San Francisco 'Foodie' Addresses July 7, 2007

I was trying to explain to a French friend what a 'foodie' is, and he was looking at me like I was nuts. I guess when you live in a country that's full of people that live to eat, the concept of people not into eating is a bit odd.

So, for lack of a better introduction, here are my 'foodie' addresses for places that I visited and good things that I tasted while in San Francisco:

Charles Chocolates

My hands-down favorites were the Triple Chocolate Almonds; California almonds roasted and enrobed in both milk and dark chocolate. Superb! There was a stack of tablets of chocolate in there too, flavored with caramelized rice and candied ginger that I've schlepped back to Paris to share.

But the most stunning were two heavy boxes, crafted entirely of chocolate, and filled with a luscious selection of Chuck's best and more dazzling creations. One was his Tea Collection with tea-scented chocolates (think Osmanthus blossoms and charcoal-fired Oolong tea), while the other had such diverse tastes as passion fruit and salted peanut butter.

When someone handed me an unusually heavy sack emblazoned with the name 'Charles Chocolates' on it, I wanted to run home with in and dive right in! I've been jealous reading reports of Chuck Siegel's magnificent confections from other bloggers and let me tell you: Chuck's chocolate are worth the wait.

They were so good, you'll want to eat the box. Luckily you can.