FOOD

Tour de Chocolat

Forget the Whitman's Sampler: a Philly chocolate tour is the way to go this V-Day.


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Published: Feb 9, 2010

Though the several martyred Saint Valentines no doubt preferred hair shirts to decadent dates, they were, after all, Italian, and couldn't have entirely disapproved of extravagant declarations of love. Sugary gifts on V-Day became popular during the Victorian period, and the sugary tradition is still going strong today.

Since a box of treats is too predictable, take your sweetheart on a chocolate tour instead. It'll be far more indulgent than dinner, with guaranteed aphrodisiac effects. Betty's Speakeasy (2241 Grays Ferry Ave., 215-735-9060) is staying open late on Feb. 14, so start your tour off with a flight of fudge ($3.50 for 5 pieces). Chocolate and amaretto "Amore" and double-decker raspberry and champagne fudge layered with white and dark chocolate pair elegantly with Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout, a rich brew laced with milk sugar. Pick it up at Hawthornes (738 S. 11th St., 215-627-3012) and tote along.

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If Middle Eastern food went all the way with its kissing cousin, Mediterranean fare, their offspring could not be more delicious than the Chocolate Gianduja Semifreddo ($8, pictured) at Zahav (237 St. James Place, 215-625-8800). Hazelnut paste, chocolate and whipped cream are married into fluffy gianduja mousse that's lighter than ice cream when frozen. Pastry chef Sarah Corvasce combines silky gianduja chocolate and crisp Pailleté Feuilletine wafer chips to form a contrasting topping. The whole thing is garnished with little candied kumquats and salted toffee powder for a dessert that only most agapic of lovers will be content to share.

Stephanie Reitano's husband and partner in Capogiro, John Reitano, never liked her chocolate gelato. "John complained about it since day one," she said. "It was just lacking. Now that I have a bigger kitchen to work in, I changed [it] completely." The new 7 percent fat chocolate gelato, which has just debuted at three Capogiro locations (119 S. 13th St.; 117 S. 20th St.; 3925 Walnut St.), is made with grass-fed cow's milk and artisanal Valrhona chocolate. Try matching it with mint stracciatella for a clean, classic combo.

Last stop on the tour is tiny Mr. Martino's Trattoria (1646 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-755-0663), a BYO owned by the famously publicity-shy Marc and Maria Farnese. It must be Maria's slow-cooked chocolate pudding ($5) that keeps Marc referring to his wife of several decades as "my beautiful bride." A short espresso or shot of sambuca, sipped slowly rather than shot down, match the luxurious texture of the pudding and the languid pace of the romantic spot, which is open only Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

(felicia.dambrosio@citypaper.net)