Favorite chocolate brand?
 

Hi,
We will be in Belgium in a few weeks. Which chocolate brand can you recommend...mass produced and "designer" types?

Please vote your favorite brand.

thanks!

Not a particular brand, but my favorite thing to do in Belgium is just go into one of the many many shops and pick and choose from the wonderful assortment in the display cases!

I love Neuhaus. It's usually in a yellow box.

Neuhaus is wonderful, but a favorite among Bruxellois is Leonidas; really fresh chocolate and incredibly inexpensive. You will see a Leonidas shop every few blocks in Brussels.

Leonidas is absolutely the best chocolate. The fresh creams and the pralines are amazing.

There are so many kinds, you'll have to taste as many as you can and see what *you* like. In addition to the "usual suspects" like Leonidas, Godiva, Neuhaus, Tasse Cafe, Corne Royal, there are boutique chocolate shops like Pierre Marcolini, Wittamer, etc. And then there are the even smaller family run places...you will find them in Brugge, Brussels, Leuven, and so on. Happy hunting! There is even a beer from Diest that is especially good with chocolate.

I want to know! What is that beer from Diest? Thanks BTilke!

Others have specific favorite brands but I agree with Grasshopper. I picked up some chocolates from not famous chocolate shops. The chocolates, however, were some of the best ever. My opinion only but I say Belgium's chocolates (any kind) are the best anywhere.

But here at home there's Terra Nostra, an organic chocolate sold at Trader Joe's. The dark chocolate is absolutely incredible.

I like the small boutiques and family run places. I din't have one bad piece- although in Brugge there was a lot of hazelnut filling, which I don't care for. The dark chocolates are so complex and creamy.

The beer is called Gildenbier and originally from Diest (in Brabant) but is now brewed in Haacht, I believe. Supposedly, it dates back to the 14th century and was specially brewed for the annual feast of the archers' guild (which is why it's called Gildenbier and the label has a picture of an archer). Apparently, modern beer experts have found the original recipe a little too sweet, even cloying, and it was modified a few years back. We had it in Diest a couple of months ago and really liked it and could see how it would go well with chocolate. The owners of the restaurant where we had it gave us two of the special glasses for the beer (in Belgium, every brand of beer has its own glass and you are supposed to drink it only in that glass, although that rule gets pretty dented at home). We haven't seen the beer lately and it's not carried in the Brussels supermarkets, I need to start asking for it in some of the specialty beer shops around town.

Thanks, B. I've seen the beer but never tasted it. I actually have a decent set of Belgian beer glasses, (nearly 70) so I am prepared for most drinking occasions. :)

I like Pierre Marcolini chocolates; delicious, and beautifully designed boxes too (next to the Conrad Hotel, Avenue Louise). Wittamer in Brussels is very good too (Sablon). In Antwerp there is a shop on the Schuttershofstraat (the best shopping street) that's called Swertvaegher (or something like that); they have lovely miniature chocolates.

I liked Neuhaus. I worked for a company with a Belgian office and was always presented with a huge box when they were over on business. The ones with frech cream in them need to be eaten within a few days....heaven. I must do a sampling again of the competitors!

I hate belgium chocolate - not my thing at all!

If you want some much more modern and less sickly stuff try anything from Enric Rovira in Barcelona. His simple bars to modernist sculptures not only look superb, but have a wonderful taste and texture too!

And that should read Belgian not "Belgium"!

Thanks for all the tips and comments. It's a good start.....

much appreciated!

m_kingdom, just curious - where can the Barcelona chocolate be sampled in Belgium, since that was what the post was about?

How about Pierre Marcolini, in Paris?

My favorite chocolate in Brugge is Dumon, a small family chocolatier.

I'm quite sure it is impossible to find this brand in Brussels, however it is my "favorite (sic) chocolate brand".

Another one in Antwerp, known for his special window displays (and good chocolate!), is Chocolatier Burie at Korte Gasthuisstraat.

