Chocolate. The mere word conjures up all manner of sensations: images, scents – even moods. But most of all tastes. It is part of our diet and part of our culture. Consider the phrases that have entered the vox populi:
When the going gets tough, the tough get chocolate.
Chocolate: It’s not just for breakfast anymore.
Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!
It’s bad for your waistline but a good source of anti-oxidants. And it tastes like heaven. We rationalize and take the oh-so-good with the bad.
So what does all this have to do with Martha’s Vineyard? Well, MV is a chocolate lover’s dream, with several places to go to meet one’s Recommended Daily Allowance of Brown Gold. (Sorry, but the white stuff simply isn’t chocolate.) Below, find a brief compendium of chocolate oriented destinations:
In Edgartown, the Ice Cream and Candy Bazaar reigns, partly for its selection of yummy chocolate treats but also for its location: right on the harbor. (See my post from July for a paean to that place.) Added bonuses are the ice cream and fun penny candy… none of which costs a penny. This is the Vineyard, after all!
Oak Bluffs holds a treasure in Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium. One of four locations – the others being Falmouth, Northampton, MA and Bar Harbor – this place has a huge variety of chocolate and chocolate-covered delights, from truffles to turtles. My daughter swears by the chocolate-covered gummy bears. I’ll take her word for it since I am not gummiverous. Ice cream is offered at the Circuit Avenue location as well. That alone is worth the trip.
Finally, there’s Chilmark Chocolates. As the name would suggest, this is a chocolate store. No ice cream, no drinks, no penny candy, no web site, no scenic seating area, no room to move. This place is all about the chocolate. Period. But it doesn’t need anything else. The delicacies are all hand made or hand-dipped and they are all delicious.
One thing I love about Chilmark Chocolates is that they know we need them more than they need us. They make that clear through a variety of means: First of all, they are never open. OK, that’s an exaggeration, but not much of one. They are only open a few days a week, a few hours a day. And they invariably close during the busiest week of the summer! (A side effect of the limited availability is the often unlimited lines.) Second, their location up island is relatively remote compared to the likes of Circuit Ave., Upper Main Street, or Five Corners. Finally, the store is really just a short corridor. Walk in one side and out the other. There is nowhere else to go.
But there is nowhere else you need to go, because along that corridor is a glass enclosed display of the finest chocolate treats you are likely to find anywhere. And they are surprisingly reasonably priced.
Finally, know that when you patronize Chilmark Chocolates, you are supporting a business that was created to (and still does) employ disabled workers. What could be better than buying and eating the world’s best chocolate as your good deed for the day?
Where do you get your chocolate fix?
Photo by sister72
