Beverly Hills: K Chocolatier- a Legend

History: If I remember correctly, Kron Chocolates was "the" chocolate shop of some repute in the 70s and 80s. They were a collection of franchisee stores anchored by the Kron corporate stores owned and operated by the Kron family. Of Hungarian decent and recipes, Kron was known for truffles and most importantly Molded Chocolate. The Big Chocolate Female Leg, Female Torso, Calculator and even a Champagne Bottle are some of the first I remember from Kron and the chocolate was quite good. How bad can solid chunks of chocolate be  : )

Now: I don't know what happened to the franchise system, in my travels I have stopped by many "Kron" stores, but it appears all of the stores operate independently now and I've hit a few- Great Neck, NY, Washington, DC, Aventura, Fl. Panache in Kansas City was originally a Kron store as were other now "local" shops that have changed their names.

Today: This was a real treat!! I met Diane Kron at her "K" Chocolatier shop, today. A real pro- K still has her terrific delicious chocolates served up in the heart of Beverly Hills.  The stories and the samples are just too good.

Thanks Dianne.

Dallas: Chocolate Secrets- "yes, yes, yes"

I do a radio show every Saturday at KLIF 570-AM in the Oaklawn district in Dallas.

I "secretly" sneak into Chocolate Secrets for their OUTSTANDING chocolate truffles and take some to eat on the air.....  so much for my diet.

My favorites:

Go for the 3 layers:
"Yes, Yes, Yes",  "Spoil Me" and "Tell Me Now"

"Yes,Yes,Yes"! This very large truffle has three layers of rich chocolate. It has a dark chocolate center, surrounded by a milk chocolate layer and dipped in a white chocolate outside. (left above)

"Spoil Me"!  Another large 3 layer truffle with a milk chocolate outer layer then a dark chocolate layer leading to a milk chocolate fudge center. (#2 from left above)

"Take Me Now"!  A very rich dark chocolate fudge center with a milk chocolate middle layer surrounded by a dark chocolate outer layer. (#3 from left above)

"Dark Tipsy Champagne"!  A rich dark chocolate truffle with a dark chocolate champagne infused fudge center.

NYC: No April Fools Joke Here- just rice pudding

About 5 years ago, I stumbled into a quick service specialty dessert restaurant in SoHo that sold only one thing, Rice Pudding!

"Rice to Riches" was and is a great idea.  Impressions from my frequent visits, including this month: it's like walking into a very fancy neighborhood Baskin Robins, only with 31 flavors of Rice Pudding + toppings- the endless choices are as fantastic as the food itself.  The branding/marketing/design/packaging is as good as any concept I have ever seen.

I really like getting the "Sex Drugs and Rocky Road" + "Chocolate Chip Flirt" with a topping of "MISCHIEF" (graham cracker crumbs).  This stuff is Addicting and Fantastic! Also, I have ordered it many times to Texas along with "Understanding Vanilla", which is a good balance with the others.

Happy 5th B'day RtR.