Leonidas is probably not the best, but for sure the cheapest brand of chocolates, and all over. Godiva and Neuhaus are the more upmarket 'chains', but the best chocolates are indeed probably from the small shops, with Wittamer and Marcolini being of the most famous.

As for 'plain' chocolate in bars, which Belgians consume at huge quantities, the most famous brands would be Cote d'Or, Callebaut and Meurisse.

The hazelnut filling which some love and others don't like at all, is called 'praliné', so ask to take more/less with this filling when they assort a box for you.

Is praline really synonymous with hazelnut? I thought praline was a creamy nut filling, usually almond or pecan in my limited experience. I am not a big chocolate person, actually. I like a nice little piece of dark choc once in a while. I just had a little piece form Brugge. Mmm.

I've bought chocolates from Marcolini in Brussels (y expensive, nice shop right on Place du Grand Sablon) and from Dumon in Brugge (tiny shop in the street called Eiermarkt, right near the center of town).

Of the two, Dumon was in my opinion by far the better value -- delicious, and very reasonably priced. Fewer really unusual-looking items than Marcolini, but I doubt those would travel well anyway.

i was born in bruxelles so i just have to say that..EVERY chocolate made in Belgium is DIVINE :). Neuhaus isn't your everyday chocolate, just for special occasions because it is expensive but quite worth it..I love Leonidas because it is everyday chocolate but w/o the skimping on quality and taste.

Ok, so I am back in the States for 6 weeks, and I am down to my last 2 pieces of Belgian chocolate, having made gifts of most of my booty. I am going through withdrawal. So any suggestions in what I should buy here to satisfy a craving once in a while? Thanks!

You can certainly order Neuhaus and Godiva on the web and have it delivered to your door. Also, in select stores, code d'or bars are available. That's what I do!

OK, I'm probably not going to be able to spell this correctly and am trying to lose 3 lbs. so am not going to get some to check it out, but it's Lintz...I believe it's made in Belgium and France and maybe some even in the U.S.

Do you mean Lindt, the swiss chocolatier?

Yes, that's it, but I've noticed that it's also made in other places, including Belgium, France, and the U.S. I'd go and check again at the store, but it's too tempting...

great to know, I didnt realize that. I may have to go check now!

Hershey's.


haha j/k

As mai says, all Belgium chocolates are devine. (And such the amazing shapes)

True, all devine, like the restaurants, and beer, but there are favorites that remain tried and true, and good value to boot.

And it's easy to be overwhelmed by all of the above.

artlover- thanks. I don't care for Lindt. And the "hersheys" might have been a joke, but I like their special dark. The Belgian choc is just a totally different silky creamy experience. Of course, I love Godiva- once I get past the "it's too pretty to eat". My last 2 Brugge pieces are a conch shell and a frog! Ok, I already bit his left leg off (no "tastes like chicken" jokes, please!)

How much would I have to spend to get a box of Belgian chocolate to bring back for my office mates to share (about 10 people)

Aside from Neuhaus, I like Galler chocolates. They used to make small chocolate bars that were sold in the local grocery store, but in recent years have opened shops. I don't know if there's one in Brussels, but there is in Brugge.

The manons at Leonidas are still one of my favorites... but only a few at a time.

Godiva used to be wonderful, but since it was bought by Campbell's Soup in the late 80's it hasn't been the same at all.

Pierre Marcolini sadly didn't stick to beautiful and delicious handmade chocolates... now most of them are what we call "industrial" - made in a factory like frozen baguettes. Overpriced, but I guess he had to pay for that new store on the Sablon.

To illusion321-
Don't knock it-- on several BLIND taste tests in Europe and the US, Hershey's has come out consistenly high in taste preference. It has come out number one in many of those tests. Oh well, the grass is always greener---.

As far as Belgian chocolate goes, my preference is for the Guylian shells, but that's mostly a sentimental thing/what I grew up with (whenever my dad came back from business trips in Europe, he'd bring a box home, so it's a pleasant memory, him being back and all).