Next was Thomas Haas with Cybil- who unfortunately had to pay for me as I'd left my wallet at home and not realized till I'd gone to the bank with the intention of withdrawing some money, sigh. I ordered 'This is Nuts', and Cybil had 'Pep Me Up'. Mine included a lump of caramelized hazelnut & almond butter, which was so delicious and made my drink a bit like a Ferrero Rocher. Once again, I wasn't crazy about the financier, but it was still good. Poor Cybil's hot chocolate was only supposed to have "a kick" of chartreuse, but it was so strong she couldn't even finish it. I had a sip and while the first taste was good, after a while it reminded me of very strong mouthwash. The minty chocolate ganache bar that was included was great though- reminiscent of After Eight! Both drinks cost $6.95 each.

I returned to French Made Baking as a treat for surviving a stressful presentation, and I knew I wanted to try their 'Smokin' Hot...Chocolate'. I also ordered two macarons on the side- a chocolate mint one, and a lychee one (which may now be my new obsession!) Like my previous visit, the hot chocolate was only $4.25...and honestly, French Made Baking can absolutely do no wrong. I will probably never tire of raving about them because they continually make such AMAZING drinks! This was yet another creamy drink with a slight hit of saltiness that went well with the smoothness of the caramel chocolate. I'd go back a few more times before the end of the festival, honestly.

If you followed my hot chocolate fest adventures last year, you may recall that I'd planned on going to Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France, but due to their eclectic schedule, things hadn't worked out. I managed to drop by this year! I went for the 'Aztec Glacé' for $5.25, which included a meringue of your choice- I chose rose. This is an ice cold hot chocolate, and it was....a bit odd? What I hadn't been warned of was the addition of either cinnamon or cayenne pepper (I couldn't tell), which added a little kick to every swallow and made my throat burn a bit. I guess now I know why it's named what it is.....haha. The drink itself wasn't really anything to write home about, in my opinion. The lady that served me was super bubbly and sweet though!

I'm gonna be honest with you- I was a bit hesitant about returning to Thierry since I'd been so disappointed with it last post. Add to the mix the fact that their offerings are one of the most expensive at $10.25, I really wasn't sure I wanted to give it another try. However, I decided to suck it up and just go back. I'm glad I did- their 'St. Dominique' hot chocolate was so much better than the 'Madagascar'. It's really just your classic hot chocolate- but made with Michel Cluizel chocolate so you know it's good stuff. I felt like there was a very slight hint of something nutty (but I could just be making it all up.) Light and chocolatey, but not too sweet- just the way I like it. As for the tonka bean cream choux that was included- I'm not typically a fan of choux pastry, but the cream in this was heavenly and made up for it all. Yum! 

IN SUMMARY aka tl;dr

STOP, DROP, AND GO GET ONE NOW

As you can see, it also comes with a walnut marshmallow and a loaf of banana bread. While not quite as scrumptious as the one I had at Bella Gelateria, the banana bread was still quite moist and delicious. (I purchased the cookies & cream macaron on the side, as I haven't had one from Bel Café in ages and was needing a little macaron fix!) The hot chocolate itself was pretty standard, quite mild and well matched with a slight nuttiness- the marshmallow was a bit too sweet for my taste, but once melted, added a nice foaminess to the hot chocolate. Just like my first visit to Bel Café, this was also $7.10. 

I hadn't planned on returning to Thierry for "The Ampamakia", but my plans to visit Chocolaterie de Nouvelle France on Main St. fell through, and Thierry is open quite late, unlike most other cafés. This was also the same price as the "Trio of Chocolate" that I had last time, but I feel as if that was much more price-worthy. The Ampamakia has a very distinct taste- quite a unique chocolate, but I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It comes with two chocolate dipped marshmallows, which I weren't crazy about as they were dark chocolate based, but I did like the creaminess it added once I popped them into the hot chocolate. 

Of course, I had to hit up yet another dessert place that I frequent- Soirette. I'd only ever had their macarons before and not any drinks, but I was excited to try the 'Hot Toddy Float'. Oooooh, this one was absolutely perfect on a cold evening. The delicious buttered rum was rich and gave a bit of 'oomph' to the drink- it certainly warmed up my insides quickly! With the addition of their wild mountain honey ice cream, it made it an excellently foamy & buttery hot drink. The Grouse Grind reward cluster that was included reminded me of an Oh Henry! bar except with almonds and hazelnuts instead of peanuts. This cost $6.25!

Of course, there were also locations that I'd never been to before, like Cocoa Nymph. Their drinks were inspired by Greek mythology, so it instantly piqued my interest. My friend Christina and I both ordered 'Hera's Habit', which was a deep milk chocolate with malted milk balls. Like Mink, this was also a drinking chocolate, but I found it to be much more manageable- not quite as thick to drink. There's a huge malt ball on a spoon that's placed in your drink, and it's very delicious once mixed in, with the consistency of peanut butter. Also included was a vanilla cinnamon shortbread cookie. The total was $6.56.

Last but not least was yet another first for me- Thomas Haas! So well-known, and yet I'd never been able to stop by, goodness knows why. I waited till the end of the festival to head here, so when I arrived, the whole store was completely packed with people trying to get in their last minute Valentine's Day orders. I had 'The Campfire'- a classic hot chocolate with smoky caramel and Hawaiian sea salt. I liked it, but...I do think it was a bit sweet- I remember trying to look around to see if they had any water available. (In all honesty, I didn't really take notes this time and I can't quite remember much of the details like the price, sad to say.)

You can see my dedication in the fact that I spent an hour writing out every single location and menu items. I'm really very proud of this list, haha.

On the first day of the festival, my friend Erica had just come from Miku for Dine Out, so I decided to choose somewhere nearby- the famed Bella Gelateria, which offers six choices: "Monkey's Uncle", "Black Magic", "The Evita", "London Foggy", "Red Hot Chilli Pepper", & "Dark & Dangerous". Being somewhat of a salted caramel fiend (and knowing that said salted caramel at Bella is absolutely sublime), I was quick to choose "The Evita", while Erica decided on "Black Magic". For about $7, you get a fairly large cup of hot chocolate, a gelato bar, and a slice of Erin Ireland's lovely banana bread. Now, I'm sure most people are aware of her infamous banana bread- I'd always thought, "Surely it's just hype- how different could it be from normal banana bread?" Boy, was I wrong. It truly was "to die for"- chocolatey & moist but not overwhelmingly sweet- I'm sure I could eat 10 slices, given the chance! As for the hot chocolate itself- it was great, though nothing extremely exciting. We were handed our cups with the gelato bars already submerged, so by the time I could pick mine up, it had already melted.  Luckily, Erica's came after mine, so I was quickly able to snap a picture. By the time I got to the bottom of my cup, most of the salted caramel was just sitting there, adding a nice hit of that salty-sweet taste I love.