We are traveling home from our July 2020 European vacation…that we finally made in Winter 2022! Our plan was to visit Paris, Strasbourg, and Berlin, to visit Christmas Markets (see next post), to visit museums, to relax, and (for me) to drink hot chocolate everywhere I went.
Just before leaving I asked Sophie Lagacé if she would get on a call with me to help me pronounce two very important phrases: chocolat chaud and pain au chocolat. Thankfully she prepared me well!
Paris
I intentionally didn’t do much research on where to find the best chocolat chaud I could, I just wanted to try it wherever we went, so while some of these places are exceptional, most are just the places we happened to be. Here goes the rating, based on the official S&K Review MetricsTM.
Pictures included when I remembered to take them!
Boulangerie Léonie
- First hot chocolate ordered in French. 3/5 – very bad pronunciation but i did it!
- Obligatory croissant 4/5 – nom nom nom
- Checkout process 2/5 – had to wait while others completed their orders for “reasons”
- “Surprise door” 3/5 – backed up the line and confused other people.
- Delicious hot chocolate 5/5 – perfect for dipping my croissant.
Lieu de Pâtisserie
- Open late 5/5
- Super friendly 5/5
- Chocolate eclair 5/5 – bonus
- Only “cafe” after passing five other “cafes” 5/5
- Yummy hot chocolate 3.5/5
Angelina (hot chocolate stand)
- 1000/5 unparalleled hot chocolate. A full meal in a cup. One sip is enough to fill a man’s stomach for three days and teach his soul enlightenment in a moment.
Angelina (eating inside)
- Line ride 2/5 – pretty slow
- Service 10/5 – Constance loved us and she is my hero. She’s the best.
- Almost too much of a good thing 4/5 – we were so full we couldn’t finish our croissants.
- Bomb ass eggs Benny – 5/5.
- Brunch should come with a warning and a free t-shirt if you finish it all (we didn’t) 4/5 – damn it was good, it it was dangerous.
- Hazelnut crepe that put Nutella to shame 5/5
- Height of luxury 5/5
- Life changing hot chocolate that sparked a conversation with Constance 1000/5.
Dunkerque
- Only place open when it said it would be open 5/5
- Very cute location, pitcher, and coasters 5/5 – Sean took lots of pictures
- Yummy hot chocolate I ordered in French and didn’t totally fumble 4/5
- Soft boiled eggs with “soldiers” 5/5 – toasted breadsticks to dip in your egg. Amazing!!
Angelina (in Versailles)
- Vibes 3/5
- Finally got an advent calendar 5/5
- Angelina’s Hot Chocolate 5/5 – am I spoiled now?
Maha’s chocolatier stand at a Christmas market
- Slice of cake do only .5 eu more 5/5
- Tasty hot chocolate 3.5/5
Du Pain et des Idees
- Great pudding 5/5
- Unremarkable chocolat 3/5
Strasbourg
I loved a LOT about Strasbourg. The Christmas everywhere vibe, the markets, the rivers, Petite France, seeing my sister, brother-in-law, and niece, and how easy it was to find everything and get everywhere (easiest metro to use of the three cities we were in). One thing I didn’t love however, was the hot chocolate. Most of it was made from instant machines (which I usually only found out after I ordered it) and you know, tasted like Swiss Miss. *sad trombone noise*
Au Petit Artisan
- Instant from a machine 1/5
- Small but cute 3/5 – petit
- Friendly service 4/5 – managed to get by with our limited French.
- Location 5/5 – right around the corner from our apartment.
Art Cafe in the Museum of Modern Art
- hidden location 5/5 – very secret. Almost had to pay museum entrance to get in. Hidden stairs! Don’t use the chute!
- Language barrier 0/5 – no fucks given
- Surprise blueberry tart 4/5 – for not knowing what I ordered, I was very pleased!
- Actual hot cocoa 1/5 – more instant stuff 🙁
Cafe Bretelles
- No room in the inn 1/5
- Auto switching to English 4/5 – very friendly server
- Couldn’t practice our French 2/5 (“what?” and a confused look when I said choclat chaud)
- Actual hot coco 1/5 – instant again I’m pretty sure.
Le Quai 67
- Cute heart in foam 5/5
- Friendly server 5/5 – Clocked us as Americans (or at the very least English speakers) the moment we walked in the door, but was super friendly. Wished we could have gone back but we discovered this place too late!
- Chocolate with extra chocolate on the side 5/5 – Brownie was dense and delicious.
- Hot cocoa 4/5 – Hand made for the first time not instant powder!
Berlin
All the instant powder mixes I had in Strasbourg left me a little lackluster, but we persevered in Berlin and I’m glad we did!
44 Brekke
- Cute cream hearts 5/5
- Not instant hot chocolate 5/5
- With Yvonne and Dave 5/5 – Frands!
- Tasty 3/5
- Egg drop as well 5/5 – best egg sandwich I can remember!
Einstein Kaffee
- Legendary food court 5/5 – they had table service!
- Tall glass instead of mug 3/5
- Pretty yummy 4/5
Mondrean Hotel Breakfast Buffet
- No toes had to be frozen in search of this hot cocoa 5/5
- Instant 1/5
- Cool machine 3/5
CU29
- WTF Kitty Robot ??? 5/5 – adorable..for now.
- Whipped cream game 5/5 – there was a lot, it was tasty, and had chocolate sprinkles.
- Hot chocolate itself 3/5 – good, not instant. Not too sweet.
- Mikael 5/5 – very friendly server, told us the story of his future kitty robot overlord.
Coffee Brothers
- Accidental Frankfurt airport re-routing 1/5
- But they hot chocolate wasn’t instant 5/5
- Hot chocolate overall 3/5 – not bad
And that’s it. We’re flying home now… with a giant tin of Angelina’s chocolat chaud in our bags!!!
