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Hot chocolate reminds me of cozy leg warmers.

Monday Nov 29, 2004.     By Misty Tosh

Food Feed

Hot chocolate reminds me of cozy leg warmers. Warm, fuzzy, crazily jacked up to the mid-thigh if you stretch ‘em out enough, just what you need on a blustery winter day. That’s not to say I actually wear leg warmers, but I certainly can get a little jacked up over the hunt for a decent hot chocolate. I’ll traipse a country mile for a good, honest treat, and when I see pretty, new signs sprouting up and construction workers happily wrapping equipment, I know a new place to eat is on the horizon.

Such is the case with Angel Food Bakery on Montrose. I wandered by on its second day of business. My MO with new places is to always slowly peruse the day’s goods, as to not cause a stir, and then, if the selection dictates, make a purchase. In this case, a small crock of plain chocolate pudding caught my often-violent sweet tooth’s attention.

But pudding selection is always a struggle, because once a cocoa hound has tasted Sweet Mandy B's unruly cup full of velvety chocolate pudding, layered with homemade whipped cream, it’s practically out of the question to eat just any ol’ bowl claiming to be pudding.

Explaining my dilemma, the waitress nodded knowingly and suggested the beverage, “The Barthelona,” a true-to-its-roots concoction made just like they make it in Spain (the menu board had even spelled the drink “Barthelona,” just as it was spoken).

After a wary glance, I tossed her my $4 bucks and suspiciously stood by while she whipped it up. There they were, hundreds of crushed vanilla bean dots, just casually layered throughout a heavy dollop of homemade whipped cream, a golf ball-sized treasure plopped on top of what is the most remarkable cup of hot chocolate I’ve ever had in the city of Chicago and anywhere in the world for that matter. Oh, and I’ve been around. This hot chocolate is like slurping down still-warm-from-the-stovetop chocolate pudding just before it’s actually had time to set. You can literally chew the damn drink.

Sorry to letcha know, Spain: this new North Side bakery’s decadent hot chocolate is absolutely untouchable. It’s the sort of thing that wars begin and end over, and my wallet’s already screaming for a ceasefire.

FINAL RAVE: The Angel Food Bakery has just unknowingly recruited another raving hot chocolate fanatic, while Sweet Mandy B’s still maintains the market on chocolate pudding. A quick word to the wise though, Sweet Mandy better watch her back.

KEEP IT GOING:

Read it: The Book Cellar, Inc.
Buy the novel "Chocolat" at this new Lincoln Square bookstore-cum-wine bar.

Eat it: Vosges Haut-Chocolat
This truffle king is offering a chocolate/yoga retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico, the birthplace of chocolate.

Drink it: Katerina's
Home of Chicago’s most delicious and flaky chocolate martinis.

Get crazy with it: Long Grove Chocolate Festival
At this annual festival, you can eat it, drink it, make it and even watch a fashion show where the kiddie models are wearing it.

Can you top with your own tale of chocolate glory? Email ravingdish@centerstagechicago.com.