chocolat......

Berkeley is definitively a unique little town. At a party a couple of weekends ago, after a wonderful concert of Brahms and Beethoven, played by a friend, I talked and reminisced about the old days, the days when I arrived, plucked freshly from the riverside of the Seine. Berkeley was in the throws of hippidom with fabulous stores of natural foods in bulk, a supermarket with a kiddie corral, hot tubs to soak in after dancing to Stevie ,tons of footed birkenstocks, and cheap living. But for French expatriate foodies like me: no croissant but in one lonely bakery,and not very good at that ( they were may be a total of 2 bakeries then),no fresh bread, no artisan style or european cheeses, no good chocolates. All that deprivation weighed hard in my heart until quaint shops started opening,by americans who after trips and internships in France mostly, had learned the fine craft of hand made foods.Cocolat, Pig by the tail, Acme breads, Semiffredi's, Charles chocolates, Shaffenberger, and now Chocolatier Blue., a unique chocolate maker, dedicated to organic seasonal ingredients, with an incredible expertly final touch.No bad for a little town.so far from France.