carols

Can someone tell me where this Angelina's is located in Paris?
Thanks

marcy_

Angelina is at 226 rue de Rivoli.

SUNSHINE1223

Angelina's hot chocolate is like drinking warm chocolate pudding. If you like chocolate pudding you will like this. They serve fresh whipped cream with it which helps cut sweetness. As for Laduree, they are known for macarroons which my sister did not like. I think that I a personal choice. They are not like the ones we have here.

Barb_in_Ga

I love Angelina's Chocolate, and make a point to go at least once during a visit to Paris. I love to buy a big bag of the mix, which I use at home to remind me of Paris when I'm missing it so. I do make it thinner at home than it would be served at A's, but this way it lasts a lot longer and I still get the unique chocolate-y taste. I have heard that it's available at some source online, but I haven't ordered it myself--much nicer to remember buying it in person.

AlanM1

Dear NYCFoodSnob,

My grandmother never made me a cup of hot chocolate, nor did my mother. Laduree may not be your idea of a good cup of hot chocolate, but I love it. It is thick and not too sweet (you are allowed to add sugar), and since I hate the taste of coffee it is my morning beverage of choice in Paris.

NYCFoodSnob

Dear AlanM1, I'm happy you have an obssession that brings you such joy.

I'm sorry to hear about mom and her mother. There certainly was no need to defend your posts. People often have different or opposing reactions to popular and/or overly-hyped experiences. As with all things that touch our tongue, it's a matter of taste and not who's right or wrong. As I already said, everyone should try the French version of "hot chocolate" and see for themselves.

WillTravel

What is the Mont Blanc dessert at Angelina's like?

One thing I read a while back is that Voltaire used to drink 50 cups a day of some coffee/chocolate mixture. I don't know if it was sweetened.

Scarlett, I'm not sure about taste-testing my way through Paris' chocolate, hot or otherwise. That might undo the benefit I get from all the walking!

I really appreciate hearing about everyone's chocolate experiences and preferences. My main experience with chocolate desserts or drinks or candies from various locations and shops has been - no, that just isn't quite right. So I do like chocolate very much, but it just seems like no maker ever hits the correct note exactly. Someone brought me some Godiva chocolate from Brussels, and my opinion was the same. Similarly with Ghiradelli's or Toblerone or anything else I've tried to date.

Queenie

I believe the Mt Blanc is a mound of the chestnut vermicelli covered with loads of whipped cream.

I am unsure whether there is any chocolate on it.

Wear your elastic waistbelt for this one.

grandmere

The Mont Blanc consists of a layer of meringue covered with whipped cream and chestnut puree. Yum!

111op

I found the hot chocolate at Angelina too rich for my taste -- don't know Laduree's.

But WillTravel, try the chocolates at La Maison du Chocolat. I enjoy them very much. There's also Debauve and Gallais (and I believe their chocolates are unsweetened). I've only had them once and remember that they're quite different. Between these two you should have the sweetness spectrum covered.

111op

I reread the original message, and I think that Maison's chocolates will be too sweet for you. But look into Debauve -- if I remember correctly the store is on the Left Bank. They've a website.

francophile03

I like Debauve et Gallais' chocolates. I didn't find them overly sweet either. The flat round ones with nuts I like alot-they have other kinds. They are called pistoles and Marie-Antoinette favored them too.
The original shop is at 30 rue des Sts. Peres.

111op

I just checked Debauve's website and I think somewhere they mentioned that they're the oldest chocolate shop around. Or maybe I just misread it. The building the store is in is supposedly a national monument.

I guess I wasn't quite correct to say the chocolates are unsweetened -- perhaps I should say that little sugar is added.

WillTravel

The only one of these I got around to visiting was La Coupole, where I got a 4-Euro hot chocolate made from Valrhona bars. It was not too sweet and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't fabulous.

I hate to admit it, but I did try the Viennese chocolate at Starbucks (in St. Germain). I was there for a nice, air-conditioned place to hang out to get out of the sun (and it has a nice bathroom also). I was so hoping it would be better than Starbucks hot chocolate is in North America. It isn't. (The caffe latté is just about exactly the same as what I get over here, on the rare occasions I visit Starbucks.)

At the various times I was near Angelina's and Ladurée I wasn't in the mood for chocolate or macaroons, so I had to give it a miss.

Scarlett

WillTravel,
We are usually in Paris in the fall when a hot chocolate or tea and pain au chocolate are just the right thing to have!
In the heat, I think something cool and light would be nice, or just go to Berthillon on the Ille St Louis and sit in the shade and people watch.

melissa19

I've just been reading about Christian Constant and his creations of "pure" chocolate, no (or very little) sugar added. Might be just to your taste.

I believe he has a new-ish cafe in the 7th?

ggnga

I was very disappointed. I did not like Angelina's hot chocolate, and here goes the biggie, I didn't like the macaroons either. The sweetness of the hot chocolate was not what I didn't like. Like others it was the the thickness and the feeling your mouth was coated after you drank it.

I did like the Mont Blanc a lot and the experience was wonderful. I would go back for tea and a Mont Blanc.

francophile03

Hugely sweet...

GBiscuit

I see many responses which include that the hot chocolate is served with whipped cream. It's actually Chantilly Cream, which is more rich and delicious than anything we'd get here in the states! Yummy!

cmcfong

Laduree on Rue Royal has a hot chocolate with a scoop of either chocolate or coffe ice cream. I loved it. An absolutely wonderful treat. Not too sweet.