Sweet on you
Chocolate is a $90 billion industry. Yet it all depends on something the size of a pinhead.
The near-invisible midge, a tiny two-winged fly found in most areas on Earth, is the sole pollinator of the tropical cocoa tree. The complex, convoluted design of the tree's flowers keeps other insects out, which means your craving for chocolate is entirely reliant on a fragile bug you probably couldn't see.
That's just one of the bite-sized nuggets of trivia guests discover at “Chocolate: The Exhibition,” a cocoa-centered program that opened at the Museum of Science last week. The interactive touring exhibit, developed by Chicago's Field Museum and on display in Boston through May 27, collects 200-plus objects — from Aztec artifacts to modern examples of mass-marketed candies — in an exploration of chocolate's centuries-spanning intersections with history, culture and science.
The exhibition opens up “conversations around bigger issues around the world, from climate change to food production,” said Grace Ignarri, the museum's temporary exhibits coordinator. Of course, contemporary connotations with chocolate often lead back to love, sex and romance — so the museum will host a Chocolate Lover's Night Out on Monday, Valentine's Day eve, with live music and a chocolatier pop-up.
Elsewhere, as lovebirds plan their Valentine's Day dinner reservations, Bostonarea chefs are making the most of chocolate's historic reputation as an aphrodisiac. That reputation is “not overstated,” says chef Brendan Pelley, a hotshot “Hell's
Kitchen” vet (and new dad) now leading the kitchen at Back Bay's sleek Greek restaurant Doretta Taverna & Raw Bar. “It's a very real thing. Have you ever spoon-fed your partner homemade chocolate ice cream with Greek fig jam?” If not, make note: It's on his new menu.
Chocolate-coated creativity is on display everywhere right now, from quick-service sweets to savory plates at fine dining restaurants. This month, Kane’s Donuts, a cult foodie-favorite with storefronts in Saugus and downtown Boston, rolled out a special “Chocolate Orgasm” flavor: a chocolate pudding-filled doughnut dipped in Hershey's syrup and rolled in crumbled chocolate cookies. Kane's also teamed with New England's NECCO candy company on special “Sweethearts”-inspired treats, studding sweet cream-cheese-glazed red velvet doughnuts with the iconic heart-shaped wafers.
Meanwhile, over at Back Bay's ultra high-end Asian eatery Uni, chef Tony Messina is spreading a layer of chocolate kabayaki (eel sauce) and huckleberry on a plate of A5 wagyu, the highest available grade of Japanese beef. And at the North End's new seafood-focused Il Molo, chef Pino Maffeo is serving raw oysters, another popularly purported aphrodisiac, with a chocolate mignonette made with cocoa nibs.
With so many options for chocolate-facilitated canoodling, here are five top picks for sweet-tooth-armed couples celebrating Valentine's Day — plus a few favorite dishes perfect for singles, too.
FOR COUPLES:
Parker’s Restaurant: If you're planning to pop the question, Parker's is the place. The restaurant is housed in Boston's Omni Parker House Hotel, the oldest continuously operating hotel in the country and the site where the Boston Cream Pie, now our official state dessert, was invented. Share the chocolate-frosted confection at Table 40, the table for two where JFK proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier.
Menton: For the ultimate splurge, opt for the $250 (add $95 for wine pairings), seven-course Valentine's Day tasting menu at this Fort Point fine dining room. “Foreplay” comes with butter soup, you'll encounter a cleverly named “menage a foie gras” along the way, and the meal climaxes with the “Chocolate Box,” pastry chef Donna Yuen's ultra-decadent dessert. Boston Harbor Hotel: The hotel has just rolled out an outdoor Fireside Lounge: four six-seat fire pits for wintertime snuggling (blankets are provided!) over fancy s'mores made with gourmet chocolate, a warm chocolate fondue for dipping with strawberries and spiced pound cake, and cocktails such as the vodka-basked Avalanche, made with Kahlua, hot chocolate and chocolate liqueur. ChocoLee Chocolates: At her small South End chocolate-making school, award-winning confectioner Lee Napoli is offering two-hour chocolate-making classes that are perfect for a date night between valentines. Guests temper chocolate, decorate truffles and toast chocolatealmond
bark in an intimate setting, then go home with a one-pound box of their cocoa-based babies. FOR SINGLES:
Legal Crossing: If you need to drown the sorrows of singlehood, booze and chocolate aren't a bad way. At Legal Crossing, downtown Boston's upscale spinoff of the Legal Sea Foods chain, guests can order up “adult profiteroles”: cream puffs loaded with bourbon ice cream (strong enough that ID is required) and covered in Valrhona chocolate sauce.
Mast’: Pizza is chicken soup for the lovelorn soul. Skip Domino's and head to this slick downtown Boston trattoria, where the massive wood-fired oven churns out a Neapolitan inspired Nut ella pizza for dessert. The pie is slathered with the hazelnut-cocoa spread, then topped with more cocoa, roasted peanuts, mascarpone cream and strawberries. We're in love.