D. and I went for a walk the other night and passed this restaurant called Juliette et Chocolat (I love the name!). In the window they had the words above and as soon as I read it, I thought how perfect! I need to use it for my blog :) I've actually only ever been to the restaurant once (and it was great!) and so I need to go back. Their motto is perfect, and so true. But it didn't always used to be this way for me. I've always loved chocolate but for many many years I didn't eat some every day. That changed in March 2011. I was home in Toronto for a few days at the end of that February and my parents had a Lindt 70% chocolate bar lying on the counter. Never one to say no to chocolate, I tried it and was instantly hooked. March in law school is really stressful and so I decided chocolate would help me get through. I kept buying 70% and also branched out to try Intense Mint, 50% and 85%. Intense Mint quickly became my favourite, closely followed by 70%. At that time, I limited myself to two pieces per night and told myself I would only eat chocolate through the month of March and maybe April.
Since March 2011, three important Lindt chocolate related things have occurred. 1. Starting in September 2011, I began buying the chocolate regularly and now eat some almost every day. So much for only needing chocolate during the stress of March. (Although in my defence, other months are stressful too). 2. Also in September, I began eating usually 4 squares a day. I know it's bad! I know I should go back down to 2 but I can't help myself. I also do not seem to have gained weight so I tell myself the extra chocolate intake can't be that bad. 3. In terms of variety and selection in drug stores, Montreal beats Toronto any day. In Toronto I pretty much exclusively go to Shoppers Drug Mart. Very occasionally I'll go to PharmaPlus which my mom told me is now called Rexall. In Montreal, there are three competing drugstores and they are all in convenient locations across the city and all very close to each other. They are Uniprix,
Jean Coutu, and Shoppers (called Pharmaprix). These three drugstores continually rotate who has Lindt chocolate bars on sale 2 for $5. I am positive they coordinate so they have their sales at different times. It's perfect because I rarely have to pay full price since the deal happens so frequently (at one or the other) and I always stock up on a lot when they are on sale. I love these sales and it's a good feeling to pop into one of the stores for some toothpaste and also leave with 4 chocolate bars. Sometimes, though, I have to admit I feel like all I do is go from drugstore to drugstore hoping they'll have the deal on Lindt chocolate :)
The last time I was so consistently into chocolate was in the winter & spring of 2007 when I lived in Paris. It started the first month I was there when taking that English teacher certification course. There were only 8 of us taking that class together and we used to take turns going up the street to the little grocery store (called Franprix - a Paris grocery store chain; there was also Monoprix which was another chain whose stores were bigger. You can't walk more than a few blocks in residential parts of Paris without seeing a Franprix or Monoprix) and buying chocolate which we'd then share with all the others. That class was pretty stressful too and we'd all look forward to the chocolate all day. I think we mostly used to get milk chocolate back then. I do like milk chocolate but if I am just going to eat chocolate plain I prefer dark. Eating chocolate every afternoon was definitely a highlight of my day that whole month.
I had two other cool chocolate experiences in Paris. One Sunday in early June, I went with some friends to this little restaurant called Puerto Cacao (it focused on fair trade cocao and coffee) for a chocolate brunch. Back in 2007 the restaurant was located in the 17th arrondissement. However when I just googled it now it appears it has moved to the 12th arrondissement. If you're really into chocolate I think I would recommend going but I think it's the kind of thing I am glad I tried once but wouldn't really want to be a regular thing. The menu consisted of hot chocolate, chocolate croissants and then lots of bowls of hot dark chocolate into which you were supposed to dip bread and fruit. I left fairly satisfied, I guess, but I wouldn't say it was the best chocolate I'd ever had.
One rainy Sunday in May I ended up in a cafe in a part of Paris I didn't normally go to as I had just gone to an art gallery and then wanted to escape the rain before heading home. I ordered a hot chocolate, which was a good choice as Paris cafes take hot chocolate very seriously. The waiter brought me a cup with milk and then a bowl of hot melted chocolate. I could then put as much or as little chocolate as I wanted into the milk. I liked how I could control how chocolatey it got. It was the perfect escape from the rain outside. I wish I could have one right now actually! But since I can't, I think I'll go have my daily pieces of chocolate.
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