones depending) swells up as they melt on your tongue.
I'm not sure what type of chocolate he uses, but the dusting of cocoa powder on some varieties is bitter, dark and dry, which perfectly compliments the richness of the interior.
They are amazingly low priced - an assortment of 40 truffles for $16 really can't be beat. Some of our favorites are the Earl Grey, the Caramel, Cognac and Hazelnut.
We sometimes get an assortment, and then take small nibbles of each, sharing them, while trying to guess their flavors.
Posted by tdotjay at February 14, 2005 04:51 PM
